Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

On today's program: Rep. Jake Wheatley wants legalized weed to fund social programs, including record expungement; an update on a proposed low-to-no barrier homeless shelter on the Mon’s southern shore; a nursing program outside of Philly might be the best bang for your educational buck; the NAACP is calling for the permanent removal of an Allegheny County judge; and one of Pittsburgh’s busiest libraries is temporarily closing.

This is the third part of a three-part WESA special on public libraries. The first part can be found here and the second here.   

Leaders of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh system say they try to meet the needs of the community. For younger users that doesn’t always involve books.

On today’s program: Artworks by artists of color open in a new exhibition Saturday; Carnegie library workers take steps in unionize; and a debate between the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Center for Victims about Marsy’s Law.  

On today’s program: A look at Pittsburgh’s primary elections; scientists seek a cure for a disease endangering Pennsylvania’s bat populations; online privacy on display through the Carnegie libraries; and the controversies and constitutionality of facial recognition technology.

Many overdose fatalities in Pennsylvania are opioid-related, but deaths from methamphetamine and other stimulants are back on the rise. For people who use meth, especially those who also identify as LGBT+, resources can be scarce.

There is a growing need for queer-centered resources in Pittsburgh, says Tommy Brassell, a medical assistant at Central Outreach Wellness Center, a clinic that specializes in LGBT health care. 

Two part-time workers stood on either side of a T-shaped conveyer belt as 61-year-old Joe Spaniol moved down its twin trunks, trading full boxes with empty ones when its contents started to overflow.

People often think of the library as a place to sit quietly while reading or studying.

But the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is challenging that stereotype by turning the library into a creative hub for teens.

It was the second week of June, and Pittsburgh Public Schools had been out of session for two days. And yet, half a dozen teenagers and pre-teens were sitting around a table, enthusiastically engaging in a lesson about ancient Egypt.

“What do we know about Egypt and why was it such a big deal?” asked Oliva Hric, museum educator with the Carnegie Library of Natural History. “Can you think of anything in the landscape that maybe would make Egypt a really great place to live?”

“Because they were on the Nile River they could have had a good water supply,” answered 12-year-old Jonathan Freeman, clearly familiar with the concept.

Freeman and the other teens weren’t at summer school; they were at The Labs at the Carnegie library’s East Liberty branch.

Kalpana Biswas, filmmaker and Board Chairperson of Women in Film and Media Pittsburgh, decided to make a film about women and children in Afghanistan, but she had no experience when it came to filming in an area of conflict.

This led her to ask journalists in the Pittsburgh area for advice on how to prepare. One of the major questions that she asked was, “How do I go through filming without endangering myself?”