December 5, 2024 • 29 mins
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh empowers people to transform their lives through life-long learning, digital literacy and connections to others.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Man, Welcome in. This is a public affairs program shedding
the light on the interest, issues and concerns of the
greater Pittsburgh area. Good morning. My name is Johnny Hertwell.
Special guest in studio Andrew Medler, President and Executive of
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Good to see you again. How
are you, sir.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's great to see you as well, Johnny, Thanks for
having me in. I am doing very very well.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
You know, I'm a bit I might be a little biased,
but you know, Pittsburgh has so much to offer the community.
I mean, you have the world's greatest sports teams, world
class museums, and a thriving art scene. But maybe on
top of that list is the greatest library system in
the nation. According to me. I don't know about you,
(00:45):
but you might be a little biased as well.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Right, we are unanimous in that. Let me tell you,
my friend, you are absolutely right, and it is such
an honor to be able to make the best library.
I'm gonna up that the best library in the world
available to all of our neighbors here, all right.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
So for you know, I don't know anybody in this
Pittsburgh area that isn't familiar with your library system. But
for those who aren't, tell us everything we need to
know about Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is here to foster literacy and
to enable exploration and create connections with all of our neighbors.
That's our mission. That's what we do every day of
the week, all across the city of Pittsburgh, and we
work together with the other amazing dozens of libraries across
Alleghany County to make sure that all of our neighbors
(01:38):
have the access to what they want and what they
need to have an amazing life.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
How many libraries are under your control?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
We have twenty libraries as part of Carnegie Library of
Pittsburgh CLP for short, and that is that includes branches
across the city and it includes the Alleghany County Law
Lifebrary downtown in the City County Building, which we are
honored to make available to anyone who needs information and
(02:08):
support for any legal needs that they may have.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You know, I think a lot of people would automatically
assume any library in the Pittsburgh region is controlled by
Carnegie Library. That is not true. But you work with
those other libraries as well.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
We do I'll tell you libraries in general, particularly public libraries,
were a collaborative profession. We're really nice people who like
to collaborate rather than being competitive, and so we do
exactly what you said. We help each other. And there
are forty six distinct public library organizations across our county.
We're all members of the Allegheny County Library Association, and
(02:46):
we are all supported by the Regional Asset District. And
we have different boards, and we have different budgets and
different certainly neighborhoods that we serve. But again, we come
together to help each other. So what does that look like?
When you want to check out a book from anywhere
in the county, we will get it to you regardless
(03:07):
of where you live, regardless of what your closest library is,
whether it's a COLP location or one of the other libraries.
And that's one example. And it counts for print books,
and it counts for ebooks as well, and it also
is programming that happens. You know. Really, the core things
that libraries do to accomplish that mission that I talked
(03:30):
about are our collections, our programs that we provide, our
spaces where people can come together and that's physical and
virtual as well. And it's the people. It's our neighbors
who are also our colleagues serving folks in the libraries.
So again, we help each other. And wherever you live
(03:52):
in the county and whatever your closest public library is,
know that we are all working together to get you
what you want and you need.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
This is the time of year that you're really putting
out an appeal to support the libraries. And if somebody
wants to make a donation or if they want to
become a volunteer, how can they do.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
That Carnagelibrary dot org slash donate, please contribute help us
because we are all in this together, and we have
amazingly generous financial supporters across the city. And we also
have folks who give their time and their energy and
their skills and their talents to help us help each other.
(04:31):
So yeah, come on, are part of helping each other.
So why is it important to give to the library?
Where does that money go? So it goes right into
the services that we provide. And again those are our
programs and our collections and our spaces and our people.
And so, for example, a really growing need that we
have in the library right now. That is I say growing,
(04:53):
maybe exploding is a better word. Is our ebook services.
And this is something that so many of us use
all the time. And ebooks in libraries are free to
check out, as they should be, and yet they're not
free to provide. In fact, the costs of providing ebooks
and audio books and other digital resources, those costs are
(05:18):
really going up exponentially. And so if that's something that
is important to you and you like reading ebooks and
print books, but ebooks particularly, please know that we are
using all the help that we can need to be
able to make those as available as possible.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
They can provide it for free to you exactly, all right.
So and then we mentioned volunteers, so tell us about
your volunteer program.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
So this is something that warms my heart. I think
the most of the amazing things that we do together,
and in many ways volunteers that the library are a
service as they serve because giving back to the community
this way by coming in, being a reading ambassador, reading
with young kids, coming in and helping us put on
(06:13):
programs together. And actually there are so many ways that
we can help more than I can even talk about.
In the time that we have. So it's about the
love that people have for libraries and providing a space
to not only experience that be part of the library family,
but give back while you're doing that. So it goes
both ways. I've always been a huge supporter of libraries.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
When my first, my oldest son was born, I went
into a public library to get some books to read
to him and ended up checking out books for me.
