Choosing Your Best Natural Cosmetics and Skin Products

Choosing natural cosmetics is a smart decision for your health and for the health of our planet. Learn more about the products you are currently using and if there may be a better choice available for you. Peters Township Public Library’s GO Green Club will host “Choosing Your Best Natural Cosmetics and Skin Products” on Saturday, October 20 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

GO Green Club member Pam Kuhn will be providing an overview of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) web site, whose mission is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. Persons attending the program are asked to bring a cosmetic or skin product with them that they would like to learn more about. Register for this program online or call 724-941-9430.

Library hosts Free On-site Shredding Event with BBB

The Peters Township Public Library and the Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania are hosting “Secure Your ID Day” on Saturday, October 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the library’s parking lot. This identity theft and fraud prevention event will feature FREE on-site shredding plus tips to protect your identity.

Did you know that protecting your identity is largely in your own hands? Fifty-six percent of identity theft victims traced the theft to something that was stolen from their own possession. At the October 20 event, BBB volunteers will guide cars through a moving line in the library parking lot, offload your disposable items, shred them on the spot and distribute goodie bags with educational ID theft and fraud prevention materials.

Each vehicle may dispose of a maximum of 3 boxes/bags of paper-based materials.

Major sponsors of the program are the Peters Township Public Library, The Paper Exchange, and First Commonwealth Bank. For more information about “Secure Your ID Day,” call the BBB at 877.267.5222.

150th Anniversary of Civil War to be remembered through “Homegrown Heroes” program

As part of the state-wide commemoration of the150th anniversary of the American Civil War, the Peters Township Public Library and Pennsylvania Humanities Council will host “Homegrown Heroes: Pennsylvania Communities in the Civil War” on Sunday, October 14 from 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Actor/storyteller Steven Anderson will share remarkable true stories of the Civil War as experienced by civilians who found themselves in harm’s way. How did people react when their neighborhood became a battleground? How did the ideas and concerns that matter to you play out in Gettysburg, along the Underground Railroad and throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania? You might even hear Civil War stories that are rooted right in your own backyard. This classic American storytelling is performed in 19th century garb and invites audience participation and the use of imagination as you will learn than heroes don’t always wear uniforms.

Steve Anderson is a professional actor and storyteller with more than twenty years of performance experience. His credits include more than hundred stage plays, ten years with the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and five years as a certified living-history interpreter with the Pennsylvania Past Players. When he’s not performing live, he narrates audiobooks, writes and produces online videos, and explores Pennsylvania history. Anderson is also an experienced playwright and a former college professor.

This presentation is a program of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The PHC, a nonprofit organization, inspires individuals to enjoy and share a life of learning.

Register in advance to attend this free event online, at the library circulation desk, or call 724.941.9430.

International Program Series begins Thursday, October 4

The struggle between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia in the nineteenth century was the original "Great Game." But in the past quarter century, a new " Great Game " has emerged, pitting America against a newly aggressive Russia and a resource-hungry China, all struggling for influence over the same region, now one of the most volatile areas in the world: the long border region stretching from Iran through Pakistan to Kashmir.

On Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m., the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and the Peters Township Public Library will welcome Dr. Alexander Cooley, one of America's most respected international relations scholars. In his new book, Great Games, Local Rules: The New Great Power Contest in Central Asia, Cooley explores the dynamics of the new competition for control of the region since 9/11. All three great powers have crafted strategies to increase their power in the area, which includes Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Each nation is pursuing important goals: shipping materials/equipment rights for the US, access to natural resources for the Chinese, and increased political influence for the Russians. This struggle for power and influence in Central Asia reflects a new multi-polar order. With three of the world’s largest superpowers competing for influence, how will Central Asia come to define geopolitics in the twenty first century?

Register in advance to attend this free program online, at the library circulation desk, or call 724.941.9430. The Peters Township Public Library is located at 616 East McMurray Road, McMurray, PA 15317.

Dr. Alexander Cooley is a Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College and an Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He is also a Ph.D. Advisor in Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Cooley has authored several books and he has published policy-related articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Foreign Affairs, and Washington Quarterly. Most recently, he has published an opinion piece in the New York Times.

The McMurray Veterans Foreign Wars POST 764 generously provides support for the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh International Program Series at Peters Township Public Library.

Learn how to pay for college!

Discover the ins and outs of the college financial aid process at the Peters Township Public Library on Tuesday, October 2 at 6:30 p.m. A representative from the Pennsylvania High Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) will discuss a variety of methods to finance a college education, as well as looking at alternatives to the traditional college experience.

Parents and students are invited to the presentation by Jayeann Harr, Higher Education Access Partner from PHEAA, which will describe all federal and PA-state financial aid programs, scholarships and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application processes. Other topics will include how colleges award aid to families and how financial aid deadline dates interface with the college admissions process. Loan rates and interest rates for students and parents will also be explained. A question and answer session will follow the program.

Registration is necessary for this free program either online, at the Library's circulation desk, or call 724-941-9430.

Author Talk with Professor David Shumway

As part of Independent Film Week (Sept. 16-20), David Shumway, Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, will discuss the works of legendary independent filmmaker John Sayles at the Peters Township Public Library on Tuesday, September 18 at 7:00 p.m. By showing film clips and reading excerpts from his recently published book, John Sayles, Professor Shumway will provide an overview of the director's career, followed by a question and discussion period. A book signing reception will begin at 8:00 p.m.

To attend this program and reception, register online, at the library circulation desk, or call 724.941.9430. If participants would like to view one or more of Sayles’ films prior to the event, especially Return of the Secaucus Seven, Matewan, and Lone Star, the library has the DVDs of these films in their collection available for a 2-day loan.

"Like Classic Era directors such as Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock, John Sayles is a great storyteller," said Shumway, professor of English within the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and director of the Humanities Center. "But unlike their films, his also ask us to think critically about the world in which we live. He has been able to make such films because he has not had to depend on entertainment conglomerates to finance them, and thus has retained artistic control of his work. His films teach us about historical events we are unlikely to know much about-such as Baseball's Black Sox scandal, the Stone Mountain Coal War, or the Philippine-American War - but they also, like a good teacher, raise questions about assumptions viewers are likely hold before seeing them."

John Sayles was published by the University of Illinois Press as a volume in the Contemporary Film Director Series. Copies will be available for purchase at the special book signing price of $15 each.

David R. Shumway is the director of the Humanities Center and a professor of English and literary and cultural studies at Carnegie Mellon University. His many books include Modern Love: Romance, Intimacy, and the Marriage Crisis. He has recently received a Fulbright award to lecture in Barcelona in the spring of 2013.

"Listen While You Walk" Resumes!

A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that although more Americans are walking, they are not exercising enough to reap the health benefits. At least 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise, like brisk walking, helps prevent heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression and some forms of cancer.

To help patrons in their efforts to exercise daily, the library is resuming our popular “Listen While You Walk” program beginning Thursday, September 6 at 9:15 a.m. The program, beginning its second year, offers walkers another way to exercise – while listening to a new book or favorite author. Staff will introduce attendees to a selection of “Playaways,” all in one portable audiobooks, and then lead a 30-minute walk on nearby Arrowhead Trail. The program will continue each Thursday at 9:15 a.m., weather permitting.

Register for this free program by emailing programs@ptlibrary.org, at the circulation desk, or call 724.941.9430. For more information about the program, call the Reference Department at 724.941.9430 ext. 327.