Spanish Language titles at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Did you know that crepusclo means twilight in spanish? Well, now you do, because the Teen Department at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main, has a brand new Spanish Language collection. We have fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels, including all of the titles in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

We were inspired to create this collection by the non-English language collections in the Adult and Children's Departments here at the Carnegie Library in Oakland. You can find Hindi, Arabic, German, and more alongside the Spanish titles in those departments.
Stop by and check it out!

Nosotros esperamos verle aquí.


All the best,
Holly

Second Annual CLP Teen Awards

Last year, teens had a blast walking the purple carpet into an Awards show like no other: you pick the winners.

It's time to nominate your favorites for 2008!

The voting process for our Second Annual CLP Teen Awards has begun!

Please visit our website to vote for your top picks in catagories like manga, video games, fiction, and more. We've added a ton of new categories this year.

Once we have your nominations we'll narrow the categories down to your top picks, and then its time to choose the winners out of the top three nominees in each category.

We'll reveal the winners at a special after-hours event on Friday, December 12th. We'll have pizza, snacks, video games, and door prizes to go along with the Second Annual CLP Teen Awards.
It's a party you don't want to miss!

Halloween Traditions

Happy Halloween!!
Trick-or-Treating, pumpkin carving, costumes, candy, bobbing for apples, why do we do these things on Halloween? Where did it all come from? What are we even celebrating? Here are a few facts about Halloween. Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday called Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). The Celts lived in and around the British Isles. It was a celebration to signify the end of summer and the harvest. They also believed it was the day on which the barrier between the world and the living was the thinnest. The Celts celebrated this time with bonfires, apple bobbing, and the carving of vegetables. They also wore costumes to try and trick the spirits into staying away from them. As different groups like the Romans and early Christians arrived in these areas they brought their own ideas and traditions moving to what we now see here in America today. Because the celebrations of Halloween in its many forms all have to do with death, spirits, ghosts, and magic the traditional images of Halloween have come to be pumpkins, witches, demons, etc.

Other parts of the world celebrate Halloween in different ways. In Mexico there is El Dia De La los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. This is the day that a sprit returns to its home, families decorate the graves of their loved ones with flowers, food, photographs and a basin of water so the spirit can wash for the feast. In Ireland where most of our Halloween traditions began people continue to dress up and go Trick-or-Treating. In Scotland Halloween has evolved into Mischief Night were pranks and tricks are played. In England they continue to light bonfires in what is on what is now called Guy Fawkes Day (you V for Vendetta fans may know him as the man who tried to blow-up parliament in 1606).

May your candy be plentiful and your evil spirits few!

For more information click on the following:

The Library of Congress American Folklife Center

Halloween: Ancient Origins

Halloween (Wikipedia.org)

Cat

Paul: Volunteer

One of our regulars at Main, Paul, had to complete fifteen hours of community service for school. Since Paul is such a big fan of the library he asked if he could complete his time with us. Of course we were only too happy to have him.

I asked Paul if he wouldn't mind completing a short blog post for us about some of his interests. Here it is:

Hi my name is Paul I love to read and write. My favorite book is Bang by Sharon G. Flake . I love this book because it’s full of drama. This book inspired me to go on with life; go on and live it, not play it. So if you want to go and learn important things you should read this book called Bang.

I love to listen to music; I play the drums as a matter of fact. I’ve been playing them for about five years now. I love writing lyrics and making up new beats. I love the drums because it is the rhythm of the song. I love hitting the sticks on them. My favorite music is rap, pop, and a little rock. I love these genres because of the beats and how they sing or rap.

I love doing these things because it’s fun and I choose them. These are some things I’d love to tell y’all about me.

Corey W., CLP Main - TEEN

Joseph's Lexically Limited Review of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Late in the movie, Norah tells Nick about the Judaic concept of tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that translates to "repairing the world." It turns out to be the perfect phrase to chart the course of two characters who begin the film broken but find solace in one wild New York night. [view trailer | find the book]

Nick (Michael Cera) begins the movie not with Norah but in the bedroom amidst photos of Tris (Alexis Dziena), the lying, manipulating heartbreaker who has reduced Nick into a blubbering sack of tears, rambling voice mails, and mix CDs. Norah (Kat Dennings) goes to the same private school as Tris and uses the tossed-away mixes as a way to escape Tris's cutting comments, her best friend Caroline (Ari Graynor)'s constant state of drunkenness, and her father's shadow of fame.