And that that developed my love of reading, which continues
till today. But I think it was vital that spark
(06:57):
that yearn for learning reading really helped me in my
career in so many ways. So I've always been a
huge supporter of libraries. And I'm sure that you know,
because of you know, Pittsburgh's long history of libraries, you
probably hear those kind of stories over and over again.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
We have one hundred and thirty years of those amazing
and impactful stories, you know. Certainly in my job, I
often am looking at the big picture and the number
of libraries and the hundreds of thousands of people who
come into the library, whether it's physical or virtual, And
it's so important to remember that every one of those statistics,
(07:40):
of all the millions of books that are checked out
Those are individuals, those are people, and there's those sparks
that are happening in each of those statistics that administrators
like me love to think about and talk about. And
so your story is one that excites me so much
because I know that that's happening every single day. And
(08:03):
you know, one thing that we have done in this
past year to help make that happen is we have
mailed library cards to fourteen thousand Pittsburgh Public School scholars
And that's a spark. That's a start to provide that
access to everything that the library provides. And just knowing
(08:28):
that again, fourteen thousand young people have library cards now
that they didn't have when this school year started is
an amazingly, amazingly exciting thing and it's going to lead
to one hundred and thirty more years of these stories
just like yours.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I hope I'm around for another thirty years and use
your facilities that launch.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I'll see you there.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Okay. So when it comes to libraries, you're more than
just a provider of books or ebooks or audiobooks and
things like that. You can you also have you know,
computer access and things like that. But your programs are amazing.
Can you kind of talk about some of the programs
(09:09):
you have throughout the calendar year.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yeah, And I would say it's books, and rather than
saying it's more than just books or not just books,
you know, because I don't want to make the books
feel bad, but also we love the books. It's really
coore to what we do. So I will say that
it's books and that we provide and it is across
all age and interest levels. And I always say that
(09:33):
there is something for everybody in the library because trust
me on this, everybody is interested in something. Try to
find me somebody who's not interested in anything, and you
can't do it. So whatever you're interested in, we have
books and programs around that. So, for example, for our
youngest literacy lovers, we have the Classic Story Times where
(09:58):
you come in and you are actually learning about literacy
and how to read through the books and the songs
and the puppets and the interaction and the felt boards
that are happening. And so that is one thing that
happens that again is a classic that a lot of
(10:19):
people will remember. There's a lot of nostalgia and libraries too,
let's be honest, and people remember going to storytime when
they were little. We're doing that, and we are doing
it in innovative ways. On our website, for example, there
are virtual story times that you can engage the youngsters
in your life with anytime you want.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
And there's no cost to the person that is using those.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Absolutely free, absolutely free. And then in school age, we
have kids clubs in our libraries across the city, which
are times for young people to come together and do
that exploration that is in our mission statement talked about.
Everybody's interested in something and there's a lot out there
(11:04):
that you may not have discovered yet, especially if you're
a young person. So our kids club programs are a
chance for folks to come together and explore and make
new friends and have an amazing time. We also have
teen clubs, and one thing we're doing, especially as we
move forward into twenty twenty five, is looking at the
(11:27):
role of AI in providing library services and programs. That
also reminds me of programming that we have for adults
career searching. We have some programs coming up that can
help folks learn how to leverage AI and other new
technologies in their own job search and career development. So
(11:51):
that's a great example, we're expanding our team internship programs,
so workforce development for young people on the verge of
their own careers are something that's programming that we provide
as well. And for grown ups, we haven't forgotten grown ups.
We have book clubs, and we have genealogy programs, and
(12:12):
we have local history days, and we have crafting programs,
and we have spaces in our program or in our libraries.
We have spaces in our libraries where folks can just
come in and be and be together. And that is
a really important service as well, because in a time
where more and more people are feeling lonelier and lonelier,
(12:37):
the library is a place where participating in a program
yes is great, and just being in a communal, free
space is really priced.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
You know, it's just unfortunate that there's nothing going on
at the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh. Andrew justin Oh, we
didn't even talk about the book fairs that you that
you also provide, because you can talk about what happened,
you know, in your previous one, and what do you
have planned coming up in twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Save the date, everybody, Oh May thirty first, the twenty
twenty five Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books will be taking
place at the main Library in Oakland, and this will
be the fourth year that Pittsburgh has had a book festival.
Because you know, we do love our festivals here. We
do love our festivals and we love our books. So
(13:27):
this is so great that these things that we love
so much are coming together and that the library can
support them. So in the twenty twenty five version of this,
we're going to have even more authors than we had
before and more opportunities for folks to interact with either
your favorite author because we have some really great names
(13:48):
coming who I'm not at liberty to reveal quite yet,
but stay tuned, and also again to that exploration that
I'm obsessed with, to explore and discover new authors and
new books that you don't know that you love yet.
