On August 11, the Chester County Library System held its 1st Annual CCLS Teen Photo Contest Reception. Sixty unique pieces of artwork submitted by teens in Chester County during July were displayed during this open house event. Teens in grades 6-12 were encouraged to submit digital artwork fulfilling the theme Picture Your Adventure in two categories, Traditional Photo and Anything Goes.
Entries poured in throughout Chester County – from Oxford to Honey Brook to West Chester to Berwyn with 20 municipalities, 15 libraries, and 27 schools represented. The creative Teen artwork was viewed by about 80 people during the reception and you now have a chance to view the slideshow on the Chester County Library YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKBRXwF8Yas.
Winners in the Traditional Photo Category are:
1st Place Miriam M., Pottstown, Across Blue Ridges
2nd Place Claire S., Parkesburg, Taking Wing
3rd Place Kathryn K., Berwyn, Foggy Morning Elephants
Winners in the Anything Goes Category are:
1st Place Chase M., Honey Brook, Heart Head
2nd Place Addison G., West Chester, Mixed Media Lighthouse
3rd Place Zachary D., Chesterbrook, Fireworks that look like a Palm tree (inverted)
We look forward to the 2nd Annual CCLS Teen Photo Contest next summer with a new theme “Color Our World.”
Beginning on August 20, the Chester County Library & District Center will launch a new initiative called Connect Tuesdays. Every Tuesday, the Library will welcome a different non-profit organization to host an information table promoting their services. Topics will include housing, employment, mental health, disability assistance, and more.
Each week of Connect Tuesdays is dedicated to a different need: a housing organization will be available on the 1st Tuesday of every month, CareerLink’s employment services on the 2nd, the 3rd alternates between a variety of needs, and the 4th is dedicated to Representative Kristine Howard’s Mobile Office. In addition to the service organizations, patrons can also meet with a resource specialist, called a Mobile Navigator, from the Human Needs Network. This navigator, who will be onsite every Tuesday from 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., can answer questions about social services needs and perform the intake necessary for certain support programs.
Participating organizations include Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP), the Housing Partnership of Chester County, Handi-Crafters, North Star of Chester County, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chester County PA Chapter, and more. Find the full schedule and visitation times at bit.ly/Connect-Tues-CCL. Questions can also be directed to the Chester County Library Reference Department at (610) 344-5957.
If you need help now, dial 2-1-1 to get connected with resources today. For mental health emergencies, dial 9-8-8. Both of these services are available 24/7.
On Thursday, June 27th, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Henrietta Hankin Branch Library will hold a special intergenerational screening of Cycle of Memory, followed by a live virtual discussion with the filmmaker, Alex Leff. This award-winning documentary is about the filmmaker and his younger sibling’s bicycle adventure to find the memories their grandfather lost to Alzheimer’s. Their grandfather, Mel Schwarz, escaped the Great Depression on a bicycle adventure he would remember for the rest of his life. Guided by old photographs of the 1945 trip, his grandchildren search for places he had visited, now aged by time. But while searching for Grandpa Mel’s past, the two siblings are confronted with their own fraught history. If they are going to complete the turbulent journey, they will have to face their own emotional potholes and tumultuous relationship.
Cycle of Memory explores the importance of intergenerational connection, healing painful pasts, and leaving a meaningful time capsule for the future. Selected to be part of many film festivals nation-wide (including Sunset Film Festival of Los Angeles, Long Island International Film Festival, Knoxville Film Festival, Miami Jewish Film Festival and the Art of Bklyn Film Festival to name a few), this film’s unique perspective on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia has been resonating with diverse audiences, from Millennial caregivers to Senior Centers and Councils on Aging. Specifically, family members who have lost a parent to Alzheimer’s and have children of their own have been finding that the film’s uplifting message, emphasizing what can’t be forgotten, provides a blueprint for families to hold on to their connections despite aging and memory loss.
The event, which is co-sponsored by the Henrietta Hankin Branch Library together with Eagleview Landing Senior Living, will begin at 5:30 pm with light refreshments and the free raffling off of some prizes to in-person participants. The screening of the 72-minute long documentary will begin at 6:00 pm and be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker, who will address the audience virtually via Zoom. Participants are welcome to join us virtually if they are not able to make it here in person.
