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Infants and Writing Skills…How Do I Do That?

When it comes to those five early literacy skills, the term “writing” can be misleading, especially in the context of infants and babies. Read on to learn more about encouraging this early learning skill.



The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

Mix one part smarty-pants science fiction with one part masterful historical fiction and you get one awesome sci-fi/fantasy collaboration from two outstanding authors.


Example of a shell pattern end sheet with watery blue, earthy brown, and pale yellow made from historic bookbinding practices.

Discover Historic Bookbinding: Marbled Endsheets

Back in the good ‘ol days of the 19th and 20th century, we decorated the inside covers of our beloved books with wildly colorful papers. Swirls, speckles, wavy lines and crinkled patterns were all used by book binders to ease the transition of a reader’s eyes from the cover of the book to the meat of the book, the textblock. This transition sometimes was decorated, relative to the context of the book. A book about trains might have had some engines merrily chugging across the flyleaf. Other books might have had plain white endsheets, and others wild, splashy, psychedelic colorful swirls.


Giving Into an Ever-Changing Poetry Collection

Floating somewhere between fantasy and reality, between the mind and the body, is Güera, the latest poetry collection from Rebecca Gaydos. Published in 2016, the book is divided into five distinct parts, including prologue and epilogue. What struck me initially was the sparseness of each page, made up of stanzas that read as prose instead of verse. However, as I began to read, the weight of each word became immediately apparent.


An Interview with Olive Witch Author Abeer Hoque

Abeer Hoque was born in Nigeria to Bangladeshi parents and moved to Pittsburgh when she was thirteen. She struggled to find her place in America, and eventually moved to Bangladesh on her own, where she still didn’t quite fit in. She details her multicultural growing-up and coming-of-age story in a new memoir called Olive Witch. Abeer will be at CLP – Main on Wednesday to give a reading and answer questions, but I was able to catch up with her via email in advance of her event.


March: Books 1-3

This National Book Award-winning graphic series is the memoir of Congressman John Lewis who has dedicated his life to pursing equality and justice for all.


Pastel on illustration board depicting Langston Hughes, chin in hand as if in thought.

The Blues and Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was a poet, novelist, and playwright who captured and chronicled the collective and individual experiences of African Americans. First recognized as a literary figure during the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes … Continued


A preservationist working on a manuscript with paper pasting.

Innovation Week: Sharing the Delights of Old Books

In the Collection, Preservation & Access Department, we are delighted daily by the craftsmanship and the intricate details of the art of bookbinding. But all these delights have been confined to our little attic lab. So how can we share them with you, our patrons? Recently, CP&A applied for and was awarded a 2016 Innovation Grant with the goal to create an online and in-person exhibit that shares some elements of historic bookbinding found in CLP’s collection.


Storytime: Sensory Discoveries at Your Library!

We use our senses to discover, observe and interpret the world, and a sensory discovery is just that: using a sense to discover, observe,and interpret, in other words, learn. In Storytime: Sensory Discoveries, we explore with our senses as we read, sing and play.


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