Schlow Library Podcast

We're in conversation with members of the jury for the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, awarded through the Pennsylvania Center for the Book. We talk about what it takes to choose an award winning graphic novel, and what makes the winner, Guantanamo Voices: True Accounts from the World's Most Infamous Prison by Sarah Mirk, so special.Listening to us talk about comics, publishing, and specifically Guantanamo Voices is great,  but whatever you do, don't miss the actual Lynn Ward Graphic Novel Prize event with author Sarah Mirk  on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 accessible online right here.This podcast is brought to you by your friends at Schlow Centre Region Library. Thanks for listening!

In this episode we talk about food history with Dr. Marissa Nicosia, who runs the Cooking from the Archives website. You can also connect with her on Twitter @Rare_Cooking, Instagram @Rare_Cooking, and Facebook. While you are online, check us at Schlow Library to see all the awesome stuff we got going on for you.

Join us for this enjoyable Podcast to look back and then forward!We take a look back on what it took to turn the page on 2020, and where we can head together in 2021. Molly Hetrick joins us as we dive into all the great services and opportunities Schlow Library offers that you might not know about, and an exciting upcoming event that you can be part of.After the podcast:Please visit the Turn the Page Newsletter Please consider a donation to support Schlow Library Foundation: Now or During Centre Gives May 11 & 12 (links)Visit the Schlow Library website to learn more about upcoming programs and opening hours.

We are talking Biking and Sustainability in the Cetnre Region with Trish Meek and Pam Adams.  Our Underwriter from Fiction comes from a darling of Jeff Bezos, and our Poetry Nightcap takes a skeptical look at Spring weather.After you listen, check out these resources for great information. A great portal of all things biking in our area, with many many resources.Learn how to get involved with the Centre Region's sustainability work.Come see everything you can do with your friends at Schlow Library.

We are traveling to China to take a look at Chinese Art and Art History. We will be talking to Ashley Yang Liu from  Yang Travel Art.  Ashley will be teaching at a Schlow Labs event on April 24th, 2021. We hope to see you there!We begin the show talking Chinese Art History with Dr. Tan from Penn State University. Some of the recommendations from Dr. Tan are the works of Peter Hessler, and Xu Bing.Our poetry nightcap is from Felix Jung, used under the CC BY-NC 3.0 license. We'd like to draw your attention to the sustainability work going on at the Centre Region CoG. You can do the following here.Take local government’s Sustainability Survey by April 30 th for a chance to win a $100 gift card or other prizes.Attend the virtual open public forum on Addressing Climate Impacts in the Centre Region on Tuesday, April 13  from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.For further discussion in Comparative Art HistoryCompare and contrast the sense of place and belonging depicted in Yang Yongliang's View of Tide (2008), with Chairman Mao And Officials With Children (1983), and that of a western example in Thomas Blink's Unity (1800's; The dogs pictured are an English Setter, an Irish Setter, and the Gordon Setter, a breed from Scotland).

You can hand me a page of paper with dark strokes on it, and when I look at it, my brain transports me to an imaginative place. That's pretty weird, right? We take a loving look at this miracle with author Dr. Nancy McCabe. You can hear a review of Dr. McCabe's latest book Can This Marriage Be Saved? here.Mentioned in the episode is the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program run by the Children's Librarians at Schlow. If you are keen to sign up, send an email with your child's name and birth date to children@schlowlibrary.org . This and much, much more is going on at Schlow Library. Come check out all the rumpus!Also in this episode is a poem about language* by the poet Jackson, and our Underwriters from Fiction is sponsored by a transformative figure in scholastic sports.*licensed under a (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.