We thank the Friends of the Henrietta Hankin Branch Library for their generous support in making this event possible. Registration is required. To register, visit https://ccls.libcal.com/event/11716130 or call the library at 610-344-4196. Henrietta Hankin Library supports PA Forward Health and Civic and Social Literacy.
Join author David H. Moskowitz to discuss the newest title in his The Creative Positivist Series, The Judge and the Incorrect Decision.
Each book in this series of four is designed to introduce and then expand upon Moskowitz’s legal theory of creative positivism.
Moskowitz explains, “Creative positivism is a legal philosophy that is an extension of the legal positivist theory presented by H.L.A. Hart in his classic work The Concept of Law…I present the foundation for creative positivism and the principles of creative positivism in The Judge and the Incorrect Decision. Accepting that judges make incorrect decisions, as I have defined them, and that these incorrect decisions make new legal rules is the central theme of creative positivism.”
CHESTER SPRINGS—Museums are extremely important to our society for the way they bring out the extraordinary (and ordinary) stories of our past, stories that define our culture. This can be especially significant for African American history and culture which has been largely overlooked in the past. On Thursday, June 20th, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., in the Annex, Henrietta Hankin Branch Library is pleased to share fascinating clips from “Discovering 18th & Vine in Kansas City, stories of American history and culture,” in which host Crosby Kemper (Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services) travels to two museums in Kansas City, Missouri, that chronicle that community’s contributions to a pair of uniquely American pastimes: the Negro League Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.
After the screener, enjoy some light refreshments and join in a discussion with a panel of guests from some of our own local museums: Christopher Miller, Executive Vice President of the African American Museum in Philadelphia; Kathryn Lynch, Collections Manager for the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia; and Ellen Endslow, Director of Collections/Curator at the Chester County History Center, West Chester, PA. Panelists will share their impressions of the screener as well as stories from their own experiences in chronicling local African American history and culture. All of the museums that our panel represents are part of the Museum Pass Program of Chester County Library and Henrietta Hankin Branch, so participants may be inspired to go and visit some of the special exhibits discussed.
“Discovering 18th & Vine in Kansas City: stories of African American History and Culture,” is part of the PBS series, Visions of America: All People, All Stories, All Places. Henrietta Hankin Branch will be hosting screeners and discussions on other episodes from this series in the fall in partnership with PBS Books.
Fans of baseball, jazz, and museums alike are sure to enjoy and gain valuable wisdom from attending this special event. To register and learn more about our amazing guest panelists, visit https://ccls.libcal.com/event/12200561 or call the library at 610-344-4196. Henrietta Hankin Library supports PA Forward Civic and Social Literacy.
Join us at the Henrietta Hankin Branch Library on Thursday, June 6, 2024, from 5:30-7:30 PM for a “Books for all Readers” community workshop. This workshop is designed to inform educators, parents, and caregivers about the science of reading and ways to help early and struggling readers become skilled readers with the help of decodable books.
Decodable books are simple books written for beginning readers and contain specific grapheme-phoneme correspondences that students have learned. This provides learners with the opportunity to use their developing segmenting and blending skills to read words and develop automaticity, which is the ability to recognize words quickly and effortlessly, leading to independent reading success.
In November 2022, State Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks) announced a $125,000 grant to establish a collection of decodable books in every public library across Senate District 44 and to offer training and professional development on these collections for librarians and our community members. The funding for this initiative comes from Pennsylvania’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The 10 libraries in Senate District 44 eligible to receive decodable text collections include Atglen Public Library, Chester Springs Library, Henrietta Hankin Branch, Honey Brook Community Library, Parkesburg Free Library, Spring City Library, and the Phoenixville Public Library in Chester County; Lower Providence Community Library and Royersford Free Public Library in Montgomery County; and the Boone Area Library in Berks County.
“Learning to read is a fundamental human right. The process of learning to read and achieving adequate literacy skills is a unique process for each individual learner. Ensuring availability of phonics-based resources in both our classrooms and community libraries for young learners to practice decoding – a necessary skill for reading comprehension – will enhance structured literacy efforts implemented during explicit instruction,” Senator Katie Muth said. “Through this program, librarians across SD44 have already participated in several training sessions on decodable book collections that improve and promote fluency and accuracy, and help kids practice their phonics skills they have learned and build on those skills to master essential reading competencies. The next step in the program is the June 6th community event and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone at the library!”
