News

Health Literacy This September

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September is Health Literacy Month at Peters Township Public Library. In addition to countless books to help you focus on your physical and mental health, the library also has e-resources and programs this month to help educate and inform.

You can learn how to access our online e-resources in the short video below!

Dare 2B Tick Aware | Tuesday, September 6, 7:00 pm | via Zoom
Lyme Disease is the fastest growing vector-borne infectious disease in the United States. Learn about the most current research available and how you can protect yourself. The PA Lyme Resource Network presentation will cover PA tick stats, tick identification, tick habitats, tick behavior, Lyme and tick-borne diseases, prevention options, and early symptoms. Click here to register or learn more.

Potty Talk with an Expert | Monday, September 12, 6:30 pm | at PTPL
This informational session will give parents of toddlers the tools they need for stress-free potty training. We will discuss a child’s signs of readiness, pre-potty home preparations, and how to get started. Special topics include potty training pitfalls and top 10 tips for success. This program will be presented by Becky Lipinski of Just About Pediatric Therapy. Click here to register or learn more.

Suicide Prevention Training | Wednesday, September 28, 6:30 pm | at PTPL
USA Today reported that the CDC has discovered that the rate of suicide among young people aged 10-24 increased by nearly 60% between 2007 and 2018. By recognizing the early warning signs of suicide, opening a supporting dialogue, and securing consultation with a professional, with a professional, you may prevent the need for an emergency room visit or psychiatric hospitalization. Click here to register or learn more.

Medicare 101 | Monday, October 3, 6:30 pm | at PTPL
Medicare continues to provide important benefits such as the health insurance program for people 65 and older, people under 65 with certain disabilities, and people of any age with end-stage renal disease, permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis, or a kidney transplant. PA MEDI is a free health insurance counseling program designed to help older Pennsylvanians with Medicare.  Lois Thomas, local PA MEDI Coordinator will review both the Medicare and PA MEDI programs with handouts and New to Medicare packets available for persons attending the program. She will discuss other assistance programs such as PACE/PACENET, Extra Help, and the Medicare Savings Program. If you think you may qualify for an assistance program or need help discussing the costs of Medicare, you will be able to schedule an appointment with Thomas after her presentation. Click here to register or learn more.

Health Literacy is one of the five literacies in the PA Forward Star Program. Peters Township Public Library is a Gold Star Library and regularly integrates the five literacies into its programming curriculum.

RLEL 2022: Thank You!

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On Saturday, August 6, over 300 community members joined us at PTPL to meet and greet local authors. Visitors also had the opportunity to visit local food trucks and talk with library staff. This was the 3rd year the library hosted Read Local/Eat Local (2018, 2019, 2022), and visitors received entries to an “All Things Local” raffle basket for every author they visited. Thank you to The Foundation, staff, volunteers, and authors who made this event a success! To see a full list of the authors and food trucks, please visit our previous post about the event.

 

The event started with JD Barker at 10 am. JD spoke about his transition from being an Indie author to co-writing books with James Patterson.
Visitors were greeted by library staff who were giving out canvas bags and raffle cards for visiting authors.
The weather cooperated but all authors and their books were protected under the event tents that The PT Library Foundation sponsored for the event.
Congrats to our “All Things Local” raffle winner who visited every author at the event. Over 300 people attended the event.

We look forward to our next RLEL!

If you are a local author and are interested in participating in future events, please complete this short form, and we can contact you when the application process begins again!

Read Local/Eat Local returns to PT Library

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The Peters Township Public Library will host 22 local authors at its 3rd Read Local/Eat Local in a new format for 2022. On Saturday, August 6, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the public is invited to visit the library for an entirely outdoor event in the library parking lot. The library encourages the community to read books by Pennsylvania authors representing all genres for all age groups. No registration is required to attend.

The twenty-two authors featured will include writers of several formats, including short stories, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s picture books. Authors participating include:

Robin Acton
Sarah Addis
Barbara Brutt
Rossilynne Culgan
Annette Dashofy
Abigail Drake
Fifth Avenue Writers
Kit Frick
Lisa Grazan
Anna Harsh
J.V. Hilliard Author Cancelled
Annette Hostoffer
Carole Lynn Jones
Thomas Mainwaring
Nancy McCabe 
Liz Milliron
Chris Posti
Linda Rettstatt
Chris Rodell
Nellie Steele
Cori Wamsley
Thomas White

J.D. Barker

Kicking off the event at 10:00 a.m. will be a talk by J.D. Barker. He is the New York Times and international best-selling author of numerous novels, including Dracul and The Fourth Monkey. His latest with James Patterson, Death of the Black Widow, was released earlier this spring. His books have been translated into two dozen languages, sold in more than 150 countries, and optioned for film and television. Barker will sign books after his talk, with select titles available for purchase through Riverstone Books. No registration is required to attend.