And so this is a day long festival for all ages,
from kids up through the youngest of adults and the
(14:09):
oldest of adults too. And again it's coming together and
engaging the community in literacy and the love of learning
and literature that comes out of that. So come and
have interactive story times, have face time with authors that
you know and love, and don't know yet that you
(14:32):
love and celebrate being together surrounded by books.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
You know which library it is going to be held, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
It'll be at the main library in Oakland.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
All right, So tell us a little bit of what
happened last year, so we have an idea of what
we can look forward to at the festival in May.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Sure. So at the twenty twenty four Greater Pittsburgh Festival
of Books, we had over one hundred authors and we
had even more that we're coming from diverse backgrounds and
experiences than ever before. And we had a children's programming
area where there were story times and craft programs and
interactive author events there as well. We also had amazing
(15:11):
panels where local folks would delve into topics where there
were a bunch of books on to again explore topics
that they're interested in. There was a great, great program
on the history allegedly of the mafia in Pittsburgh, and
that was a room. It was the biggest room where
(15:34):
the festival was held, and that was jam packed. It
was absolutely full.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
How many Pittsburgh's participated in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So over three thousand folks came last year. Yeah, and
that was when it was pouring rain. So this year,
I'm sure we're calling for even more. We'll see you there,
all right.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
You talked about a diversity, So I want to talk
to you a little bit about you Inspire Us, the
campaign of you Inspire Us. Can can you tell us
everything we need to know about this campaign?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yeah? Well, you know, the words that are etched above
the main library in Oakland say free to the people.
And that's what it's about. This is what everything we
do is about. Is the people is all of us.
And so since we are serving the people, we are
serving each other. We need everyone's input into what that
(16:26):
service should look like and what folks want and need
from their library. And so as we were coming together
with our neighbors in the community to develop our next
five year strategic plan, which I think, I mean, I'm
a bit of a strategic planning geek. So I love
the post it notes and the planning and the dreaming,
and I do because it's important to know where you're going,
(16:49):
because if you don't know where you're going, how are
you going to get there? So to figure out where
we were going, we brought the community together, thousands of
people across the city the county and the Commonwealth contributed
their own hopes and wishes and dreams for what the
library can and should be, and that was frankly inspiring.
(17:11):
I mean, those of us who spend every day and
every second of every day thinking and dreaming about libraries.
We have our ideas and hearing what other people want
and need, and that maybe we're already doing, but maybe
we're not doing yet is just the inspiration for what
(17:31):
we're going to do moving forward to did you get
any feedback that surprised you? There were Of the literally
thousands of people who contributed their thoughts, A main thing
that I heard was more. There are things that we're doing,
like English language classes, for example, we heard very consistently
(17:53):
we want more of these. A more teen space was
something that we heard, and so that was a big
thing that I thought we might get, but I was
surprised at how much of the more we got. Another
thing was an expansion in social service needs. So, for example,
(18:20):
you know what happens in the world happens in the
public library, and many of our public libraries have narcan
available for when our neighbors are experiencing a need for that,
And so I was surprised, and that's something that is
not new that we have provided. We had that available
for quite some time, but I was surprised by the
(18:40):
extent to which folks understood the need for more of
that type of service and to the extent for which
folks were asking for that. And so one way that
we have responded to that is to not only have
more supplies such as NARCAN partnership, particularly with the Alleghany
(19:02):
County Health Department, but also bringing social workers into our team.
And so that is something that across Allegheny County, more
and more libraries have social workers on staff or interns
from the University of Pittsburgh School social Work coming in
to help our neighbors. And to me, that is really
(19:27):
a very appropriate and natural extension of what we do.
What does the library do. We provide the information and
the resources that our neighbors need, and I was surprised
by the amount of which our neighbors were saying we
need these resources and so we're inspired.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Makes me so happy because I'm a big proponent of
I think the community needs to learn how to administer
CBR NARCAN, and I think the fact that you addressed
mental health needs is amazing. I don't think it's I'm
surprised that the library would take on that responsibility. It's
a it's a happy surprise, but I'm not surprised that
you're willing to take on that a little bit of
(20:07):
that responsibility because you're you're you know, you're the you know,
you're kind of the first step in educating Pittsburgh. You know,
the libraries. You know, we get introduced to the library
at a very young age, and it's, you know, something
that we can enjoy our entire life. Absolutely, all right,
So we would talk. You talked a little bit about
strategic planning, So tell us a little bit more about
(20:29):
your vision for Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah. So, our vision, as we talked about in the
strategic plan, is about the library being at the heart
of the community and providing access to knowledge and my
favorite part, creating joy. So my vision is libraries being
places that are full of joy. Now, we just got
(20:54):
done talking about some some difficult things that we experience
in our communities, and that is not to not acknowledge
or respect that. However, even with helping each other through
difficult times, to me, I find joy and satisfaction in
(21:14):
that and in helping each other.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Well, there's joy in helping the community, and that's what
you're doing exactly. So I think it's in line with you, actually.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
So my vision is joy and also that when you
think of the library, you think of books. When you
think of books, you think of the library, and I
want that to be in everybody's mind.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Gotcha, So what are some of the pillars that you
want to make up with this strategic plan?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Sure? So again I'll go into strategic plan geek out
mode here and say that we have four pillars that
are supporting what we're doing and how we're going to
get there. And that is community connections. And that's so
much of what we've been talking about here is making
the connections amongst members of our communities, but also communities themselves.