Nick also happens to be the only straight boy in the queercore band the Jerk Offs (played by Aaron Yoo and Rafi Gavron), and they soon arrive to pull Nick out of his stupor and out to New York City, where they have a show the same night that Nick's favorite band, Where's Fluffy?, is playing a secret show. Where's Fluffy? happens to be Norah's favorite as well, and soon the entire cast finds themselves at the Jerk Offs' show in preparation. To prove to Tris that she isn't a boyfriend-less loser, Norah goes over and makes out with the first single guy she sees. That guy just happens to be Nick.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist winds its script around the strengths of its two leads. As characters, Nick and Norah's ultra-hip energy are toned way down in favor of stressing the moments between the two. Michael Cera's nervous, quiet stutter and bashful smile blend well with Dennings's distant coolness to create a believable night in which two people can meet each other and fall in and out of love faster than you can ask, "Where's Fluffy?"

In between, humorous interludes featuring gay holiday cabaret, an awkwardly sexy dance on the hood of a Yugo, and a disgustingly well-traveled piece of gum set up each emotional beat so well that everyone in the theater was groaning, awww-ing, and cheering Nick & Norah until they "see red" (you'll get it once you see the movie). This is a can't-miss film not just for teens but for anyone with a heart.

~Joseph Wilk
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Igor Reviews Night of the Soul Stealer

The book, Last Apprentice, Night of the Soul Stealer is a book that is part of the Last Apprentice series. The book is the 4th from the series. In the book Tom and his master the spook have come across some trouble with the witches of Pendle (town in the book). Its the spook's job do deal with the witches, gasts, and other forms of "the dark". Tom had lost his father last winter and his mom left for she had nothing to keep hold of. Tom was left a room in the old house that held all the valuables his mom collected and only he had the key to it. But the contents of that room was stolen and his brother jack and his family was being held hostage. he journeyed to Pendle with his master and Alice. Alice was raised by witches but tom believes that she is good and wants her by his side for she saved his life numerous of times. While in Pendle Tom runs into trouble he encounters a witch by the name of Meg who wants Tom to be hers' and will kill Alice to get Tom, but there is more foul deeds plotting in Pendle the 3 witch covens are uniting and old blood feuds are waining so the 3 covens are ready to summon the devil itself. Tom and his master try to stop them but fail, for 3 days the fiend tries to kill Tom for he is under the witches' bidding but Tom was able to hide in the room his mom left him, that room protected him and saved his life for on the 3rd day the fiend was free and went to do what he wanted to. Tom is alive but now that such evil is in the world what can he do? it remains to be seen, i haven't read the fifth book yet...
Rating: excellent

Note: Igor reviewed this book as part of our fine forgiveness program, which allows teens to reduce selected library card fines at a rate of $5.00 per hour. You can write reviews of books, movies, CD's, and more - all while getting your library card in functional order again. See us for details!
Holly

PEACEMAKERS in Pittsburgh

Every day, violence on the streets and in school affects the lives of more and more Pittsburgh teens. Like in books such as Sharon Flake's Bang!, Ron Koertge's The Brimstone Journals, Todd Strasser's Give a Boy a Gun, Matt Whyman's Boy Kills Man, Walter Dean Myers's Autobiography of My Dead Brother, or Paul Volponi's Rooftop, violence can incite, fear, frustration, anger, and sadness that can scar not just people but whole communities.

As a result, local community leaders are asking YOU to join them in a project called PEACEMAKERS, a series of presentations that can help equip you with the tools to help uplift your surroundings. Check it out below.

---

PEACEMAKERS in Pittsburgh
A series of presentations addressing TEEN VIOLENCE in Pittsburgh by individuals actively engaged in initiatives to diminish it. Sponsored by the Anti-racism and Social Justice Committees of First Unitarian Church-- Shadyside.

All events begin at 7:30pm at the First Unitarian Church-- Shadyside.
605 Morewood Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-621-8008

FEATURING:
October 1
Tim Stevens-- Former president of NAACP Pittsburgh, co-chair of the Coalition Against Violence.

October 8
Valerie Dixon-- of the center for 'Victims of Violence' & radio talk show host of 'Peacing it Together.'

October 15
Richard Carrington-- U.S. Army, retired. Director of 'Voices Against Violence' youth programs

October 22
George Spencer-- President, MADDADS, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main - Teen

BIG THINGS POPPIN' PARTY STYLE @ CLP TEEN!