Plan to Eat Local while at this free event or passing through the area. Three food trucks – Johnny’s Seafood Shack, Wooden Peel Pizza, and Millie’s Homemade – will be in the library parking lot with refreshments for sale from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Concluding the event at 1:15 p.m., a representative from Riverstone Books will offer tips to current and aspiring authors. Hear ideas on how to market your books and work with an independent bookseller. You must register to attend this presentation. Register at ptlib.org/riverstone.

For more information about Read Local/Eat Local, call the library at 724.941.9430 ext. 3260 or email ptlib@pt-library.org.

 

Are you interested in being a future Read Local/Eat Local author? Complete this short form to share your interest with the event organizers for next time!

Experience Kits Are Now Available

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Thanks to our partnership with the Heinz Center Affiliates Program and other Allegheny County libraries, the Peters Township Public Library can offer FREE ADMISSION for up to four people to several museums and historical sites around Pittsburgh! Each pass has virtual access to educational information, itinerary ideas, and other fun content.

Our kits this year include: 

~ Duncan & Miller Glass Museum

~ Heinz History Center (includes admission to Fort Pitt Museum and Meadowcroft Rockshelter)

~ Historic Fort Steuben

~ Merrick Art Gallery (Pass used instead of suggested donation; check with the site about ticketed events.)

~ Old Economy Village

~ Somerset Historical Center

~ West Overton Village Museum & Distillery

 

The Heinz Affiliates Program Memberships for Washington County are paid for by “Share the Love” funding from Budd Baer Subaru.

Peters Township Public Library cardholders can place a hold on an Experience Kit by searching for “museum pass” in the WAGGIN catalog at waggin.polarislibrary.com. Kits can be picked up at the library and are loaned to you for seven days. 

Using the Peters Township Public Library Experience Kit program, visit THREE different museum sites before October 31, 2022, and be entered to win a prize! Visit https://forms.gle/wFjGXMvSh1LMfN4w6 for more information and to complete the raffle form.

Learn more about each of the museums/historical sites participating in 2022!

Duncan & Miller Glass Museum

Before the Pittsburgh area became known for its steel, it was once known as the glass manufacturing center of our country. Opened in 1893, the Duncan & Miller Glass Company became famous for its workers’ skills, the artistry of designs, and the glass colors. The National Duncan Glass Society was formed in 1975 to keep alive the history of glass companies, study their impact on the region’s economic development, and celebrate the men and women who made it possible.

Fort Pitt Museum

The Fort Pitt Museum tells the story of Western Pennsylvania’s vital role during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Through interactive exhibits, life-like historical figures, and artifacts, visitors can discover the vital role that our region played in shaping the country.

Senator John Heinz History Center

The Heinz History Center is one of Pittsburgh’s oldest cultural organizations. An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum contains six floors of long-term and changing exhibits with hands-on activities and many events and programs.

Historic Fort Steuben

Historic Fort Steuben was built in 1786 by the First American Regiment to protect surveyors who the Continental Congress had sent to map the Northwest Territory. Visitors can tour the reconstructed fort to see the soldiers’ quarters, guardhouse, hospital, commissary, and the Federal Land Office. Historic Fort Steuben’s many exhibits, tours, and events tell the story of the daily life of the men who helped open the territories to settlement.

Meadowcroft Rockshelter & Historic Village

Meadowcroft, a National Historic Landmark, offers a variety of tours and educational experiences. Investigate archeology and the prehistoric people who lived in the area 19,000 years ago; travel 400 years into the past to explore a re-created 16th-century Indian village; explore an 18th-century frontier trading post; visit a 19th-century rural village while learning from re-enactors; and more!

Old Economy Village

Old Economy Village tells the fascinating story of the Harmony Society, a 19th-century religious community. Visitors can tour the Visitor Center and many of the settlement’s buildings, such as the George Rapp House, Carriage House, Mechanics Building, Wine Cellar, Store, Post Office, Baker House, Bake Oven, Community Kitchen, Cabinet Shop, Blacksmith Shop, and Granary. In these buildings, visitors can observe artifacts on display and learn about the daily life of the Harmonists.

Somerset Historical Center

The Somerset Historical Center is a 150-acre rural history museum that preserves the history of life in southwestern PA through a wide range of exhibits, workshops, and educational programs. At the Visitor Center, learn the stories of the people through objects of everyday frontier life. Visitors can see a 1770’s farmstead on the grounds with sparse furnishings, a more permanent 1830’s farmstead, an early 19th century covered bridge, a cider press, and a maple sugar camp from 1860.

The center offers workshops on traditional skilled crafts and trades, like cottage craft coopering, tinsmithing, decorating Pysanky eggs, blacksmithing, rug hooking, and folk toy making.