So the library is connected and also that that goes
(22:07):
the other direction as well, and people feel more connected
to the library. A second is responsive services, and that
goes to that inspiration point we were talking about, in
that we are being responsive to the needs that folks have.
And just as we all in our personal lives evolve
(22:28):
and grow and change, libraries have evolved and grown and changed.
CLP has for the last one hundred and thirty years
and things that we do now are different than we
did before, and why because we were being responsive to
what our neighbors wanted and needed. So that's really really key.
And what do we have to do to accomplish that Listen, collaborate, talk,
(22:53):
and share. And so that's why I encourage everybody to
not be shy at all about letting us know what
they want and they need. Regional cooperation is another strategic priority,
and that goes back to what we were also saying
in terms of us as a county and a region
supporting each other in our library services because we know
(23:17):
the benefits that those services have to the lives of
so many and thus the health of our entire region.
So that's really really key. And organizational excellence. I mean,
we can't do any of this if we don't have
a strong foundation at the library. We have foundational practices
(23:39):
and beliefs upon which all of this is built, and
that's inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, and so we have
to build on those to make sure our own house
is in order so that we can provide the services
to the community. So, for example, we are working on
a city wide building maintenance Facility plan to make sure
(24:03):
that our spaces are ready for the future. We have
the best branch libraries in the country. No other city
in this country has invested as much in every single
branch library. Nobody else has done it better, more better
than Pittsburgh. So let's make sure that we're ready for
that for the future. Let's make sure that our tech
(24:23):
is secure, working through a cybersecurity audit with our partners
at the Electronic Information Network to make sure that the
way we provide our hybrid services are secure for everyone,
and that we have the financial and staff resources to
do all of this well. Because you know, we're talking
(24:44):
a pretty big game here about what we can and
will provide, so we're going to make sure that we
have what we need to do that.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
We're talking with Andrew Medler of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
You mentioned AI just a few minutes ago. Expand what
how that is integrated with the Pittsburgh Library.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Well, I think that's really what's key about technology is
it is a tool to help us do what we
want and need to do, So it's important to us.
I mean, AI is not new, it's more popular and
more talked about now than it has been, and it's growing.
So it's absolutely growing, and so it's incumbent on us
(25:26):
to look at this tool and say, all right, how
can this tool help us to do what we want
and need to do and in what ways is it
appropriate and what ways maybe is it less appropriate. So,
for example, AI is really helpful in our chat information
(25:48):
services that we have on our library website Carnegie library
dot org. We also are helping our neighbors know about
it and how they can use it in their life
because I want people to think, just like I want
people to think about books in the library together. I
want when people think, Wow, what is that whatever that is?
(26:09):
What is that thing? I want to learn about that.
I want to know what that is? Aha, the library
can help me learn about whatever that is. And so
the same thing is happening with AI. We're partnering with
universities and organizations around the region who can help us
learn more about it so that we can teach our
(26:30):
neighbors about it and how they can use AI as
a tech tool in their own work and lives.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
To quote, mister Rogers, look for helpers, and you are
one of the helpers in the community. But who is
helping you? Who do you look to the schools, teachers,
government officials, Who is in your.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Corner and who inspires us? This is exactly the question
to be asking. I'm so glad that you did. We
have amazing, amazing support from the Allegheny Regional Assets District,
and these folks who are entrusted with investing our taxpayer resources,
are so committed to the public libraries of our county.
(27:14):
They are our greatest fans and our greatest supporters, and
we really love and value working with them, and so
they really are key. We have incredible, incredible team members
at the Pittsburgh Public Schools and in the other schools
across our city as well. So for example, our cardfest
(27:36):
program that I talked about, they know how important it
is for kids to have library cards and work with
us to make sure that happens. Pittsburgh Public Schools is
a great partner with us on our summer reading program
to keep that learning going during the summer and the
fun I should say as well, So that's the educational
(27:57):
community is key as well. The network of other libraries
across the region, whether it's public or academic or university.
We come together. We may do library services in different ways,
but we help and support each other as well. So
it really is our funders and all of our amazing,
(28:19):
amazing donors from across the country. It's amazing to me
how many folks contribute financially to Carnegie Library Pittsburgh from
other states and other countries because they know the amazing
things that happen here from experiencing it themselves and remembering that.
So again, from our funders, to our educational partners, to
(28:43):
our cultural partners, and to our government leaders, to the
mayor and to the county executive and our councils, we
all do this together.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
All right. It's not too late to give to the library.
And if somebody wants to make a donation or to
become a volunteer, what's the process.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Carnegie Library dot org, slash donate email me too. Director
at Carnegie Library dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I would love to hear from you, and once again
the website.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Carnegie Library dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Andrew Medler, President and Executive of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
It's such a polivery privilege to have such an organization
in this community. Thank you for everything you guys do.
Thank you as always If you have any comments, concerns,
or an idea for a future program, please email us
from this radio station's website. I'm Johnny Heartwell, thank you
(29:32):
so much for listening.