School's underway, but that doesn't mean nothing's happening @ CLP TEEN this fall! Get a sample of what's poppin' by taking a look at the events below (and please make sure you register by clicking on the links!):

Nick & Norah's Infinite Party : Songs That Saved Your Life, Teen Music Discussion Group
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

The Teen Music Discussion Group offers offer teens an opportunity to discuss popular music in a fun and meaningful way.

In this edition of Songs That Saved Your Life we're celebrating the release of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (the movie!) with a mix swap, music trivia and free snacks.

Location: Teens - Main
4400 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Contact: Corey Wittig or Catherine Eiche
412-622-3121
wittigc@carnegielibrary.org

---

SAGDA Presents: The Teen "Living History" Party : In Honor of LGBT History Month
Saturday, October 11, 2008
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Why call it the "Living History" party? Because while lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and allied teens* often read history, we never think of ourselves as the history of the future. That's why we're getting together to change the world! Eat free food! And dance dance dance!

On the reading tip, one of the portions of our party will be to make a video of us talking about our favorite books and how we're going to take the lessons of those books into the future.

Special note: this is an *after-hours* party, so if you come after 5:30 PM, make sure you come in through the back entrance so you can access Classroom A.

*not limited to just these sexual and gender identities

Location: Classroom A (back entrance)
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Contact: Joseph Wilk
412-622-3121
wilkj@carnegielibrary.org

---

Teen Halloween Party 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

For the third year, the Teen Department is having a Halloween party complete with the screening of a creepy movie, video games, costumes and lots of candy. Bring your friends, dress up and have a blast.
And it is totally free!

Location: Teens - Main
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Contact: Teens
412.622.3121
teensmain@carnegielibrary.org

Do you have any ideas for parties? You can always let us know by e-mailing teensmain@carnegielibrary.org. Until then, party on party people!

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main - Teen

Nick & Norah's Infinite Party - 9/30/08 @ 4PM

Come celebrate the release of the Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist movie with music trivia, a mixtape swap, prizes, and, of course, snacks. Should be a great time!

As for the mix swap, if you haven't done one before, here are the rules: Just bring a mix to the party and swap it with someone else. make a themed mix, or just compile a bunch of your favorite songs. The choice is yours.

Simple enough, right? See you on the 30th at 4PM.

- corey

Teen Advisory Council - share your ideas!

Hi, We're having our monthly Teen Advisory Council Meeting this Sunday, September 21st, at 2 PM.

What do we do at Teen Advisory Council? We plan events, and give our ideas about how the teen space, teen collections, and teen programs can be even better. In the past the Teen Advisory Council has assisted in planning the design of the Teen space at CLP Main, as well as programs such as Extravaganza and the Overnight at the Library. Plus, we always have snacks!

If you are interested in getting your voice heard, please join us on Sunday.

PS - After Teen Advisory Council, we are having a Banned Books Discussion.



Holly

Get ready . . . get set . . . get POLITICAL!

Most people, unless they have been living under a rock all summer, know that there has been a lot of political news lately.

You all probably realize that on November 4, 2008 Americans will elect a new president.

Now, we're librarians, right? We do not endorse any one political ideology or platform in any way, shape, or form. However we are great big fans of being informed about the world around us. Perhaps many of you have questions about the election process. Why does the electoral college matter? How does democracy actually work? What the heck is the big deal about any of this? What is a pundit? All of these great questions!

So, even if you will not be eligible to vote this go around, stay informed! If you are 18, make sure you register!

Here are great books the library has about government, politics, voting, and activism that matter to you.



What You Should Know about Politics

Avoid the spin! No matter your political leaning, here is the perfect book to brush up on a single topic or read through to get a deeper understanding of the complex, often confusing world of American politics.




Declare Yourself: Speak, Connect, Act, Vote

Famous Americans talk about why voting matters, why your vote counts, and why you should get involved with politics at school and your community.


The Presidential Election Process

Authors with various viewpoints discuss how and why the American democratic process works. This is a good start for someone who wants to get to the basics of the matter.


A Young People's History of the United States, Volumes One & Two

A history of the United States from its beginnings, as told from the point of view of ordinary people, including slaves and Native Americans, to reveal the violence, racism, and injustices which occurred during key events.


