CHESTER SPRINGS, PA — On Thursday, August 4^th, from 5:30-7:30 pm, Henrietta Hankin Branch Library is honored to continue its partnership with PBS Books and WETA in presenting a screener and discussion of the recently aired Ken Burns documentary Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness.

This documentary focuses on the mental health crisis among youth in America.  It features first-person accounts from more than 20 young people, ranging in age from 11 to 27, who live with mental health conditions, as well as their parents, teachers, friends, healthcare providers, and independent mental health experts.  The film presents an unvarnished window into daily life with mental health challenges, from seemingly insurmountable obstacles to stories of hope and resilience. Through the experiences of these young people, the film confronts the issues of stigma, discrimination, awareness, and silence, and, in doing so, helps advance a shift in the public perception of mental health issues today.

A panel consisting of local mental health specialists and representatives from groups that provide mental health services in the area will lead a discussion after the 30-minute screener. The panel will include:

• Janet Edgette – Psychologist in private practice specializing in child and adolescent mental health and parenting support/coaching;
• Lindsay Meehan Mayo, CPS – Certified Peer Support Specialist for Peer Support and Teen Talk Lines for Chester and Montgomery Counties;
• Amanda Blue, MPH – Outreach Manager and Director of Mental Health First Aid Program for the College of Health Sciences at West Chester University, and Chair of the Chester County Suicide Prevention Task Force;
• Carol Rothera, MS, LPC – Intervention counselor for 17 years and Supervisor for Student Services in the West Chester Area School District.

Panelists will answer questions on local community resources as well as offer their own takes on issues confronted in the film.

We warmly invite teens, parents, and community members to come in to participate in this important conversation.  Anyone who would like to view the full documentary in advance of the event may stream it for free on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org through July 25^th.

The program will take place in person in the Annex of the library.  Pizza and light refreshments will be provided.  To register, please visit here. This event supports PA Forward Health and Civic and Social Literacies.

The mission of the Chester County and Henrietta Hankin Branch Libraries is to provide informational, educational, and cultural services to the residents of Chester County so that they may be lifelong learners.   The Henrietta Hankin Branch Library is located at 215 Windgate Drive, Chester Springs, PA.  For hours or more information, visit our website at www.chescolibraries.org.

(EXTON, PA) We are so grateful to the West Goshen Lions Club, West Chester Lions Club, and the Lions of Pennsylvania Foundation who presented us with a check today for $3500 after they approved a grant application from our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee aimed to increase accessibility at the library.

These funds will be used to purchase Orcam MyEye equipment, wearable assistive technology made for the visually impaired. This voice-activated device attaches to any glasses. It can instantly read text from a book, smartphone screen, or any other surface, recognize faces and help patrons browse information on their own, and work more efficiently and independently when they visit the library. With the ability to convey visual information audibly, in real-time, and offline this equipment will significantly improve the services we can provide to our visually impaired community. It will be stored at the Reference Desk for patrons to sign out and use in the building.

Screener & Discussion at Henrietta Hankin Branch

CHESTER SPRINGS—Starting this June, Henrietta Hankin Branch Library is partnering with PBS Books to offer free screenings and discussions of recent and forth-coming PBS documentaries.  The community is welcome to participate in the events either virtually or in-person in the Henrietta Hankin Library’s Annex where we will view various clips from the documentaries on our large screen and discuss the content with local experts.

On Wednesday, June 29^th, from 6:00-7:30 pm, join us along with local historian and living history interpreter, Mike Kochan, for a screening of Benjamin Franklin: a film by Ken Burns.   The two-part documentary originally aired on PBS stations on April 4-5, 2022, bringing to life this iconic historical figure whose work and words helped shape our nation. Mike has been portraying and studying the life of Benjamin Franklin for years and will bring incredible knowledge to our discussion.  He will be dressed as Ben and also plans to bring in some reproductions of Mr. Franklin’s machines used in his experiments in the documentary.  This interactive event should prove enlightening and entertaining for all!

In August, Henrietta Hankin Branch Library is planning to present a Screener & Discussion on the Ken Burns documentary Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness, which airs on PBS on June 27-28.  There will be a panel of experts from local agencies at the library to direct the discussion of this very important topic.  Other documentaries that have been approved for screeners and discussions later in the year include America and the Holocaust, and Making Black America. Stay tuned for more details!

We hope you will join us at one or more of these events.  Register here. This event supports PA Forward Civic and Social Literacy.

Join us for this ticketed event! We will host Mary Alice Monroe at the bookshop to celebrate the release of her new book (a sequel to The Islanders) Search For Treasure. Both books are listed on this page and can be purchased separately if desired. Note: We will have copies of the books in the store during the event.

Tickets are required to attend the event on June 20th. Register here for event tickets – $10 per ticket (without the book) and $25 per ticket (with book). Email angella@wellingtonsquarebooks.com with questions. 
Monday, June 20, 2022 – 11:00am to 1:30pm
549 Wellington Square
Exton, PA 19341