Man, Welcome in. This is a public affairs program shedding
the light on the interest, issues and concerns of the
greater Pittsburgh area. Good morning. My name is Johnny Hertwell.
Special guest in studio Andrew Medler, President and Executive of
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Good to see you again. How
are you, sir.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's great to see you as well, Johnny, Thanks for
having me in. I am doing very very well.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
You know, I'm a bit I might be a little biased,
but you know, Pittsburgh has so much to offer the community.
I mean, you have the world's greatest sports teams, world
class museums, and a thriving art scene. But maybe on
top of that list is the greatest library system in
the nation. According to me. I don't know about you,
(00:45):
but you might be a little biased as well.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Right, we are unanimous in that. Let me tell you,
my friend, you are absolutely right, and it is such
an honor to be able to make the best library.
I'm gonna up that the best library in the world
available to all of our neighbors here, all right.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
So for you know, I don't know anybody in this
Pittsburgh area that isn't familiar with your library system. But
for those who aren't, tell us everything we need to
know about Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is here to foster literacy and
to enable exploration and create connections with all of our neighbors.
That's our mission. That's what we do every day of
the week, all across the city of Pittsburgh, and we
work together with the other amazing dozens of libraries across
Alleghany County to make sure that all of our neighbors
(01:38):
have the access to what they want and what they
need to have an amazing life.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
How many libraries are under your control?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
We have twenty libraries as part of Carnegie Library of
Pittsburgh CLP for short, and that is that includes branches
across the city and it includes the Alleghany County Law
Lifebrary downtown in the City County Building, which we are
honored to make available to anyone who needs information and
(02:08):
support for any legal needs that they may have.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You know, I think a lot of people would automatically
assume any library in the Pittsburgh region is controlled by
Carnegie Library. That is not true. But you work with
those other libraries as well.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
We do I'll tell you libraries in general, particularly public libraries,
were a collaborative profession. We're really nice people who like
to collaborate rather than being competitive, and so we do
exactly what you said. We help each other. And there
are forty six distinct public library organizations across our county.
We're all members of the Allegheny County Library Association, and
(02:46):
we are all supported by the Regional Asset District. And
we have different boards, and we have different budgets and
different certainly neighborhoods that we serve. But again, we come
together to help each other. So what does that look like?
When you want to check out a book from anywhere
in the county, we will get it to you regardless
(03:07):
of where you live, regardless of what your closest library is,
whether it's a COLP location or one of the other libraries.
And that's one example. And it counts for print books,
and it counts for ebooks as well, and it also
is programming that happens. You know. Really, the core things
that libraries do to accomplish that mission that I talked
(03:30):
about are our collections, our programs that we provide, our
spaces where people can come together and that's physical and
virtual as well. And it's the people. It's our neighbors
who are also our colleagues serving folks in the libraries.
So again, we help each other. And wherever you live
(03:52):
in the county and whatever your closest public library is,
know that we are all working together to get you
what you want and you need.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
This is the time of year that you're really putting
out an appeal to support the libraries. And if somebody
wants to make a donation or if they want to
become a volunteer, how can they do.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
That Carnagelibrary dot org slash donate, please contribute help us
because we are all in this together, and we have
amazingly generous financial supporters across the city. And we also
have folks who give their time and their energy and
their skills and their talents to help us help each other.
(04:31):
So yeah, come on, are part of helping each other.
So why is it important to give to the library?
Where does that money go? So it goes right into
the services that we provide. And again those are our
programs and our collections and our spaces and our people.
And so, for example, a really growing need that we
have in the library right now. That is I say growing,
(04:53):
maybe exploding is a better word. Is our ebook services.
And this is something that so many of us use
all the time. And ebooks in libraries are free to
check out, as they should be, and yet they're not
free to provide. In fact, the costs of providing ebooks
and audio books and other digital resources, those costs are
(05:18):
really going up exponentially. And so if that's something that
is important to you and you like reading ebooks and
print books, but ebooks particularly, please know that we are
using all the help that we can need to be
able to make those as available as possible.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
They can provide it for free to you exactly, all right.
So and then we mentioned volunteers, so tell us about
your volunteer program.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
So this is something that warms my heart. I think
the most of the amazing things that we do together,
and in many ways volunteers that the library are a
service as they serve because giving back to the community
this way by coming in, being a reading ambassador, reading
with young kids, coming in and helping us put on
(06:13):
programs together. And actually there are so many ways that
we can help more than I can even talk about.
In the time that we have. So it's about the
love that people have for libraries and providing a space
to not only experience that be part of the library family,
but give back while you're doing that. So it goes
both ways. I've always been a huge supporter of libraries.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
When my first, my oldest son was born, I went
into a public library to get some books to read
to him and ended up checking out books for me.
