Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Create @ Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main-Teen

Katie reduced her fines by creating these wonderful drawings. Ask us how you can reduce your fines at a rate of $5.00 per hour by reading, writing, or drawing. You may end up on the blog!

You should also know: you don't have to have fines to be creative in the library. Art Club meets once a week to paint, draw, make buttons, make duct tape masterpieces, and other create other fun crafts. We'll see you there on every Wednesday at 3 PM.

Holly

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Today I had a Shakespeare conversation with one of you rocking teens -- you know who you are! -- and I figured I just had to use one of his most popular "sound bites" for this entry's title.

Many of you already know that tomorrow, Thursday May 22nd, is my last day at the library. Now that I'm finished with my librarian degree (ow ow!) I have plans to return to Texas and bring some mad Spanish-language programming to my old neighborhood. I'm all about giving back to the community n'at... Oh man. I'm gonna miss Pittsburghese.

So please know that I've had a fabulous time here at CLP Main, and I've learned heaps. I shall carry pieces of you all in my heart-- wait, that sounded a bit creepy. Never mind. In any case, if simplicity is best, then I'll just come out and say it: I'll miss you.

Here's my info, in case you'd like to stay in touch:

http://teenbibliotecaria.blogspot.com/
narajaponesa@yahoo.com
Use this email address to look me up on Facebook or MySpace.

May the force and the faeries be with you.

~Violeta

P.S. Lots of faeries. Lots and lots of 'em.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Check Out this Amazing Video from the Multnomah County Teens

On May 3rd, the Multnomah County Library held their Teen Council Retreat, in which over 30 teens hung out, played games, and impacted the future of their library. One amazing part of the retreat was the "Books" video they made (if you've ever seen the Kelly "Shoes" video, you'll know what they're up to). Check it out!



What do you want to see happen at your library? Join the Teen Advisory Council here at Main, and you too can meet new friends, eat snacks, and help bring the library into the next century.


Teen Advisory Council: All Teens Welcome
Sunday, May 18, 2008
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Help the Teen staff make decisions about future programming and services. In the past, the Teen Advisory Council has helped design the Teen department at CLP, Main, in addition to planning many programs.

Location:
Main (Oakland)
4400 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213


Contact:
Teen @ Main
412.622.3121
teensmain@carnegielibrary.org

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Got holidays?

You ever get bored and wonder what day it is? I mean, it's easy knowing the date. But what does each day mean to everyone out there? There are people out there having birthdays... having children... having their very first samosa... or their very first smooch...

It may not be so easy to know about the little historic events in people's lives but there are ways of knowing which holidays are being celebrated all over the world. Earth Calendar makes it easy. You can look up holidays by date, country, even religion. I browsed some of the pages and here's some random worldly holidays coming up next month.

  • June 4th: Revolution Day (Ghana)

  • June 14th: Day of Mourning and Hope (Lithuania)

  • June 22nd: Schoolteacher's Day (El Salvador)
So I thought to myself, "Oooooh! What day is today?" Lo and behold! Today is the International Day of Families!

*majestic horn tooting*

I have to admit, I feel all warm and fuzzy here. We all have problems with our families. There are times when family members are made of awesome, and times when they suck soooo bad. I find, though, that even after difficult phases, I can always come back to family.

And speaking of families! (*smooth librarian move here*) You know we have plenty of books at the library on this fascinating subject. Here's just a wee sampling of them-- in 3 words, and with lots of exclamation points.
So get all close and chummy with your family-- whether it's your real family or a family you've created for yourself-- and enjoy a glorious day like today!


~Violeta
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

CLP Teens Talk Music

Six teens at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh recently talked to us about the whens, whys, and hows of their music listening habits. Watch the video here and leave your own thoughts in the comments (or stop by the library and check out the hundreds of CDs we have available, from Lil Wayne to Kimya Dawson!



~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Monday, May 05, 2008

SAGDA Meeting Minutes - 05/03/08

The Carnegie Pittsburgh's Teen Sexual and Gender Diversity Alliance (find us on Facebook! search "SAGDA") was back in session on Saturday, with some new members. We talked about stuff. Want to know what? Read on...

First thing on the agenda was checking in with teens who celebrated the Day of Silence, to see how it went. CAPA had one of the sparsest years yet, because people thought 1) it cost money to participate and 2) it was only for "gay kids." Of course, the answer to both of those questions is "No!" The Day of Silence is free for students in the school to participate, and it's for anyone who is interested in protesting the many ways in which students are silenced from being themselves, due to bullying and harassment.

Allderdice, on the other hand, had more people than expected, despite having no posters. Like CAPA students were a little confused about who was allowed to participate (yes, it's for EVERYBODY!). They also thought that they had to put duct tape over their mouths (ouch!), though all you really need to do is hand out cards with a statement explaining why you aren't speaking. Another interesting aspect limiting interest in the Day of Silence is the belief that the Day of Silence puts teens "back into the closet." The organizers hope that by bringing attention to harassment and the silence that people already experience in the closet of their choice, that more and more people are going to have space to start fully communicating themselves to their friends, family, and schoolmates.

North Allegheny surprised people with a small but enthusiastic Day of Silence, which spread through word of mouth. People wore all black in mourning.

So how can SAGDA we help ourselves promote the Day of Silence? Perhaps by making some buttons. Let's think about it.

Off the topic of the Day of Silence, SAGDA has a budget! We need to come up with events or other projects to spend our money on. Please submit your suggestions to the comments.

We also discussed the story of the pregnant man, as well as how transgender rights organizations have been distancing themselves from the story. The group more or less agree that these organizations should be supporting this man in the decisions he's making about his body. Fear of a public backlash seems to be against the principles that transgender rights organizations should uphold.

If you have an interesting article you want to share, bring it to our next meeting, which is Saturday, May 17th @ 2:00 PM, on the second floor of Kiva Han.

Notable upcoming dates:

Youth Invasion is Saturday, May 10th @ the Andy Warhol Museum
Pittsburgh PrideFest is Sunday, June 22nd @ Liberty Ave., Downtown

We may be having tables at both of these events, so if you have any ideas of what we should do, post a comment!

Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main - Teen