Apr 3, 2013 By Casey Sirochman 4 min read

Communities matter at your library: celebrate National Library Week April 14-20. First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is an observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. During this week, the Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians and library workers. Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources. Whether through offering e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or those to support early literacy, librarians listen to the community they serve, and they respond.

The Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville is celebrating National Library Week by unveiling the new teen area, “The Mezz.” Beginning at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, teens are officially welcomed to the area for refreshments, gaming, studying and computer usage in addition to open chatting in person with the Library Director until 7:30 p.m. about their ideas for the area. Keep an eye out for other upcoming teen events at “The Mezz.”

Also, during National Library Week, preschool story time continues at 11 a.m. every Wednesday through May and our adult yoga weekly sessions will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. On April 13 and 27 our scrapbook club will meet upstairs and asthma pediatric education downstairs on Saturday, April 27, from noon to 3 p.m. National Library Week will culminate with the Travel Show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. The event is free and open to the public. Participants will have the opportunity to acquire information on local, regional, national and international travel. Separate children’s activities will be provided. Please call 724-628-1380 and ask for Shirley for more information or to participate in the show.

April will end with an anti-bullying workshop based on “Leo’s Love Story,” the first short novel authored by Robert Hensley, a Fayette County native, from 6 to 7 p.m. on Monday, April 29. The event is free and autographed copies of Hensley’s book will be sold.

In April we celebrate National Library Week, but from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, we are celebrating the 110th birthday of the largest free library in Fayette County. The Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville Board of Trustees extends an invitation to every present and future patron to attend the open house exercises. The festivities will include live music, children story hours, refreshments, birthday cake, 110 minutes of reading the written word, etiquette yesteryear workshops and more.

The Carnegie Free Library Board of Director’s is selling to the highest bidder three wooden card catalogs and two upright pianos. Bids must be submitted in writing to the library by April 15, and the individuals with the winning bids must be fully responsible for hauling the card catalog units and pianos away during normal library business hours. For questions please contact Casey at 724-628-1380. Check out photos of these items on our Facebook page.

Shower the Fayette County libraries this April by visiting our programs or consider spending some time and volunteering. For example, the Fayette County Young Professional Network members are volunteering on April 20 to clean up the library grounds. While you are out and about, don’t forget to stop by the new Connellsville branch of the Somerset Trust located in Walmart and open a new certificate of deposit (CD) to donate $10 to the Carnegie Free Library of Connellsville during the months of March through May. Finally, please don’t forget to ‘Like’ us on Facebook, check out our websites and utilize our free or low cost services and programs.

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Casey Sirochman is the director/head librarian at Carnegie Free Library. She can be reached at 299 S. Pittsburgh St., Connellsville, or by calling 724-628-1380.