And that that developed my love of reading, which continues
till today. But I think it was vital that spark
(06:57):
that yearn for learning reading really helped me in my
career in so many ways. So I've always been a
huge supporter of libraries. And I'm sure that you know,
because of you know, Pittsburgh's long history of libraries, you
probably hear those kind of stories over and over again.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
We have one hundred and thirty years of those amazing
and impactful stories, you know. Certainly in my job, I
often am looking at the big picture and the number
of libraries and the hundreds of thousands of people who
come into the library, whether it's physical or virtual, And
it's so important to remember that every one of those statistics,
(07:40):
of all the millions of books that are checked out
Those are individuals, those are people, and there's those sparks
that are happening in each of those statistics that administrators
like me love to think about and talk about. And
so your story is one that excites me so much
because I know that that's happening every single day. And
(08:03):
you know, one thing that we have done in this
past year to help make that happen is we have
mailed library cards to fourteen thousand Pittsburgh Public School scholars
And that's a spark. That's a start to provide that
access to everything that the library provides. And just knowing
(08:28):
that again, fourteen thousand young people have library cards now
that they didn't have when this school year started is
an amazingly, amazingly exciting thing and it's going to lead
to one hundred and thirty more years of these stories
just like yours.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I hope I'm around for another thirty years and use
your facilities that launch.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I'll see you there.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Okay. So when it comes to libraries, you're more than
just a provider of books or ebooks or audiobooks and
things like that. You can you also have you know,
computer access and things like that. But your programs are amazing.
Can you kind of talk about some of the programs
(09:09):
you have throughout the calendar year.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Yeah, And I would say it's books, and rather than
saying it's more than just books or not just books,
you know, because I don't want to make the books
feel bad, but also we love the books. It's really
coore to what we do. So I will say that
it's books and that we provide and it is across
all age and interest levels. And I always say that
(09:33):
there is something for everybody in the library because trust
me on this, everybody is interested in something. Try to
find me somebody who's not interested in anything, and you
can't do it. So whatever you're interested in, we have
books and programs around that. So, for example, for our
youngest literacy lovers, we have the Classic Story Times where
(09:58):
you come in and you are actually learning about literacy
and how to read through the books and the songs
and the puppets and the interaction and the felt boards
that are happening. And so that is one thing that
happens that again is a classic that a lot of
(10:19):
people will remember. There's a lot of nostalgia and libraries too,
let's be honest, and people remember going to storytime when
they were little. We're doing that, and we are doing
it in innovative ways. On our website, for example, there
are virtual story times that you can engage the youngsters
in your life with anytime you want.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
And there's no cost to the person that is using those.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Absolutely free, absolutely free. And then in school age, we
have kids clubs in our libraries across the city, which
are times for young people to come together and do
that exploration that is in our mission statement talked about.
Everybody's interested in something and there's a lot out there
(11:04):
that you may not have discovered yet, especially if you're
a young person. So our kids club programs are a
chance for folks to come together and explore and make
new friends and have an amazing time. We also have
teen clubs, and one thing we're doing, especially as we
move forward into twenty twenty five, is looking at the
(11:27):
role of AI in providing library services and programs. That
also reminds me of programming that we have for adults
career searching. We have some programs coming up that can
help folks learn how to leverage AI and other new
technologies in their own job search and career development. So
(11:51):
that's a great example, we're expanding our team internship programs,
so workforce development for young people on the verge of
their own careers are something that's programming that we provide
as well. And for grown ups, we haven't forgotten grown ups.
We have book clubs, and we have genealogy programs, and
(12:12):
we have local history days, and we have crafting programs,
and we have spaces in our program or in our libraries.
We have spaces in our libraries where folks can just
come in and be and be together. And that is
a really important service as well, because in a time
where more and more people are feeling lonelier and lonelier,
(12:37):
the library is a place where participating in a program
yes is great, and just being in a communal, free
space is really priced.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
You know, it's just unfortunate that there's nothing going on
at the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh. Andrew justin Oh, we
didn't even talk about the book fairs that you that
you also provide, because you can talk about what happened,
you know, in your previous one, and what do you
have planned coming up in twenty twenty five?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Save the date, everybody, Oh May thirty first, the twenty
twenty five Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books will be taking
place at the main Library in Oakland, and this will
be the fourth year that Pittsburgh has had a book festival.
Because you know, we do love our festivals here. We
do love our festivals and we love our books. So
(13:27):
this is so great that these things that we love
so much are coming together and that the library can
support them. So in the twenty twenty five version of this,
we're going to have even more authors than we had
before and more opportunities for folks to interact with either
your favorite author because we have some really great names
(13:48):
coming who I'm not at liberty to reveal quite yet,
but stay tuned, and also again to that exploration that
I'm obsessed with, to explore and discover new authors and
new books that you don't know that you love yet.
