February is Library Lovers' Month!

It has been a busy week at the Library! We have been finalizing details for several programs that we will be offering as part of our "Library Lovers'" celebration in February.

"Library Lovers' Month" is a time for everyone to recognize the important role libraries play in the cultural and economic success of local communities and the nation as a whole. Whether you visit our library for bestselling books, children’s programs or access to computers and the Internet, you are encouraged to show how much you love your public library during the month of February.

You can show your love in many ways:

• Visit the library often and checkout materials.
• Participate in the many programs we offer.
  
• Consider a tax-deductible contribution.
• Volunteer your time at the library.
• Promote your library in the community.

Late yesterday afternoon, we placed a really attractive display in the main lobby about the event, highlighting several of the programs we will offer in February.

Coming up first will be "Books into Movies", a book and film discussion program featuring Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. This special "after hours" event will be held on Sunday, February 17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Reading Room. Presenters will be Elizabeth Raffaele and Leigh Ann Totty. Program fee is $6.

Next up will be "How to Take GREAT Photos" on Monday, February 25 from 7-8:30 p.m. with Mindy McNaugher, Staff Photographer for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for 23 years. Visit her web site to see her amazing photographs. Program fee is $15.

Members from the United States Army War College Eisenhower College Series Program will visit the library to discuss "The Search for United States National Security and World Order in the 21st Century" on Tuesday, February 26 from 7-8:15 p.m.

For your listening pleasure, the Peters Township High School Jazz Ensemble will perform in the main lobby on Saturday, February 23 from 1-3 p.m. This talented group of high school students really impressed us at the Library's 50th anniversary celebration, so we asked them back to entertain our patrons once again.

If there are any pirate lover's in the family, mark Saturday, February 9 from 1-3:30 p.m. on your calendar for our "Pirates of the Caribbean Swashbuckling Adventure Party." Children's Librarian Heather Blake has planned an awesome program for all ages, so put on that pirate gear, matey, and join us for an afternoon of treats, songs, and buried treasure.

For registration details about these featured programs and more, visit our programs page or stop in the library to see our lobby display. Please come in for a visit - we'd LOVE to see you!

Evening Book Club

The Evening Book Club will be discussing Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer in the Library's Reading Room at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2008.

From the inside book flap: "When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top.No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were desperately struggling for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the bestseller Into the Wild. On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world.A rangy, thirty-five-year-old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and had led thirty-nine climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a forty-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996.

Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement."

For more information on the Library's Book Clubs, visit the Programs web page.