Share With Pride

Happy Pride Month!‍🏳‍🌈 Here are some book suggestions to celebrate.

1) Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color by Gilbert Baker, memoir of the late activist who designed the original rainbow Pride flag. Baker chronicles his beginnings as a repressed child of the 1950s and closeted war veteran, and his foray into gay liberation activism, which led to the now iconic flag’s creation.

2) We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation provides a rich visual history of LGBTQ pride, from the underground communities and post-Stonewall Pride protests, to AIDS activism and the present generation of activists continuing to fight for their rights and liberties.

3) Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen takes readers across numerous, tight-knit LGBTQ communities in the American South. Allen interviews many queer Southerners about their identities and experiences, providing intersections of race, class and religious spirituality often unseen in mainstream perceptions of the community.

4) Everything You Want to Know About Trans (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Brynne Tannehill serves as a primer for anyone curious about the increasingly visible, often misunderstood transgender community. A trans woman herself, Tannehill dispels misconceptions and myths surrounding trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people, while also answering questions often considered uncomfortable or difficult.

5) Queer Love in Color by Jamal Jordan is a photo book that provides a rich tapestry of American LGBTQ couples and families across cultures, races, ethnicities and age groups. Jordan includes interviews with each of his subjects, showing the many forms love in the LGBTQ community can take.

6) The Shared Heart: Portraits and Stories Celebrating Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Young People by Adam Mastoon is a candid photo collection illustrating the various experiences of homosexual and bisexual people in their late teens and early twenties. Each of the youth featured in Mastoon’s collection relay their own stories of coming out and self-acceptance of their sexual identities.

Summer Programs for Kids and Teens!

Starting the week of June 28, the Henrietta Hankin Library is offering programs for children from birth through high school. Six weeks of fun events are scheduled! All programs are virtual and registration is required.

  • Family Fun – Rhymes, music and books for all ages – Wednesdays at 10:00am
  • Play K – Get Ready for Kindergarten – 4-6 years old – Tuesdays at 10:00am
  • Hankineers – 1st-5th graders – Thursdays at 2:00pm
  • Teen Programs – 6th-12th graders – Wednesdays at 1:30pm

And there’s more . . . our popular “Take-It and Make-It Crafts” are back this summer! Come to the Henrietta Hankin Library Youth Services Dept. on Tuesdays starting June 29 to pick up your craft pack. We are offering six weeks of crafting-at-home fun. No reservations needed – while supplies last.

June KClub Meeting

Need a new hobby to keep your spirits up while we’re all social distancing?  Been watching K-Dramas for years and want to meet new K-Drama lovers?  Love BTS but don’t know much about Korean television?  Break out the kimchi and join us to watch an episode of one the hottest Korean shows, then pop onto a Zoom call to chat about the show, the newest Korean music, and Korean culture – all from the comfort of our own homes.

On June 27, from 3:00pm – 5:00pm, we will be watching the pilot episode of “Doom at Your Service.” Tak Dong-Kyung has been living a fairly ordinary, stable life since the death of her parents until everything starts to come crashing down around her.  She finds out that her boyfriend is married with a child on the way, gets scolded by her boss, is spied on by a pervert, has her brother constantly pestering her for money, and then, worst of all, is diagnosed with brain cancer.  One night, in a bout of drunken misery, she wishes on a shooting star for all the world to end – and accidentally calls up Myul Mang, a messenger of destruction between gods and humans, who chooses to fulfill her wish.

Ages 16+

Registration is required to receive the Zoom link and viewing instructions.  Register on the event calendar here.

For questions, please email us at: ccljtc@ccls.org.

Celebrating Juneteenth

On Saturday, June 19, Americans across the country will celebrate the end of slavery.

What is the history of this observance, which is separate from the Emancipation Proclamation? Juneteenth is a day of observance, celebrating Black freedom and culture. On Thursday, June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation into law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday and naming it Juneteenth National Independence Day.

The end of slavery began on January 1, 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but in many states, news traveled slowly and Black Americans were not immediately freed. This was especially true in Texas, the most distant state.

Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, when General Gordon Granger, from the Union army, arrived in Galveston, Texas and demanded that enslaved Blacks be set free. Upon hearing the news, Black Americans celebrated their freedom and new rights, including buying land. Slavery was officially abolished on January 31, 1865 when the 13th Amendment was ratified.

To help you learn more about racial justice, here are selected lists of fiction and nonfiction, linked to our print and digital catalogs.

