News

Summer Reading Kick-off Party!

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Beat that summer slide! Children who read over the summer months perform better on reading achievement tests than those who do not keep up their reading skills while out of school.

Sign the kiddos up at our Summer Reading Kick-off Party on Saturday, June 10 between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at the library. We are offering 8 weeks of fun beginning the week of June 26 through August 18. The library offers something for all ages, from babies through teens! Cost is $5/child for K-6.

You must register at the Youth Services Desk prior the first day of programs. Call the Youth Service Department at 724.941.9430 #3 for more information. For a complete list of summer programs, read our K-6 Summer Reading brochure and our Teen Summer Reading brochure.

LWV Distributes Facts for Citizens 2017

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The League of Women Voters of Washington County is distributing the newest edition of its popular free print publication, Facts for Citizens. The brochures are available in municipal offices, public libraries, and the Washington County Department of Elections. The information is also available on the League’s website at washingcountypalwv.org.

For many years the League has published Facts for Citizens to encourage informed and active participation in government. While the internet makes finding details about some levels of government easier now than it was in the past, current local government information can still be difficult to track down, especially for some of the county’s smaller municipalities.

Facts for Citizens 2017 provides meeting times and contact information (addresses, phone and fax numbers, and email and web addresses when available) for the county’s 66 municipalities and 14 school districts as well as contact information for county, state and federal officials. Elected board members and term expiration dates are included.The conveniently-sized brochures are published in ten different regional editions, each with a contiguous group of municipalities and the school districts that serve them. County residents should look for the edition that covers their municipality and school district.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Membership is open to men and women. Local League activities are carried out entirely by volunteers. The Facts for Citizens publications are funded by the League of Women Voters Education Fund, the Observer Publishing Company, and Masters Ink.

For more information about Facts for Citizens, email lwvwashingtoncounty@gmail.com or call the project manager at 724.344.3464.

New and Notable in Non-Fiction

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Mary Kipling and her crew from our Tech Services Department have added several new books to the non-fiction collection. The books are located on the 1st floor on the New Books shelves. If a book is already checked out, you can select the Place Request button in the library catalog or ask the Circulation Desk staff to place a reserve request on any title you are interested in.

The new books include:

Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, by Heather Ann Thompson (Pulitzer Prize, History, 2017)

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, by Hisham Matar (Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 2017)

Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses and Citizens can Save the Planet, by Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste, by Bianca Bosker

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan

The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, by Frances Fitzgerald

Food Fights & Culture Wars: A Secret History of Taste, by Tom Nealon

A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA, by Joshua Kurlantzick

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death, by Mark O’Connell

Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation, by Alan Burdick

Wild Nights: How Taming Sleep Created Our Restless World, by Benjamin Reiss

Money for College

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As part of our Thinking Money programming in April, we will be offering Money for College on Saturday, April 29 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Register online or call 724.941.9430 #1.

Positioning your child to be a prime candidate for scholarship money for college can start as early as 4th grade! At Money for College, Rebecca Bowman will show parents how to take advantage of opportunities to “find” money. She will look at the significance of building a student resume and keeping records, the importance of having a disciplined plan, and the power of building a portfolio.

Rebecca Bowman is a McMurray business owner whose children attended the Peters Township School District, college, and graduate school. She is both a professional civil engineer and an attorney, currently serving on both the Construction Appeals Board and the Peters Township School Board. She lectures internationally and is a published author.

Celebrate National Library Week Apr 9-15

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Beginning April 9, the Peters Township Public Library joins libraries across Pennsylvania and libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating the many ways libraries are transforming their communities every day through the services and invaluable expertise they offer.

April 9-15 is National Library Week, a time to highlight the changing role of libraries, librarians and library workers.  Libraries aren’t only a place of quiet study, but also creative and engaging community centers where people can collaborate using new technologies, learn how to use a 3D printer or even record their own music.

Libraries of all types are evolving to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Elected officials, small business owners, students and the public at large depend upon libraries and the resources they offer to address the needs of their communities. By providing such resources as e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or a safe haven in times of crisis, libraries and librarians transform their communities.

“The library embraces the entire community, offering unlimited opportunities for personal growth and lifelong learning,” said Library Director Myra Oleynik. “Libraries level the playing field for people of any age who are seeking the information and access to technologies that will improve their quality of life.”

Libraries also offer something unique to their communities, the expertise of individual librarians. Librarians assist patrons in using increasingly complex technology and sorting through the potentially overwhelming mass of information bombarding today’s digital society. This is especially crucial when access to reliable and trustworthy data is more important than ever.

Visit the Peters Township Public Library and see how libraries transform!