West Overton Village Museum & Distillery

West Overton Village is the only pre-Civil War village intact in Pennsylvania. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a stop on the American Whiskey Trail. The Village represents the transformation of American culture from an agrarian society with the production of the coverlets and the distilling operation to a more industrial society with the excavation of coal and ultimately the production of coke, a necessary ingredient for steel.

Merrick Art Gallery

The Merrick is home to a collection of French, German, English, and American paintings from the 18th and 19th Century, featuring examples of romantic, realistic, and impressionistic art by prominent American and European artists. In addition, a piano played by the composer, Stephen Foster, is on display.

Summer Reading is Back!

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Summer is just around the corner at Peters Township Public Library, and we are excited to bring back our All Ages Summer Reading Challenges to the community. Readers from birth to adult are invited to read with us from June 4-August 12 on Beanstack through the website or the free app. 

Pre-registration is now available through Beanstack, and you can see what fun you have in shore this summer with the library. Summer Reading o-fish-ally begins on Saturday, June 4, with our kickoff event. You can swim by the library from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm that day to enjoy music, snag a goodie bag, and have a fin-tastic time.

If you can’t make the kickoff event, readers can still pick up a goodie bag after they register and earn prizes as they read all summer. Participants who complete the challenge are entered to win end-of-summer prize baskets – these drawings are weighted, so the more you read, the better your chances are! Read on, or watch the short video, to learn more about summer reading and see how the different groups are structured.

HOW TO READ AND WIN

Birth to PreK
Readers earn points by logging books and completing activities
Reading goal: An average of 3 books per day
Half-way Prize: 100 points
Prize Baskets: Complete the challenge for a chance to win (Read 200 books and earn 230 points)

K-2nd Grade
Readers earn points by logging minutes read and completing activities
Reading goal: An average of 25 minutes per day
Half-way Prize: 1000 points
Prize Baskets: Complete the challenge for a chance to win (Read 1500 minutes and earn 2000 points)

3rd-6th Grade
Readers earn points by logging minutes read and completing activities
Reading goal: An average of 40 minutes per day
Half-way Prize: 1500 points
Prize Baskets: Complete the challenge for a chance to win (Read 2500 minutes and earn 3000 points)

7th-12th Grade
Readers earn points by logging minutes read and completing activities
Reading goal: An average of 60 minutes per day
Half-way Prize: 1500 points
Prize Baskets: Complete the challenge for a chance to win (Read 4000 minutes, log 5 book reviews, and earn 4500 points)

Adults (paper trackers are also available for this age group’s challenge)
Readers earn tickets by logging books and completing activities
Reading goal: 10 books for the summer
Weekly drawings: enter your tickets into weekly online drawings for prizes through Beanstack
Prize Baskets: Complete the challenge for a chance to win (Read 10 books, log 5 reviews, and complete 3 other badges)

Still have questions? Visit us at the library or send an email to ptlib@ptlibrary.org

April News

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On March 14, the Peters Township Council passed a proclamation commemorating April 3-9 as National Library Week in Peters Township.
 The American Library Association has declared the theme for National Library Week 2022,

“Connect with Your Library”. The intent of which is to promote the idea that public libraries are places to get connected to technology by using broadband, computers, and other resources. Libraries also offer opportunities to connect with media, programs, ideas, and classes—in addition to books. Most importantly, libraries also connect community members to each other. No community is more connected to its library than Peters Township.

Swing by the library this week to celebrate with us!

  • Library Card Raffle: Check out an item with your library card to enter a raffle for local gift cards!
  • Library Trivia: Join us on Facebook & Instagram throughout the week and see how well you know your library.
  • Connect with Us: When you visit, let us know what you love about libraries and how they help you connect. Add your comments to the poster in the library, or give us a call, and we can add it for you!

 

April is financial literacy month at Peters Township Public Library. Whether you are saving for a baby, have questions about Bitcoin, or are looking at buying or selling a home this year, we have programs and information. 

 

Money Smart Week is April 9-16, and they offer nationwide webinars on various topics.

 

Want to learn more at home? You can also enroll in the following Gale Courses with your WAGGIN Library Card at https://education.gale.com/l-pl2048/

  • Personal Finance
  • Keys to Successful Money Management
  • Stocks, Bonds, and Investing: Oh, My!
  • Where Does All My Money Go?

 

Courses are available 24/7 after their start date and typically run for six weeks. The next round of courses starts on April 13, and classes for small or home-based businesses are also available. Check out our short YT video or register for the April 18 Gale Courses Tour with IT/Reference Library Brandon to learn more about Gale Courses!

 

Beginning the week of April 17, there will be a slight change to the hours for PTPL. The new hours (seen above) result from a six-month study of library usage. You can read more about his decision by clicking here.