We talk with Lynnicia Massenburg, Dr. Kristen Lillvis, and Dr. Kendra R. Parker about Octavia E. Butler's dystopian novel Parable of the Sower. This is in advance of a book discussion on the novel hosted by Schlow Library in collaboration with the Black Graduate Student Association at Penn State. Come join us!If you'd like to read Parable of the Sower, we have it in print, ebook, audiobook, and comic form. Also in this episode, our Underwriters from Fiction comes from Pawnee, Indiana's largest Internet Service Provider, and our prose nightcap is a selection from Nancy McCabe's memoir Can This Marriage Be Saved?Further reading & listening Lavender III, I. (2019). Afrofuturism Rising: The Literary Prehistory of a Movement. United States: Ohio State University Press.Womack, Y. (2013). Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-fi and Fantasy Culture. United States: Chicago Review Press.Eshun, K. (2003). Further Considerations on Afrofuturism. CR: The New Centennial Review, 3(2), 287-302. Retrieved February 2, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41949397The Bloomsbury Handbook to Octavia E. Butler. (2020). United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing.Parker, K. R. (2018). Black Female Vampires in African American Women’s Novels, 1977–2011: She Bites Back. United States: Lexington Books.Lillvis, K. (2017). Posthuman Blackness and the Black Female Imagination. Greece: University of Georgia Press.Rhee, M. (2017). Love, Robot. United States: Operating System.Shaw, K. (2019). Too Numerous. United States: University of Massachusetts Press.Bertram, L. (2019). Travesty Generator. United States: Noemi Press.Adrienne Maree Brown & Toshi Reagon (2019-2020). Octavia's Parables. Retrieved February 2, 2021Shankar Vedantam, et al. (2019). Where does religion come from? One researcher points to 'cultural' evolution. Hidden Brain. Retrieved February 2, 2021Additional info on BGSA's Black Business Week coming up in Feb. 2021.

In this one we we go on a tour through time with Matt Maris of Local Historia to discover the surprising history of Centre County. Local Historia's mission is to shine light upon the past, connect with community in the present, and preserve local history for the future. You can connect with Local Historia for a themed walking tour and much more through the Local Historia website, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.No mention of local history research would be complete without also mentioning the excellent resources of the Centre County Historical Society and the Centre County Library and Historical Museum. Also in this episode we continue our Underwriters from Fiction, DJ Lilly gives us a 6 word book-review for Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich, and our Poetry Nightcap revitalizes the tired poetry trope of alligator-wrestling.

We talk with Dr. John Gastil about role-playing as a feature in his new novel Dungeon Party, as well as with Hansen Bergamini to see what effect role-playing has had in his life.Our Underwriters From Fiction is from a pharmaceutical giant dedicated to maximizing medication side effects in order to provide new marketing opportunities. Our Poetry Nightcap is from the very talented Karine Polwart.If you are keen to checkout what role-playing groups are meeting through Schlow Library, you can email refdesk@schlowlibrary.org for more information.That and much more is going on with your friends at Schlow Library, come join us for something fun!

We talk with Maria Burchill, the head of Schlow's Adult Services, on the various ways we can stay connected together through the winter. Some of the resources discussed include:All the virtual programing and services Schlow offersSchlow's Zoom rooms open to the public for your event or meetingSchlow's portal to StoryCorps ConnectCentre County Memories on the StoryCorps ArchiveAll the free tools Google has to help you in a variety of waysTabletop SimulatorWPSU's Community CalendarOur Underwriters from Fiction comes from everyone's favorite vampire TV show of the 1990's; and guys, our Poetry Nightcap is a piece by NEIL GAIMAN! The good times never stop with your friends at Schlow Library.

We explore the ways we can create a more deliberative democracy with Dr. John Gastil. Local engagement in a deliberative process can help us overcome factionalism and empower future political participation. Come see what it can do for you! Our Underwriters from Fiction has a promo that.... well, it has a promo for its time and place.We conclude with a poetry nightcap by way of Ewan MacColl.Lots of stuff is going on at Schlow Library, come join us!

Professor Scott Smith joins us as we take a deep dive into the fantasy works of JRR Tolkien.Our Underwriters from Fiction continues with one of the best comedies of all time, and we end with our prose nightcap focusing on some beautiful and chilling selections from The Lord of the Rings.Come checkout all the cool stuff going on at Schlow Library.

We talk with the judging panel from the Pennsylvania Center for the Book on their awarding the Lynn Ward Graphic Novel Prize to King of King Court by Travis Dandro. We also get a lot of book recommendations at the end, including a bunch of comics to check out. Also, our Underwriters from Fiction breaks new barriers in retro-nerdism, and we end with a poetry nightcap from local author Katherine Bode-Lang.Come see all the cool goings-on at Schlow Library!

We discuss wrongful convictions with Tim Robicheaux, an Associate Teaching Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State. You can learn more about wrongful convictions at the The National Registry of Exonerations.Our poetry nightcap is from local author Jim Colbert from his book, Defiantly Blue Sky.All sorts of stuff is shaking at Schlow Library, come see for yourself!