Peace,
CA

Congrats to the 412 Brawl Team for an Impressive Showing

On Friday, August 22nd the 412 Brawl Team faced off against teens from the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. We kept up with them match for match, going down 0-1, evening the score 1-1, going down 1-2, then evening the score again 2-2. In an impressive come from behind victory, the 412 Brawl Team rallied behind Jelani and Aaron to go up 3-2.

While we eventually lost 5-3, I'd like to thank all the members of the 412 Brawl Team for putting up a respectable showing. We had a number of exciting moments, from Shing narrowly missing his own single-handed come from behind victory to the Webbs just utterly dominating the competition. We'll definitely be taking the 412 Brawl Team's first squad on the road with more tournament matches against other libraries, so keep your eyes open. Until then, scope out a replay of all the action below.



~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Main

Banned (or Challenged) Books Discussion

What is a banned or challenged book, you ask? A challenged book is a book that someone has asked to be removed from a library or store because they object to its content. A banned book is a book that has actually been removed from a library or store. Teen books are particularly vunerable to challenges because, well, they are read by teens. Some adults believe that teens don't have the ability to choose what book is right for them. They may believe that books with objectionable content will corrupt your young minds.

According to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, the most challenged book of 2007 was And Tango Makes Three. This is a children's book about two male penguins raising a baby together. Another title that is often on the annual Most Frequently Challenged Book List is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This book is by Stephen Chbosky, a Pittsburgh native. Some reasons that are cited for the banning of this book include homosexual characters and offensive language.

Please choose a title to read from ALA's 2007 list of most challenged books and join us on Sunday, September 21st at 3 pm for a lively discussion about intellectual freedom.

Here are a few other web resources about Intellectual Freedom:

AS IF! Authors Support Intellectual Freedom
This blog features many teen fiction authors, such as Cecil Castellucci Brent Hartinger, David Levithan, E. Lockart, Jordan Sonneblick, and many, many more!


The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund started in 1986 and its purpose is to fight for the First Amendment rights of graphic novel artists.


National Coalition Against Censorship
This group is literally a coalition of 50 different non-profit organizations who have aligned to fight censorship. They are an Intellectual Freedom voltron of sorts.

Happy Banned Reading!

Holly

Who's Ready to Brawl? CLP Is Ready to Brawl!

CLP Teen is still gathering players from the Pittsburgh area to take on the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. The tournament takes place at the Main library Teen section before moving to the basement for the Teen End of Summer Party. If you can't make it, we will be broadcasting the tournament LIVE at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Teen Media Page (if you can make it, still be sure to tell all your friends).

Here are the rules:

• The tournament will consist of eight matches of two-person teams, one from each library.
• Whichever team notches the most wins at the end of the eight matches will be declared the winner. In the case of a tie, the winner will be determined by a match up of librarians.
• Matches will be stock five matches to take place on the Final Destination board.
• Items and friendly fire will both be OFF.

Meanwhile, check out the video for "Brawl Beat," featuring members Shing and Spig C of the 412 Brawl Team:


or download the MP3.

Until then, I remain...

Joseph
proud member of the 412 Brawl Team
Carnegie Libray of Pittsburgh, Main

Volunteer Services

By: Ashley


Hi, I’m Ashley and I had to complete 20 hours of community service at the Main Carnegie Library in the Teen section.
My experience volunteering was a lot more exciting than I thought the staff had me do some hard tasks but there were also many fun tasks that made it a lot easier to work there and complete my hours. Also working here made me realize how fun and cool libraries can really be, I was never really someone to sit down and read a book, but here at the Carnegie Library there are thousands of Teen novels, comics and magazines. I realized reading could be really fun and exciting when you’re at the right place. The Carnegie Library has a fun and inviting environment for kids of all ages. The library has 11 computers, several beanbags, a wide variety of board, and card games which are also educational.
Many kids and Teens come in and out of the Carnegie Library each day and they all seem to be satisfied with the libraries books, computers, and fun creative activities. For instance, every Wednesday the Carnegie Library holds an art club, where kids and teens come to enjoy arts and crafts and hanging out with friends. My experience here was really inspiring and I enjoyed completing my community service at the Carnegie Library. Not convinced a library can be fun? Maybe you should check it out for yourself.

Vampire Plagues (book 3) Mexico, 1850

The following is a review from Igor, who read this title and wrote the review for us in order to reduce his fines at the library. In some instances we allow teens to work off their fines at a rate of $5.00 per hour. Please contact the Teen staff at the Main library in Oakland if you are interested!


