Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

We know how important it is for kids to spend time reading with positive, engaging adults, so Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh invited interested community members to join our crew of dedicated volunteers who support youth literacy. This summer, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh celebrated the three-year anniversary of launching a learning and mentoring program for children called Reading Buddies.

As a fan of both the written word and visual arts, I'm always tickled when I find ways to learn about contemporary art in new ways. Recently, I've been brushing up on artists and art styles that interest me, and there's no better place to start than with Frida Kahlo - a visionary and firebrand who would probably be considered provocative even by today's standards,…

As part of Love Your Library month, we're highlighting some of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's most-loved programs and services here on Eleventh Stack. If you've ever taken a look at the extensive list of language classes offered by CLP and wondered how we manage to offer everything from Arabic to Spanish, you're in luck — today's post is all about taking you behind the scenes and into the world of the library's amazing language volunteers!

Drag Queen Story Hour is a family-friendly series of programs that was was developed in response to area families who've expressed an interest in programs that amplify broad perspectives, challenge gender stereotypes and embrace personal expression and self-acceptance.

"Unruly bodies" have been the talk of much cultural criticism these days (even here on Eleventh Stack), as the the body-positive movement gains more traction. The body-positive movement means a lot of things to a lot of different people, but is probably most easily understood as an umbrella term for activism which seeks to celebrate bodily autonomy and accessibility. Body-positivity can apply to small, individual decisions like body hair removal or decisions about wearing makeup, and to larger, more systemic concerns; large wings of the movement are focused on disability activism, awareness for trans rights and fat-activism.  

Summer means lots of different things to lots of different people, but me, well, I spend summer how I spend all other seasons: thinkin' lots about what I'm going to cook and eat. Here are some tried-and-true cookbooks you can check out for some A+ summertime recipes.

Summer is on the horizon and while you're breaking out your flip flops, stocking up on sunscreen and pondering your Summer Reading goal, don't forget to add volunteering to your summer bucket-list. The library has lots of ways, both one-time and ongoing, to squeeze in helping others while you enjoy this sunny season.

Every library lover has at least one story about a magical moment of serendipity when they stumbled across a book or author, previously unknown to them, who turns out to be a new favorite. We all know that libraries are are great for that type of exploring — you can check out a fat stack of titles and revel in anticipation about what you might find. That's how I came across Lynda Barry, a prolific comic author and artist who was undiscovered by me until I saw a recommendation for her book, One Hundred Demons, on the library's website last year.

Those of us who spend lots of time commuting or on long walks, or who enjoy listening to books while we're engaged with chores or stationary hobbies can attest that getting lost in an audiobook is easy to do, but it's a real bummer when you don't vibe with the narrator. Sometimes the voice gets on your nerves, sometimes you don't feel like the tone of the narrator matches up with who you imagine characters to be, and sometimes you don't really know what's bothering you about it, but a voice just rubs you the wrong way. One (almost) sure-fire way I've found around this problem is in listening to memoirs.