And so this is a day long festival for all ages,
from kids up through the youngest of adults and the
(14:09):
oldest of adults too. And again it's coming together and
engaging the community in literacy and the love of learning
and literature that comes out of that. So come and
have interactive story times, have face time with authors that
you know and love, and don't know yet that you
(14:32):
love and celebrate being together surrounded by books.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
You know which library it is going to be held, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
It'll be at the main library in Oakland.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
All right, So tell us a little bit of what
happened last year, so we have an idea of what
we can look forward to at the festival in May.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Sure. So at the twenty twenty four Greater Pittsburgh Festival
of Books, we had over one hundred authors and we
had even more that we're coming from diverse backgrounds and
experiences than ever before. And we had a children's programming
area where there were story times and craft programs and
interactive author events there as well. We also had amazing
(15:11):
panels where local folks would delve into topics where there
were a bunch of books on to again explore topics
that they're interested in. There was a great, great program
on the history allegedly of the mafia in Pittsburgh, and
that was a room. It was the biggest room where
(15:34):
the festival was held, and that was jam packed. It
was absolutely full.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
How many Pittsburgh's participated in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So over three thousand folks came last year. Yeah, and
that was when it was pouring rain. So this year,
I'm sure we're calling for even more. We'll see you there,
all right.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
You talked about a diversity, So I want to talk
to you a little bit about you Inspire Us, the
campaign of you Inspire Us. Can can you tell us
everything we need to know about this campaign?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yeah? Well, you know, the words that are etched above
the main library in Oakland say free to the people.
And that's what it's about. This is what everything we
do is about. Is the people is all of us.
And so since we are serving the people, we are
serving each other. We need everyone's input into what that
(16:26):
service should look like and what folks want and need
from their library. And so as we were coming together
with our neighbors in the community to develop our next
five year strategic plan, which I think, I mean, I'm
a bit of a strategic planning geek. So I love
the post it notes and the planning and the dreaming,
and I do because it's important to know where you're going,
(16:49):
because if you don't know where you're going, how are
you going to get there? So to figure out where
we were going, we brought the community together, thousands of
people across the city the county and the Commonwealth contributed
their own hopes and wishes and dreams for what the
library can and should be, and that was frankly inspiring.
(17:11):
I mean, those of us who spend every day and
every second of every day thinking and dreaming about libraries.
We have our ideas and hearing what other people want
and need, and that maybe we're already doing, but maybe
we're not doing yet is just the inspiration for what
(17:31):
we're going to do moving forward to did you get
any feedback that surprised you? There were Of the literally
thousands of people who contributed their thoughts, A main thing
that I heard was more. There are things that we're doing,
like English language classes, for example, we heard very consistently
(17:53):
we want more of these. A more teen space was
something that we heard, and so that was a big
thing that I thought we might get, but I was
surprised at how much of the more we got. Another
thing was an expansion in social service needs. So, for example,
(18:20):
you know what happens in the world happens in the
public library, and many of our public libraries have narcan
available for when our neighbors are experiencing a need for that,
And so I was surprised, and that's something that is
not new that we have provided. We had that available
for quite some time, but I was surprised by the
(18:40):
extent to which folks understood the need for more of
that type of service and to the extent for which
folks were asking for that. And so one way that
we have responded to that is to not only have
more supplies such as NARCAN partnership, particularly with the Alleghany
(19:02):
County Health Department, but also bringing social workers into our team.
And so that is something that across Allegheny County, more
and more libraries have social workers on staff or interns
from the University of Pittsburgh School social Work coming in
to help our neighbors. And to me, that is really
(19:27):
a very appropriate and natural extension of what we do.
What does the library do. We provide the information and
the resources that our neighbors need, and I was surprised
by the amount of which our neighbors were saying we
need these resources and so we're inspired.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Makes me so happy because I'm a big proponent of
I think the community needs to learn how to administer
CBR NARCAN, and I think the fact that you addressed
mental health needs is amazing. I don't think it's I'm
surprised that the library would take on that responsibility. It's
a it's a happy surprise, but I'm not surprised that
you're willing to take on that a little bit of
(20:07):
that responsibility because you're you're you know, you're the you know,
you're kind of the first step in educating Pittsburgh. You know,
the libraries. You know, we get introduced to the library
at a very young age, and it's, you know, something
that we can enjoy our entire life. Absolutely, all right,
So we would talk. You talked a little bit about
strategic planning, So tell us a little bit more about
(20:29):
your vision for Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah. So, our vision, as we talked about in the
strategic plan, is about the library being at the heart
of the community and providing access to knowledge and my
favorite part, creating joy. So my vision is libraries being
places that are full of joy. Now, we just got
(20:54):
done talking about some some difficult things that we experience
in our communities, and that is not to not acknowledge
or respect that. However, even with helping each other through
difficult times, to me, I find joy and satisfaction in
(21:14):
that and in helping each other.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Well, there's joy in helping the community, and that's what
you're doing exactly. So I think it's in line with you, actually.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
So my vision is joy and also that when you
think of the library, you think of books. When you
think of books, you think of the library, and I
want that to be in everybody's mind.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Gotcha, So what are some of the pillars that you
want to make up with this strategic plan?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Sure? So again I'll go into strategic plan geek out
mode here and say that we have four pillars that
are supporting what we're doing and how we're going to
get there. And that is community connections. And that's so
much of what we've been talking about here is making
the connections amongst members of our communities, but also communities themselves.