I haven't read the first book or the second book, but after reading this book I wanted to read all 3 books, the book is about three children who have this "mission" to stop this vampire lord (camazots) and he wants to rule the world with his vampire demons, as I had discovered he is a Mayan god and eventually was sealed for one thousand years, that was a thousand years ego, and now he has a small army of minions to do his bidding, he wants a amulet that will grant him power beyond all others so he must collect the 4 parts to it: the bat, the eye, the crown, and the moon, the bat is the form he takes, the crown is his rule over earth, the eye is to make him all seeing and the moon is to turn the world into full darkness, so after getting that understood the book is not bad but I got to admit I did not like the ending for there was not a battle but a trick, the vampire lord was tricked into assembling the amulet the wrong way and so he and his followers died by lightning...

good or bad? The book was good for it had me interested, but the plot was not good and the ending was a turnoff so I would say the book has a 4 star review from me

-Igor

Calling all Super Smash Brothers BRAWLERS!

What happens when you take the winners of the CLP Teen Super Smash Bros. Tournament and pit them against the winners of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County?

Intensity. Chaos. Pain. Punishment. Brawl.

We’re kicking off the Main library’s Teen End of Summer Party in style, by battling for respect in two person teams. The party will take place on August 22nd, and the tournament will be starting at 3:00 PM--broadcast LIVE on the internet on the Teen Media Page.

This is where we need YOUR help!

While we've got a few great players, we're short of recruiting the 16 we need to make a tournament. We need AMAZING Super Smash Bros Brawl players to help us in the final showdown.

Do you know anybody who fits this description? Please have them get in touch with Joseph about repping CLP! Joseph can be reached by calling 412-622-3121.

Thanks!

~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main

Breaking Dawn Party

Sparkling vampires, frozen hands, a pizza ripped to shreds- no this was not a scene from a horror film, it was the Breaking Dawn Party. We listened to vampire music from the Bella Cullen Project, sank our teeth into some Twilight Team Trivia, and a few vamp-ish souls even dressed in costume. Whether you were Team Jacob or Team Edward, Pro-Vamp or Pro-Wolf, a good time was had by all!Thank you to all the teens who participated (pictured above) and to Holly for putting it all together!!

Feel free to comment on the new book and/or your feelings about the Twilight the movie.

-Cat

SAGDA Meeting Minutes - 8/02/08

Welcome to the new minutes of SAGDA, Pittsburgh's Teen Sexual & Gender Diversity Alliance. SAGDA's job is to give a laid-back conversational space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, queer, asexual, questioning, straight-allied, and all the other permutations within the spectrum!

We chose the date to the SAGDA "Living History" party. It will be October 11th. The time is still to be determined (what works for you)?

Why call it the "Living History" party? Because while we often read history, we never think of ourselves as the history of the future. Let's change the world! And make art! And read! And dance dance dance!

On the reading tip, one of the portions of our party will be to make a video of us talking about our favorite books and how we're going to take the lessons of those books into the future.

We then watched the music video for Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" (video | lyrics) for our monthly discussion, after reading some interesting biographical information about Katy Perry. SAGDA members felt that the song is way too formulaic, just a catchy pop tune with just enough controversy to make it big. Adding the words "I kissed a girl" to the regular pop standard isn't anything special or interesting. One SAGDA member thought it was like a "gay jingle," while another thought it did anything but put a positive spin on sexual diversity. In the song, kissing girls is "not what good girls do." Does that mean it's only for "bad girls"?

All in all, SAGDA members decided that the video makes no sense. It's just Katy Perry dancing around in nice shoes.

Of course, you can always borrow Katy Perry's One of the Boys from your local library and decide for yourself.

We're # 2!!!!!

That's right, your very own CLP Teen Department staff came in numero dos in the annual Staff Association Quiz Night 2008. We were beaten only by Reference, but those peeps look up trivia for a living so, really the Teen Dept. kick some major booty!! Joseph, Corey and Connie helped to ensure our success by creating Team CLP Teen t-shirts!

Team Actually!, yes, that is our REAL name. -See us here in all our glory!

If you are interested in trying your own hand, or brain, at Trivia, sign-up to join our Breaking Dawn Party Monday 8/4 (that's right, tommorow, baby! Or today depending on when you are reading this.)

-Cat