Although Allegheny County has moved into the green phase of reopening, you may be feeling uneasy about attending in-person services. While practicing and encouraging safety, the Library offers many ways to accommodate the community’s needs. We offer Curbside Service (with more locations starting Tuesday, July 14!), Book a Librarian 1:1 Appointment, Chat With the Library, and Virtual Storytime.

Believe us when we say we miss you as much as you miss us! In the meantime, here is a comprehensive list of some great suggestions for programs that are similar to what Carnegie Library offers:

If you miss our children’s spaces… try CitiCamp @ Home created by Citiparks. This is a 6 week program of Urban Adventures geared for children 12 and under. They are offering weekly STEM/STEAM projects and games through booklets and activities. Some of the weekly themes include: Rivers and Bridges of Pittsburgh, Math in Motion, and Animal Adventures & Underwater World.

Visit CitiCamp @ Home to check out their materials!

If you miss the Teenspace… try Write Pittsburgh’s free virtual summer camps for teens. During a two-week session, teens will use writing, conversation, and art to document their lives at this time. Teens will be able to tell their stories by documenting them through podcasts, writing, engaging in youth justice, and ultimately culminating a virtual time capsule.

The next upcoming session is: Speak Up! Listen Up! Podcast Edition from July 6—17. Write Pittsburgh notes: “In this session, we’ll be using the sights and sounds around us to document our lives in this time. We’ll interview the people close to us, write scripts, and learn how to record short podcasts to tell our stories.”

For more information and to register, visit WritePittsburgh.com.

If you miss Reading Buddies… try Youth and Senior Pen Pal Program! The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh is offering this program that pairs seniors with youth to foster an intergenerational bond that combats isolation and loneliness. It is especially needed during these unprecedented times of social distancing.

The requirements include: stationary, stamps, parent/guardian signature for children under 18, and volunteer disclosure. To ensure the safety of all participants letters will be reviewed by Y staff, facilitated through their office and will not reveal last names, addresses or other personally identifiable information.

To register, visit: the YMCA Pittsburgh website, or call Danielle Naples at 412-227-5312.

If you miss browsing our nonfiction titles… try Carnegie Museums from Home. Through their website, the museums have provided links to all four museums’ virtual resources. You can admire artwork from Carnegie Museum of Art’s collection, listen to studio sessions by Sound Series artists, meet animal ambassadors in the Living Collection, explore the Teenie Harris Archive, and even go behind the scenes at the Museum of Natural History.

What are you waiting for? Go now! Visit Carnegie Museums from Home.

If you miss art and music events… try The Show Must Go On(line) Pittsburgh. City of Asylum is hosting a new, virtual home for the arts. It is a collaborative daily webcast that unites and streams programs by Pittsburgh’s arts organizations. By bringing these creative forces together, The Show Must Go On(line) provides free access to high quality, regularly scheduled programs to connect artists and audiences and continue to build community around the arts.

Programs are free and streamed at 7:00pm; but thoughtfully, all programs will remain archived and accessible on The Show Must Go On(line) Crowdcast page.

Upcoming events include:

• Sabria Cole Film Destival: The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (film+ talkback)
• 1hood Media: Farooq and Jasmine Green (performance)
• The Frick Pittsburgh: Trio of Blues (concert)
• City of Asylum: Damon Young: How to Survive in America (reading and conversation)

View a complete calendar of The Show Must Go On(line) events for July.