Professor Margaret Brittingham talks with us about what we can do to build wildlife habitat on our own lawns. All sorts of useful information on building habitat can be found on the Penn State Extension website.Our poetry nightcap is from local author Jack Troy, from his book Calling the planet home.Lots of great programming is going on at Schlow Library, come check us out.

Author Mermer Blakeslee talks with us about creativity and writing, and we have an epiphany about why fiction is so important.Underwriters from Fiction continues, if you have an underwriter from fiction that you would like to see sponsor the show, send your advertisement copy to bdrain@sachlowlibrary.org.All kinds of cool events and virtual programming are happening at Schlow Library, come check us out.If you are an eccentric billionaire and would like to purchase us an ASCAP license, please hit me up. In the meantime, we'll be piecing together free CC music. The credits of the music in this episode are found bellow._____Laying Low by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/61081 Ft: ApoxodeJe suis un Phoenix by Bluemillenium (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Bluemillenium/61325 The Vendetta by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/58628 Ft: ApoxodeBossa Noir for Nights by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/61806 Ft: Martijn de Boer (NiGiD), JavolenusPipes of a Stranger byEsencayEnis (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://ccmixter.org/files/EsencayEnis/61926Loopster by Kevin MacLeod (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (4.0) license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/The Right Voice by Sackjo22 (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://ccmixter.org/files/SackJo22/33699Afternoon Walking Pleasures by EsencayEnis c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://ccmixter.org/files/EsencayEnis/61887

We talk with Linda Littleton and Karen Hirshon of the band Simple Gifts about how you can be playing music with others during the pandemic.We begin our Underwriters from Fiction spots. If you have an underwriter from fiction that you would like to sponsor the show, send your advertisement copy to bdrain@schlowlibrary.org .We end with a prose nightcap by local author Andrew Bode-Lang from his book Field Trips with Exceptional People.You can check out all the happenings at Schlow Library here.

David Pencek, former Communications Manager of Schlow Centre Region Library, bids farewell, and also talks about the future of the Schlow Library Podcast!

Lee Stout was Penn State's University Archivist for 27 years and retired as Librarian Emeritus for Special Collections. He has numerous articles and authored or co-authored several books on Penn State's history, including Ice Cream U: The Story of the Nation's Most Successful Collegiate Creamery and Lair of the Lion: A History of Beaver Stadium. In this episode, Lee talks about the Creamery, as we celebrate National Ice Cream Month, and Beaver Stadium, as many wonder what will happen this football season amid COVID-19.

BookFest PA is online this year and will run over three days July 8-10. The final event is an evening with best-selling authors Lisa Scottoline and her daughter, Francesca Serritella. Francesca's debut novel, Ghosts of Harvard, was published this spring. In this episode, we chat with Francesca about her book, her relationship with her mom, and more!Francesca Serritella: https://www.francescaserritella.com/BookFest PA: https://bookfestpa.schlowlibrary.org/

This year, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has moved its annual juried exhibition show Images that is usually held in the Schlow Gallery to online because of COVID-19. We chat with this year's juror Emily Burns about the exhibition, being an artist during the coronavirus, and more!Images 2020: https://arts-festival.com/images-juried-exhibitionEmily Burns: http://emilyburns.com

We chat with Leslie Laing and Jason Browne — two community people who have led and inspired talks about race and racism. Leslie is student advocacy specialist and director of Adult Learner Programs at Penn State. Jason is a radio host on B 94.5 and past president of Rotary Club.

On June 25, Schlow will welcome, via Zoom, members of Tir Na Nog Irish Dance. They'll be performing and giving instruction on some basic Irish dance steps.Director Sue Garner, who started dancing when she was 6 years old, joins us, along with two members of the Resuta family that performs with Tir Na Nog. Maria, who is 17, and Christopher, who is 15, compete at championship levels, and Christopher is a three-time North American National Qualifier. The three talk about how they started performing Irish dance and what performing and teaching has been like in this COVID-19 world.Tir Na Nog Irish Dance: http://tirnanogofpa.com

