Library News

Last Updated on Friday, 29 August 2014 19:56

Monessen Public Library and Cultural Center reminds everyone that September is "Library Card Sign-Up Month." The most important school supply is an up-to-date library card. Visit the library this month and get a library card.

"Banned Books Week" is commemorated during the week of September 21-27. According to the Office for Intellectual Freedom, at least 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have been the target of ban attempts. The library encourages everyone to read a banned book during the month of September. Here are the first ten books on the list:

1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

6. Ulysses, by James Joyce

7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison

8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

9. 1984, by George Orwell

10. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

Monessen Public Library and Cultural Center, in cooperation with the Greater Monessen Historical Society, presents "Memories and Movies" each Wednesday afternoon in September and October starting at 1 p.m. See award-winning movies of the past that show America's role in keeping our country safe, and listen to readings of actual letters sent back home from our boys in the military. Remember the events, people and p laces that have kept America free. Popcorn will be served.

Claire McMullen will host her monthly "Beginning Genealogy" class on Saturday, September 13 at 11 a.m. in the Pennsylvania Room. The topic will be wills. She will discuss what important genealogical information can be derived from tracking down the last will and testament of an ancestor. The class is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Time is allotted each month for questions and answers on your own personal research.

Dr. John K. Folmar, Emeritus Professor of History at California University of Pennsylvania and President of the Mon Valley River Buffs Association, will the guest speaker for the September meeting of the Mon Valley Genealogy Forum, on Monday, September 15. Dr. Folmar will cover migration over water routes and how it affected genealogy by moving groups of people from one area to another. The session is open to the public and will be held in the Reading Area of the library. Light refreshments will be served.

Fall Storytime sessions will begin on Monday, September 22 at 6 p.m. in the upstairs Children's Room. The theme for September 22 is "Back to School" and has a pencil case craft. On Monday, September 29, the theme will be "Wind Chimes." Stop by the library and pick up a schedule of children's activities for the rest of the year.

The library welcomes the next generation of your library's digital collection with Overdrive e-books! We've made it faster and more intuitive to connect to the books you love. Through the Westmoreland Library Network, OVERDRIVE is available to valid cardholders who are registered at Monessen Public Library. Visit the OVERDRIVE eBook center here: westmoreland.lib.overdrive.com . Call the library for more information about e-books.

The Mon Valley Art Club will hold their annual art show in the library during September. Check the library web page or Facebook page for details.

Monessen Public Library and Cultural Center will be closed on Monday, September 1 for the observance of Labor Day. Winter hours resume the week of September 7, with the extension of Saturday hours being open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.