FICTION

Beloved by Toni Morrison: print, large type, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora: print, large type, eBook, eAudiobook
Dear Martin by Nic Stone: print, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
Hell of a Book by Jason Mott: print, large type
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: print, large type, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: print, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison: print, eAudiobook
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: print, large type, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates: print, large type, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook


NONFICTION

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates: print, large type, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson print, large type, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin: print, eBook, eAudiobook
Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain: print, large type, audiobook player, eBook, eAudiobook
The Home Place by J. Drew Lanham: print, Book Club in a Bag, eBook, eAudiobook
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall: print, eBook, eAudiobook
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi: print, large type, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: print, book on CD, audiobook player, eBook, eAudiobook
I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown: print, eBook, eAudiobook
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson: print, book on CD, eBook, eAudiobook, YA eAudiobook, DVD, Blu-Ray DVD
A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib: print, eBook
A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier and Lisa Frazier Page: print, eBook
The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza: print, eBook
Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: print, eAudiobook
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson: print, book on CD, audiobook player, eBook


Looking for more? Visit our Black Voices digital collection here.

For print, books on CD, and DVDs, try these keyword searches:
Black independence
End of slavery
Black freedom
Black lives matter
Juneteenth (in Children’s Collections)
Juneteenth (in Adult Book Collections)


You can learn more about Juneteenth at these websites:
Juneteenth.com
National Museum of African American History & Culture
Wikipedia

Virtual Program: July Adult Book Groups

We are holding our existing adult book groups as virtual programs. Please see our July titles and dates below. These groups are all being held online via Zoom.  We are requiring registration for these online book groups in order to send out the Zoom meeting information. Click on the date below to register. Information on our adult book groups can also be found on our website: http://bit.ly/chescolibs-bookgroups

Evening Book Group
Monday, July 12, 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Comics Unbound Group
Monday, July 19, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel by Jason Reynolds and Danica Novgorodoff

Afternoon Book Group
Wednesday, July 21, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Yellow House by Sarah Broom

The Page Turners Book Group and the Whodunits Book Group will return in September.

Registration is required for all book groups. Registration will close at least 2 hours prior to the scheduled start time of the book group. A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants 2 hours before the book group starts.  Make sure to check the email address you registered with to receive the link.  You do not need a Zoom account to attend the virtual book group.

These programs support the PA Forward Civic and Social Literacy Initiative.

CCLS/CCL Board Meeting

Due to the COVID-19 threat, the Board of Trustees of the Chester County Library System/Chester County Library will be holding their monthly board meeting virtually. If you have always wanted to attend a meeting but haven’t had the time, this is your opportunity. Please click this link at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 15 to join the Chester County Library System Board Meeting. The Chester County Library Board Meeting will immediately follow.

Adult Summer Reading Program

The Adult Summer Reading Program, Tails & Tales, is designed for adults age 18 & up to encourage life-long reading habits and runs from June 7, 2021 to August 15, 2021.

Read and/or complete as many activities as you are able using the Bingo card provided at the library Reference Desk. Enter the name of the book, magazine, music CD, or activity (program, museum, park, trail, etc.) on the corresponding numbered line. Please use book titles only once. Except for # 1 and # 22, every other “Reading” square can be completed with any format you prefer — read a print book, an eBook, or listen to an audiobook! Books should be at the adult or young adult reading level. For each square you mark off, your odds of winning a general prize will increase. Get BINGO (5 squares in a row, column, or diagonal) and you will be entered in the Grand Prize drawing. Each participant may earn only one Grand Prize entry.

Can’t come to the library right away to pick up the handouts? You can print out the Bingo card and the Book Review Form at home! You can also fill out the Book Review Form online here if you like.

Need ideas for books to read or listen to? Ask a librarian for a Personalized Reading Suggestion or check out NoveList Plus, our online Reader’s Advisory resource. Check out the Flipster e-magazine resource on your computer or mobile device to help complete your Bingo card activities.

Return your Bingo Card to the Chester County Library or Henrietta Hankin Branch between August 16th and August 28th. Library staff will stamp and count squares completed. Prize winners will be drawn on Monday, August 30th and will be notified by email or phone call.

Registration is required. Click here to sign up!

The Adult Reading Programs are made possible by generous donations from the Friends of the Chester County Library and the Friends of the Henrietta Hankin Branch Library.

Didgeridoo Down Under – A Virtual, Australian-Themed Family Program

Kids, teens and adults, join us on Wednesday, June 16 at 6:00pm for a virtual Didgeridoo Down Under Show. This event is a high-energy, Australian-themed show that combines music, culture, comedy, storytelling and audience movement/participation. The didgeridoo has been played by Aboriginal Australians for at least 1,500 years and is known for its otherworldly sound. But this show is about much more than music. It’s interactive, educational, motivational and super fun! You’ll learn about Aussie culture, animals and more, all while moving & grooving to the pulsing rhythms of the didge!

Registration is required. To register for this special event, please click here. Registration will close two hours prior to the event’s scheduled start time. A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants two hours before the program starts. Make sure to check the email address you registered with to receive the link. You do not need a Zoom account to attend the virtual program.