Adam Swartz has been touring across the United States with his puppets since 1999. He has become a popular performer at Schlow over the years, and he'll be doing two programs in June with the library via Zoom.Adam talks about doing puppet performances online during the time of the coronavirus and how he got his start with puppets.Adam Swartz Puppets: https://www.adamswartzpuppets.com/Adam Swartz Puppet Show June 17: https://www.schlowlibrary.org/events/virtual-adam-swartz-puppet-showAdam Swartz Puppetry Workshop June 18: https://www.schlowlibrary.org/events/virtual-adam-swartz-puppetry-workshop

Seniors across the country weren't able to finish their high school careers the way they wanted due to the coronavirus. In that way, they became a special class to remember.This week, we bring back three State High seniors who joined us last fall for a look at teen life in Happy Valley. Mac Campbell, Madeline Lawrence, and Sydnee Rockey talk about their last months of high school at home and what they've learned and missed along the way.State College Area School District: https://www.scasd.org/

Registration for Summer Reading has opened and everyone can start logging in their information starting June 1. While Summer Reading will be different this year because of the coronavirus, participants can still go on Quests and have a chance to win prizes. In addition, we have some great programming happening virtually this summer.To get you ready for it all we chat with Paula Bannon, Schlow's Head of Children's Services; Katie Brennan, Children's Services Librarian; and Karen Lambert, Adult Services Librarian about Summer Reading!Summer Reading: https://reading.schlowlibrary.org/

With Memorial Day weekend here, Tyler Gum, director of the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, joins us to talk about the museum and all of the history it has. Schlow and the military museum have a partnership where, when the library and museum are open, patrons can check out a family pass to the military museum.Also, we announce that our remote book returns are now open!PA Military Museum: https://www.pamilmuseum.org/

Nurses Appreciation Week just came to an end on May 12. We dedicate this week's episode to the amazing nurses in our region. Three nurses from Mount Nittany Medical Center — Adam Burget, Kim Kennedy, and Taylor Kopp — join us to talk about what work and life at home have been like for them since COVID-19.Mount Nittany Medical Center: https://www.mountnittany.org/

May is National Bike Month, and the Centre Region, led by Centre Bike, will be participating again! Trish Meek, senior transportation planner with the Centre Regional Planning Agency in State College, leads the online event "Biking in the Centre Region 101" May 13 through Schlow. Learn more about the Centre Region’s bike paths/routes, PA and local laws, how to pick a bike, and other biking-around-town tips. Get answers to your bike-related questions from regional planning staff and CentreBike members. In this week's episode, Trish talks about the online event, bike tips during COVID-19, and about some of the fun family activities CentreBike has planned for National Bike Month.Registration is required. Register at https://www.schlowlibrary.org/events/virtual-biking-centre-region-101?_ga=2.88333531.1319605943.1588686196-510261925.1540396447CentreBike: https://centrebike.org/

The Centre Foundation is holding its annual online fundraising event for nonprofits Centre Gives on May 12-13. This year's event will obviously be different with the community dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders.Schlow's manager of philanthropy Molly Hetrick and philanthropy assistant Mel Meder join the podcast this week to talk about fundraising during these unusual and challenging times and Schlow's plans for Centre Gives.Centre Gives: https://centregives.org/

Alice McDermott is the author of the 2020 Centre County Reads selection Charming Billy. The book won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1998. Three of her books also have finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.McDermott was scheduled to visit the region in April, but her visit was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She took time to chat with us about what's she's been doing during the stay-at-home orders and, of course, about Charming Billy.Alice McDermott: https://www.alice-mcdermott.com/Centre County Reads: https://www.centrecountyreads.org/

April is National Poetry Month, and given the times we live in, poetry is having a profound impact.The Pennsylvania Center for the Book is celebrating poetry this month with its Poems from Life and the Public Poetry Project. Ellysa Cahoy, education librarian and assistant director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, and Nicole Miyashiro, a poet who coordinates the poets and content development for the Poems from Life project, talk about poetry in this time of a pandemic and the Center for the Book's poetry projects.Pennsylvania Center for the Book: https://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/

