Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Not long ago, while clearing out my mother’s belongings from her apartment on Centre Avenue, I happened to find two overdue library books. Knowing full well that she would have wanted these to be returned, I walked them over to the Main branch, that same walk that my mother and I would have taken together many times over the years. – Saïd Sayrafiezadeh In December…

The first audition for American Idol wasn’t intimidating at all for 16-year-old Fox Chapel sophomore Sloane Simon. “It was virtual. I was in my kitchen and my mom was with me,” she laughs. But out in California? Walking into a room where celebrity judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie were sitting there, waiting? “Terrifying,” she admits. “They were all just staring at me…

https://youtu.be/y3PMM5o05cI   Shirley Page recalls the excitement of coming to CLP – East Liberty as a child in the 1940s. She fondly remembers the storytimes in the children’s area and getting a glimpse of the newspapers and encyclopedias in the adult section. "It was a beacon for the family … like a second home." To give back to the community she loves, Shirley established an…

After my children had grown, I began looking for a second career and took several free classes at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Job and Career Education Center. I fell in love with 3-D printing after attending one of the Library's training sessions. I realized it was something I could enjoy pursuing as a career. I'm happy to say that I landed my dream job at a digital…

As a lifelong Pittsburgher and Library supporter, Carol Robinson has seen how lives are impacted by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. “One of the reasons I became involved with the Library is that it provides direct assistance to people in ways that are transformational and potentially life-changing,” she says. “The Library is supported by community tax dollars and philanthropy, and in turn, it creates tremendous value…

Marybeth was one of the first patrons to use Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's REcollection Studio shortly after it opened in fall 2017. This free community resource provides all of the tools and software needed to digitize photographs, slides, and documents, as well as audio and video cassettes. Below, she describes the importance of capturing her family's memories in a digital format. [caption id="attachment_253893" align="aligncenter" width="640"]…

“So…,” Emmai Alaquiva says, pausing for a moment. “Being homeless.” You’d never know it now. The guy with the title of CEO of YaMomzHouse multimedia studios. The one in the photo wearing the tux, holding the Emmy. Get Involved, Inc.’s “Man of the Year,” and recent appointee to the Council on the Arts for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. You’d never think that’s where he was, twenty years ago. Living on the streets of the Oakland neighborhood. Under bridges. In crevices…

"I feel we are better parents." With mom and dad by her side, two-year-old Rae sings, claps her hands and stamps her feet during Friday storytimes at CLP – Allegheny. She is too young to understand that the interactive stories, songs and rhymes she loves to recite in the car and just before bedtime are actually helping her build vocabulary, expand her imagination and teach…

She was born in Romania and emigrated, along with her parents and younger brother, to the U.S. before the start of World War II. The family settled in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood, joining relatives who had made the trek years earlier. Although Anita Newell was only four years old when she arrived, she knew that her life’s journey was truly just beginning. “To learn was…