Doug Oster to discuss “Steel City Garden”

Start planning this fall for a garden filled Pittsburgh’s favorite colors with Doug Oster’s newest book “The Steel City Garden: Creating a one of a kind garden in black and gold” to be released this month. Oster will visit the library for a Book Launch Premiere Event on Saturday, November 16 at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the book and answer your gardening questions. Copies of “The Steel City Garden” will be available for purchase and signing.

Register online to attend this program, visit the circulation desk, or call 724.941.9430.

Doug Oster is an Emmy Award Winning producer, television host and writer. He is also the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Backyard Gardener and co-host/producer of The Organic Gardeners radio show every Sunday morning on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh. Oster recently received the Gold Award for Best Broadcast Media Talent at the 65th Annual GWA Symposium. The award is the highest honor a garden writer can receive from the national Garden Writers Association. He also won the Silver Award for Best Television Talent.

Library celebrates National Author Day with 3 Local Writers

The Peters Township Public Library will celebrate National Author’s Day with a special program featuring three local authors who will share insights about their craft.

On Saturday, November 2 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at “Reading, Writing, and the Creative Process,” the library will welcome authors Patricia Easton, Stephanie Keyes and Jeanne Marie Laskas to participate in an informal panel discussion. They will share how reading influences their writing, and what rituals, superstitions, settings, and habits shape their creative process. They will reveal who and what inspired them to write and, in turn, hope audience members will explain how a story changes a reader and how a reader can change a story.

Register to attend online or call 724.941.9430. A book signing will follow the program. Light refreshments will be served

Patricia Harrison Easton is the author of seven books, five of them for young people. Her latest book Davey's Blue-Eyed Frog won the Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award. Stephanie Keyes is the author of the young adult fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child, The Fallen Stars and After Faerie. Jeanne Marie Laskas is the author of six books, including her latest, Hidden America as well as the award-winning trilogy of memoirs: Fifty Acres and a Poodle, The Exact Same Moon, and Growing Girls. She is also the voice behind Reader’s Digest’s “Ask Laskas,” where she dispenses wisdom with zero authority but plenty of common sense.

National Author’s Day, marked on November 1st each year, was recognized by the Department of Commerce in 1949 in resolution that states “By celebrating an Authors’ Day as a nation, we would not only show patriotism, loyalty, and appreciation of the men and women who have made American literature possible, but would also encourage and inspire others to give of themselves in making a better America.”

CHINA AS NUMBER ONE? SCARCITY AND CHINA'S ASCENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The Peters Township Public Library in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh will present China as Number One? Scarcity and China's Ascent in the 21st Century on Thursday, October 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the library. Featured speakers for the presentation will be William Adams, Senior International Economist for the PNC Financial Services Group, and Damien Ma, a Fellow at The Paulson Institute. Register to attend this free program by emailing programs@ptlibrary.org or call 724.941.9430.

Many experts believe that within the decade, China will have the world’s largest economy— a position the U.S. has held for over a century. As these two superpowers jockey for geopolitical position and influence, what does this trajectory mean for the rest of the world? There is much room for speculation and conjecture, leading at least two veteran China-watchers to say, “So what?” Join the co-authors of In Line Behind A Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China’s Ascent in the Next Decade to discuss the ramifications of a growing Chinese economy and uncover the fact and fiction behind one of the most intensely-discussed issues facing the international community.

William Adams is Assistant Vice President and Senior International Economist for the PNC Financial Services Group. His responsibilities include forecasting economic conditions and exchange rates, covering emerging Asia, the European Union, Canada and Latin America. Mr. Adams serves as the principal spokesperson on global economic issues for PNC, and frequently presents to PNC clients on the international economic outlook. He joined PNC in July 2011 after serving as resident economist for The Conference Board China Center from 2009 to 2011. Mr. Adams lived in China for five of the past ten years and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He holds a master degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and is a graduate of Harvard College.