Award-winning speaker and writer Scott Fried is leading a series of community talks via Zoom that will give everyone "A Chance to Exhale" when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus. Scott tested positive for HIV in the late 1980s. For over 25 years he has lectured to over a million teenagers, and adults in nearly every US state, as well as countries including Israel, England, Canada, Holland and Honduras. He has spoken at more than 1,000 colleges and universities, schools, camps, synagogues, churches, youth retreats, prisons, military bases, and gatherings of teachers, counselors, and parents. His work is based on a core belief that one must understand the value of one’s own life and hold it sacred."A Chance to Exhale" is for anyone 18 years and older and the meetings are 7pm April 16, 23, 30, and May 7."Stop. Breathe. Connect" is for children in grades 5 to 8 and their parents or guardians and meetings are 5pm April 14, 21, 28 and May 5. Registration is required at info@janamariefoundation.org.Scott Fried: https://scottfried.com"A Chance to Exhale" Zoom Room: http://tinyurl.com/ChanceToExhale

Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, we chatted with Penn State students involved in the Green Energy Challenge presented by the National Electrical Contractors Association. The students selected the Schlow Library building for its challenge project. They surveyed the building and had planned programs.Three members of the team — Liam Cummings, Nisha Labroo, and Maggie Smith — talks about green energy and the challenge.Green Energy Challenge: https://electri.org/education/green-energy-challenge-competition/

We take time to answer some of your questions concerning Schlow and how we're responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Pulitzer finalist Elizabeth Rush talks about her book Rising that looks at climate change and how it's impacting America's shorelines. Her book shares stories of some of the people whose lives have been most impacted by the rising sea levels.Elizabeth Rush: http://elizabethrush.net/

In March, the Schlow Gallery is exhibiting "World War I: Lessons and Legacies: A Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, with Added Prints by Combat Artist Michael D. Fay and Others."Fay is a Penn State alum and during his service in Marine Corps as a combat artist he has served two tours each in Iraq and Afghanistan. He talks about what it means to be a combat artist and how stories of combat are told through art.Michael D. Fay: http://michaeldfay.com/World War I: Lessons and Legacies: https://www.schlowlibrary.org/news/2020-03-03/world-war-i-lessons-legacies-smithsonian-traveling-exhibition?_ga=2.104919876.611276391.1583849908-510261925.1540396447

Across the country, Will Eisner Week is being celebrated this week, and we take part with our chat with local illustrator and cartoonist Joel Priddy.Joel's works have been nominated for Eisner Awards. His graphic novels include Pulpatoon: Pilgrimmage, The Preposterous Voyages of IronHide Tom, and The Gift of the Magi.Joel also teaches design and illustration at Penn State.Joel Priddy: https://stuckeman.psu.edu/faculty/joel-priddyWill Eisner Week: http://www.willeisner.com/

The Centre County Reads program schedule continues March 3 when Dr. Nalini Krishnankutty discusses "Re-viewing History: Centering the Stories on Immigrants" in Schlow Library's Downsbrough Community Room.We chat with Dr. Krishnankutty, who is a first-generation immigrant American. She has become a leading voice in the immigrant discussion in America. She serves as a commissioner on Governor Wolf's Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, and her TEDxPSU talk in 2018 on "How Immigrants Shape(d) the United States" is being used in public schools and university classrooms, and for training sessions across the country.Nalini Krishnankutty: http://www.nalinikrishnankutty.com/Centre County Reads: https://www.centrecountyreads.org/

"In Automating Inequality, Virginia Eubanks systematically investigates the impacts of data mining, policy algorithms, and predictive risk models on poor and working-class people in America. The book is full of heart-wrenching and eye-opening stories, from a woman in Indiana whose benefits are literally cut off as she lays dying to a family in Pennsylvania in daily fear of losing their daughter because they fit a certain statistical profile."In April, the Penn State Rock Ethics Institute is hosting Eubanks to talk about her book Automating Inequality. Prior to that, on March 26, Brady Clemens, our district library consultant, will lead a nonfiction book club in Schlow's Sun Room to discuss the book. We chat with Brady about Automating Inequality and some of the sobering and alarming information Eubanks discovered in her research and investigation.