So the library is connected and also that that goes
(22:07):
the other direction as well, and people feel more connected
to the library. A second is responsive services, and that
goes to that inspiration point we were talking about, in
that we are being responsive to the needs that folks have.
And just as we all in our personal lives evolve
(22:28):
and grow and change, libraries have evolved and grown and changed.
CLP has for the last one hundred and thirty years
and things that we do now are different than we
did before, and why because we were being responsive to
what our neighbors wanted and needed. So that's really really key.
And what do we have to do to accomplish that Listen, collaborate, talk,
(22:53):
and share. And so that's why I encourage everybody to
not be shy at all about letting us know what
they want and they need. Regional cooperation is another strategic priority,
and that goes back to what we were also saying
in terms of us as a county and a region
supporting each other in our library services because we know
(23:17):
the benefits that those services have to the lives of
so many and thus the health of our entire region.
So that's really really key. And organizational excellence. I mean,
we can't do any of this if we don't have
a strong foundation at the library. We have foundational practices
(23:39):
and beliefs upon which all of this is built, and
that's inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, and so we have
to build on those to make sure our own house
is in order so that we can provide the services
to the community. So, for example, we are working on
a city wide building maintenance Facility plan to make sure
(24:03):
that our spaces are ready for the future. We have
the best branch libraries in the country. No other city
in this country has invested as much in every single
branch library. Nobody else has done it better, more better
than Pittsburgh. So let's make sure that we're ready for
that for the future. Let's make sure that our tech
(24:23):
is secure, working through a cybersecurity audit with our partners
at the Electronic Information Network to make sure that the
way we provide our hybrid services are secure for everyone,
and that we have the financial and staff resources to
do all of this well. Because you know, we're talking
(24:44):
a pretty big game here about what we can and
will provide, so we're going to make sure that we
have what we need to do that.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
We're talking with Andrew Medler of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
You mentioned AI just a few minutes ago. Expand what
how that is integrated with the Pittsburgh Library.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Well, I think that's really what's key about technology is
it is a tool to help us do what we
want and need to do, So it's important to us.
I mean, AI is not new, it's more popular and
more talked about now than it has been, and it's growing.
So it's absolutely growing, and so it's incumbent on us
(25:26):
to look at this tool and say, all right, how
can this tool help us to do what we want
and need to do and in what ways is it
appropriate and what ways maybe is it less appropriate. So,
for example, AI is really helpful in our chat information
(25:48):
services that we have on our library website Carnegie library
dot org. We also are helping our neighbors know about
it and how they can use it in their life
because I want people to think, just like I want
people to think about books in the library together. I
want when people think, Wow, what is that whatever that is?
(26:09):
What is that thing? I want to learn about that.
I want to know what that is? Aha, the library
can help me learn about whatever that is. And so
the same thing is happening with AI. We're partnering with
universities and organizations around the region who can help us
learn more about it so that we can teach our
(26:30):
neighbors about it and how they can use AI as
a tech tool in their own work and lives.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
To quote, mister Rogers, look for helpers, and you are
one of the helpers in the community. But who is
helping you? Who do you look to the schools, teachers,
government officials, Who is in your.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Corner and who inspires us? This is exactly the question
to be asking. I'm so glad that you did. We
have amazing, amazing support from the Allegheny Regional Assets District,
and these folks who are entrusted with investing our taxpayer resources,
are so committed to the public libraries of our county.
(27:14):
They are our greatest fans and our greatest supporters, and
we really love and value working with them, and so
they really are key. We have incredible, incredible team members
at the Pittsburgh Public Schools and in the other schools
across our city as well. So for example, our cardfest
(27:36):
program that I talked about, they know how important it
is for kids to have library cards and work with
us to make sure that happens. Pittsburgh Public Schools is
a great partner with us on our summer reading program
to keep that learning going during the summer and the
fun I should say as well, So that's the educational
(27:57):
community is key as well. The network of other libraries
across the region, whether it's public or academic or university.
We come together. We may do library services in different ways,
but we help and support each other as well. So
it really is our funders and all of our amazing,
(28:19):
amazing donors from across the country. It's amazing to me
how many folks contribute financially to Carnegie Library Pittsburgh from
other states and other countries because they know the amazing
things that happen here from experiencing it themselves and remembering that.
So again, from our funders, to our educational partners, to
(28:43):
our cultural partners, and to our government leaders, to the
mayor and to the county executive and our councils, we
all do this together.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
All right. It's not too late to give to the library.
And if somebody wants to make a donation or to
become a volunteer, what's the process.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Carnegie Library dot org, slash donate email me too. Director
at Carnegie Library dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I would love to hear from you, and once again
the website.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Carnegie Library dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Andrew Medler, President and Executive of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
It's such a polivery privilege to have such an organization
in this community. Thank you for everything you guys do.
Thank you as always If you have any comments, concerns,
or an idea for a future program, please email us
from this radio station's website. I'm Johnny Heartwell, thank you
(29:32):
so much for listening.
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