Damien Ma is a Fellow at The Paulson Institute, focused on investment and policy programs and the Institute's research and think tank activities. Previously, he was a Lead China Analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk research and advisory firm. He specialized in analyzing the intersection between Chinese policies and markets, with a particular focus on energy and commodities, industrial policy, U.S.-China trade, and social and internet policies. Mr. Ma writes regularly for the Atlantic Monthly online and publishes widely, including in Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, and Foreign Policy, as well as appearing in a range of broadcast media, such as the Charlie Rose Show, Bloomberg, and the PBS NewsHour. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

McMurray Veterans of Foreign Wars POST 764 generously provides support for the International Program Series hosted by Peters Township Public Library in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.

Book Talk with Mr. Dan Rooney and Carol Peterson

The Peters Township Public Library will welcome Dan Rooney and Carol Peterson on Tuesday, October 15 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the book they co-authored, Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh’s North Side. Mr. Rooney will explain the role of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the landscape, share comments about famous North Side families, and describe his faith in the future of the neighborhood. Ms. Peterson will provide details about the architecture and ethnic groups on the North Side. Copies of the book will be available for signing and purchase after the discussion.

This program is FILLED. Previous registrations will be confirmed at the door. Mr. Rooney will not be available to sign Steelers or NFL paraphernalia during this event or pose for photographs.

Dan Rooney, longtime North Side resident, recently retired from the post of United States Ambassador to Ireland after nearly four years, to return to his job as chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is the author of Dan Rooney: My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL. Carol Peterson is an architectural historian who specializes in the buildings, homes, and communities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She resides in Lawrenceville.

The Great Halloween Costume Swap

Green will the new orange this year at the Peters Township Public Library’s GO Green Club‘s “Great Halloween Costume Swap” at the library. Instead of purchasing new costumes each year, the group aims to encourage the community to swap their slightly used costumes to save resources, packaging, transportation costs, and money.

On Friday, October 4 from 3 to 5 p.m. participants can drop off their used but in GREAT condition costumes for children or adults at the library and get a token for the swap. Return on Saturday, October 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with their token and shop for a swap. Volunteers are needed both days to help with the swap. Email ptplgogreenclub@gmail.com to volunteer or for more information.

The event is part of National Costume Swap Day™,a partnership EcoMom Alliance and KIWI magazine, launched in 2010. For more ideas to have a Green Halloween, visit www.greenhalloween.org.

After 2014: A Journalist’s Perspective on the Future of Afghanistan

International reporter Carmen Gentile will be the featured speaker to kick off the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh 2013 International Program Series hosted by the Peters Township Public Library. Gentile will discuss After 2014: A Journalist’s Perspective on the Future of Afghanistan on Thursday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the library. Register to attend online or call 724.941.9430.

Carmen Gentile has written for some of the world's leading publications including the New York Times, TIME, Newsweek, USA Today and many others. He has also produced online video reporting for The Times and TIME. He also regularly produces radio reports and has published numerous photos with his work. He has covered both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, embedding with soldiers on the frontline. His work has also taken him to Nigeria, where he reported on the continuing unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta. For four years he was based in Brazil, traveling throughout the region and covering bouts of unrest in Venezuela, Bolivia and Haiti. He began his international reporting career in the late 1990s when he was based in Cairo, Egypt. In September 2010, Carmen was shot by a rocket-propelled grenade while reporting on U.S. and Afghan forces in eastern Afghanistan. Following a lengthy recovery, he returned to Afghanistan and resumed embed reporting for USA Today and others.

McMurray Veterans of Foreign Wars POST 764 generously provides support for the International Program Series hosted by Peters Township Public Library in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.

Everyday Cooking with Essential Oils

Ruthi Bosco, local author of Everyday Cooking With Essential Oils, will visit the Peters Township Public Library on Wednesday, July 24 from 7-8:30 p.m. Explore the art of aromatherapy and essential oils with a twist by learning how to incorporate essential oils into everyday cooking. Samples of recipes using Wild Orange and Basil Essential Oils will be provided, and all participants will receive a sample of the energizing Wild Orange Essential Oil in the purest grade possible. Copies of the cookbook will be available for signing and purchase after the program. Register to attend this program online or call 724-941-9430.