During the month of February, Schlow's gallery is showcasing work done by middle and high school students in the Delta Program of the State College Area School District. The work is from the course "Bridging Divides: Diversity and Social Justice" that the students took last fall.Joining us this week to talk about the course and exhibition is Delta teacher Lori McGarry, who co-taught the course with Virginia Squier, along with senior Anjelica Rubin and seventh-grader Aneaus Smith.Delta Program: https://www.scasd.org/deltaprogram

SCORE of Central PA is an all-volunteer organization that has business mentors who help people make their business dreams a reality.Each third Thursday of the month, SCORE visits Schlow to present workshops on various topics that are designed to help those starting a business or who currently have a small business of their own.We chat with two SCORE volunteers and past chairs of the organization — Bob Griffin and Ken Manno. Bob worked in instructional design and taught in the Smeal College of Business Administration at Penn State for 26 years. Ken spent most of his professional career working in the forest products industry. He managed the Sustainable Forestry Initiative for 14 years.SCORE: https://www.score.org

The local Irish and Celtic band Callanish kicks off Centre County Reads 2020 with a performance February 8 at the Green Drake Gallery and Arts Center in Millheim. We chat with Holly Foy of Callanish about the band and her experiences in Ireland!Callanish: http://www.callanishband.com/Centre County Reads: https://www.centrecountyreads.org/The Green Drake Art Gallery: https://www.greendrakeart.com/

Schlow is holding its 36th annual Write and Illustrate Your Own Book Contest for children in grades 1 through 6. Entries are being accepted until Tuesday, March 10, 2020. On February 8, local writer Anne Burgevin will lead a Young Writers Workshop for those interested in entering the contest. We chat with Anne about the workshop and working with young writers, along with two past winners of the contest — Rachel Zhang, who won last year with her book, A Jar of Words: Short Stories and Poems; and Karis John, who won in 2017 for her book, Dragon School.Write and Illustrate Your Own Book Contest: https://www.schlowlibrary.org/news/2019-08-02/write-and-illustrate-your-own-book-contest?_ga=2.190311019.1162698250.1579629350-510261925.1540396447Young Writers Workshop: https://www.schlowlibrary.org/events/young-writers-workshop-4?_ga=2.190311019.1162698250.1579629350-510261925.1540396447Dragon School by Karis John: https://search.schlowlibrary.org/Record/402550A Jar of Words: Short Stories and Poems by Rachel Zhang: https://search.schlowlibrary.org/Record/432139

Our Schlow Labs 2020 sessions begin January 25 with Genealogy for Beginners. The workshop will be led by Robbin Degeratu from the Centre County Library and Historical Museum. We chat with Robbin about genealogy and all the resources available at the Pennsylvania Room in Bellefonte.Centre County Library Pennsylvania Room: https://www.centrecountylibrary.org/pa-room

Nicole Packard is a State College artist and art educator whose work explores the intersection of reality and fantasy. Nicole, who teaches at Park Forest Middle School, has a solo exhibition, Mindscapes, showing in Schlow's Betsy Rodgers Allen Art Gallery throughout January.We chat with Nicole about how she got started in art, her work, and teaching art to the next generation of artists.Nicole Packard: https://www.scasd.org/Page/25479

We'll be back with a new episode next week. Until then, we just wanted to say thanks for a great 2019 and look ahead to 2020!

Mr. Music, Lenny Tepsich, returns to Schlow for First Night with performances at 11am and 1pm on Tuesday, December 31. To mark his return, we're replaying our conversation with Mr. Music that we had prior to last year's First Night!First Night State College: https://firstnightstatecollege.com/

We take a look back at the year in books in 2019 and look ahead to 2020 with two editors from BookPage. Joining us are Cat Acree, who is the deputy editor of BookPage and handles all coverage of adult literary fiction and audiobooks, and Christy Lynch, who is the nonfiction editor of BookPage.BookPage: https://bookpage.com/Best Books of 2019: https://bookpage.com/features/24672-best-books-2019#.XfkXytZKjfa

The Centre County Reads committee has made its selection for Centre County Reads 2020 and it's Alice McDermott's National Book of the Year award-winner Charming Billy!We chat with three members of the Centre County Reads committee — Schlow's head of adult services Maria Burchill, retired teacher Ellen Coffman, and associate professor of English at Penn State and director of the Center for American Literary Studies Sean Goudie — to find out about the selection process and preview next year's Centre County Reads events.Centre County Reads: https://www.centrecountyreads.org/Center for American Literary Studies: https://cals.la.psu.edu/Alice McDermott: https://www.alice-mcdermott.com/

Schlow is hosting its first Frost Fest on Saturday December 14 and Sunday December 15. The event will have activities throughout the library. We chat with some of the creative team behind creating this inaugural event — Schlow's head of children's services Paula Bannon, children's services librarian Katie Brennan, and head of technical and volunteer services Diane Schmidt.Frost Fest: https://www.schlowlibrary.org/node/3387