The workshop being offered at Henrietta Hankin Branch Library (located at 215 Windgate Dr, Chester Springs, PA 19425) will focus on using decodable books in libraries as resources to support skilled reading for all children. Teach My Kid to Read (teachmykidtoread.org/), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, will present this information. Cigdem Knebel from Simple Words Books will also share her story and present a system she created to assess the quality of decodable books.
After the workshop, attendees are invited to view a display of examples of decodable books, sign up for giveaways, and interact with the presenters.
“Every school community is working to ensure that all children are reading on grade level by third grade, and the library sees lending decodable books as another tool to support these new readers and their teachers and caregivers,” said Joseph L. Sherwood, Executive Director of the Chester County Library System. To register for the workshop, please visit https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/HankinBranchLibrary/communitydecodables.
Join the Chester County Library for its inaugural Read Local! event, which will feature authors and illustrators from Chester County and neighboring regions in Pennsylvania. The event will showcase a variety of genres for both children and adults.
According to April Nickel, the Youth Services Director at Chester County Library, the intention behind this event is to spotlight selected authors and illustrators who have recently self-published or published a book through an independent publisher and have submitted applications to Chester County Library to be able to present their work to the local community. While not all of these books meet the Library’s collection development policy, they strive to provide a platform for these writers and artists to share their work with the public. The Read Local! event is expected to become an annual gathering for creatives in Chester County and nearby areas.
The event will include thirty authors and illustrators of adult and children’s books across various genres. Each participant will have a designated table inside the library where they can sell their books. Attendees can interact with the writers and illustrators and learn about their work and creative process. This open house-style event will take place at the Chester County Library on Sunday, May 19, from 1 pm to 4 pm. No registration is required to attend.
On Saturday, May 18th, from 3:00-4:00 p.m., Henrietta Hankin Branch Library is pleased to welcome Thomas Hawkins to present a fascinating program on the evolution of the bicycle from the High Wheel (or Penny Farthing) bicycle to the modern bike. Join us to learn how these High Wheel bicycles enjoyed their 15 years of fantastic fame in the 1880s and how in modern times the Ordinary High Wheel bicycle is experiencing a revival in manufacturing and racing. After the talk concludes the presenter will demonstrate how to ride both an antique reproduction 1886 Victor High Wheel and a modern Swedish Racing High Wheel in the Henrietta Hankin Library parking lot.
Thomas Hawkins has been riding and racing Penny Farthing bicycles in the United States and Europe for eight years. He was immediately fascinated by these strange and dangerous machines from his first ride and race in the Clustered Spires High Wheel Race in Frederick Maryland in 2015. Since then, he began to research in earnest the history of these early bicycles. In 1817, a Frenchman invented the Hobby Horse for walking and gliding while sitting on two wheels. Around 1865, pedals were attached to the front wheel and the Velocipede was created. By 1870, a series of inventions allowed the creation of the High Wheel or Penny Farthing Bicycle, which underwent a huge surge in popularity in England and the United States. These High Wheel bicycles became so common that they were known as Ordinary bicycles, or simply ‘Ordinaries’. The High Wheel bicycle was rather unsafe, with a high center of gravity and almost no brakes. In a few short years, the modern shaped bicycle was invented, and the ‘Safety’ bicycle, with its wheels of equal size, a diamond frame, and the rear wheel powered by a chain drive was invented. This is essentially the same design as is used today in all modern bikes, one hundred and thirty years later.
Born in England, Thomas has lived and worked as a tropical forester in Nepal and Honduras. As a Research Associate with Missouri Botanical Garden, he made many plant-collecting expeditions to the Cloud Forests of Central and South America. When not riding High Wheel bicycles Thomas enjoys the less dangerous pastime of cave exploration, both in the United States and overseas.
We thank the Chester County Library Trust for their generous support in making this event possible. Registration is required. To register, visit https://ccls.libcal.com/event/12103696 or call the library at 610-344-4196. Henrietta Hankin Library supports PA Forward Civic and Social Literacy.
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