YA Art Show Reception is Monday, March 2!

The Pittsburg Public Library will accept any original works of art during the week of Feb 23-27. All artists must be in 7-12 grades. Limit one entry per person.An Art Reception will be Monday, March 2 from 6:30-8:00 pm. Prizes will be awarded for Best of Show, 2nd & 3rd places. For more information, please contact the library's Youth Services Department at (620) 231-8110

Sign Up for Manga Mania!

Are you interest in Anime or Manga Art?
Sign up now for a free workshop at the library!

The Pittsburg Public Library will present three art workshops in January celebrating Manga Art. Joplin Artist Martha Goldman studied art in Japan. She will instruct three classes on Manga Art:

Saturday, Jan. 10, 1:00-4:00 pm
Learn to paint manga style

Saturday, Jan 17, 1:00-4:00 pm
Create your own manga comic book

Saturday, Jan. 24, 1:00-4:00 pm
Design your own manga t-shirt
(Bring your own plain white t-shirt)

Class size is limited to 20 per class. A waiting list will be available. Please sign up in the Youth Service Department of the library or call (620) 231-8110 for more information.

All classes are free and open to young adults in the 7-12 grades only.

Many thanks to the Pritchett Trust for making this program possible!

Eclipse is Teen's Choice for Best Book of 2008!

Over 8,000 teens across the country voted for their favorite books of 2008 during Teen Read Week in October. Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer was voted favorite book of 2008.

Find these books and hundreds of other great titles at the Pittsburg Public Library.

For more information and to vote on favorite books of 2009, please visit the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) at: www.ala.org/yalsa

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
5. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
7. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
8. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
9. Before I Die by Jenny Downham
10. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Open Mic Night: November 17 @ 6:30 pm

Step into the Spotlight!

Win Prizes!

The Pittsburg Public Library will host an “Open Mic Night” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, November 17th for young adults in 7--12 grades. Performers may play music, sing, read a poem, tell a joke, perform a magic trick or express themselves in any artistic manner. Or, you can just sit back and enjoy the show!

A panel of impartial judges will select the top three performers and award prizes. Prizes include Hastings and Starbucks gift cards. Participants may sign up early to reserve a spot in the show. Sign-ups will also be accepted on a first come basis the evening of the show.

Free coffeehouse type refreshments will be served. For more information or to sign-up, stop by the library or call the library’s Youth Services Department at (620) 231-8110.

YA Movie Night! Oct. 27 @ 6:00 pm

Go Green @ the library!

Marvel Movie Night

A recently released movie based on Marvel comic's The Incredible Hulk will be shown on October 27 at 6:00 pm at the Pittsburg Public Library.

This movie will be shown on a big screen with a theater quality sound system.
Free popcorn and candy will be served.

Additionally, if you wear green to the movie, in honor of the Hulk, you will be given a prize!
This program is free and open to young adults in the 7-12 grades.

For more information, please call the library's Youth Services Department at (620) 231-8110.

Celebrate Teen Read Week! October 12-18, 2008

Visit the library and enter the TRW Raffle!

The Pittsburg Public Library will celebrate Teen Read Week October 12-18. Teen Read Week is sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association.

TRW encourages teens to read just for the fun of it. The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) has found that reading for fun is essential to developing and maintaining a life-long reading habit.

The Pittsburg Public Library invites teens to visit the library and check out reading material that they enjoy. The library has a vast collection of young adult books, audio books, MP3 audio books, graphic novels (comic books), and magazines located in the YA area.

Teens may also vote for their favorite book of 2008 and be eligible for daily prize drawings during TRW!


The library will also offer waivers on overdue fines up to $10 to teens in the 7th-12th grades. This applies to current overdue fines only. Lost items are not included and the offer is only good during Teen Read Week. For more information, please contact the library’s Youth Services’ department at 231-8110.

Celebrate Banned Books Week! September 27--October 4, 2008

Play Banned Books Bingo and Celebrate Your Freedom to Read!

Imagine walking into your public library and not finding such books as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, or the Harry Potter series on the shelves.

These books and many others have been the target of censors who seek to ban these books from library shelves.

Banned Books Week - Celebrating the Freedom to Read is a nationwide initiative that reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. Since its inception in 1982, BBW has worked to spotlight the issue of censorship in our schools and public libraries.

The American Library Association states that there were 420 known challenges to remove books from school or public libraries in 2007. Challenges are defined as formal or written complaints filed with a school or library requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. According to the ALA, the reason more books are not banned is because community residents-- along with librarians, teachers and journalists--stand up and speak out for their freedom to read.

BBW is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers, National Association of College Stores, and is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

In honor of Banned Books Week, the Pittsburg Public Library invites Young Adults in the 7-12 grades to play “Banned Books Bingo” on Monday, September 29th at 6:30 p.m. Young Adults will have the opportunity to play a special version of Bingo that uses titles of banned or challenged books on the Bingo cards. Banned and challenged books such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and others will be given out as prizes

For more information regarding Banned Books Week, visit the American Library Association’s website at: http://www.blogger.com/www.ala.org/bbooks or call the Pittsburg Public Library’s Youth Services Department at 231-8110.