News Release

09/21/07 WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE LIBRARY?
Something for Everyone Beginning September 29

There’s something for everyone happening at Providence Public Library this fall, from programs for children, adults and families, author visits and book discussions, an exhibit and even a movie release! The Library is hopping with activities and events. For complete information, check out our calendar of events.

Coming to PPL During Banned Books Week!
Film will be released in Rhode Island at PPL September 29 & October 4
Join librarians from across the state for the showing of The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians through Film, a documentary by Ann Seidl, being released at libraries nationwide during Banned Books Week (Sept. 29 – Oct. 6):

Saturday, September 29, 2:30 pm - Central Library, 150 Empire Street
Thursday, October 4, 7:00 pm - Rochambeau Branch, 708 Hope Street

Admission* — $8 for adults (age 12—60); $5 for children and seniors; no charge for children under 6; free for librarians, library employees and LIS students, with proof.

To reserve tickets: (401) 455-8037 or ewider@provlib.org.

*Proceeds to cover costs of screening the film and future PPL programs.

Phoenix Mars Mission: WATER ON MARS
Educators Coming to PPL’s Rochambeau Branch October 3
In August, NASA launched the Phoenix Mission -- a lander headed to the Martian North Pole with the specific task of searching out evidence of a liquid water history on the red planet. On Wednesday, October 3 at 4:00 pm, Kip Krushinsky and Beccy Siddons, educators for the Phoenix Education and Public Outreach team will be at the Rochambeau Branch of Providence Public Library, 708 Hope Street (Community Room) to share images and information about the Phoenix Lander and talk about the Phoenix mission, its objectives, and the opportunities for public interaction with the mission. The program is free and open to all. Contact Tom at 455-8198 for more information.

Traveling Theatre Presents Young Actors Playground Workshop at Central Library, October 6
Providence Public Library and Traveling Theatre, of Cranston, present a Young Actors Playground Workshop on Saturday, October 6 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM at Central Library, 150 Empire Street (Barnard Room & Auditorium - 3rd Floor). Capturing and guiding the endless creative potential in all children, the mission of the Young Actor’s Playground Workshop is to enable young people to create, develop and perform a theatrical production.

For ages 5 to 14, this free workshop gives a broad overview of many aspects of theatre. Students will be introduced to acting, improvisation, character development, voice and articulation through active participation in theatre games. Please call 455-8025 to register; space is limited.

Providence Journal Book Reviewer Sam Coale to Speak at Central Library, October 11
Providence Public Library is pleased to present An Evening with Sam Coale -- Getting a Life: Beguiled by Books on Thursday, October 11 at 6:30 pm at Central Library, 150 Empire Street, Barnard Room (3rd Floor).

Local author, professor and book reviewer Sam Coale will share his enchantment with the book and his belief that “art doesn’t advocate; it represents, suggests, illuminates.” A professor of American Literature and Culture at Wheaton College, Sam Coale is the author of Paradigms of Paranoia: The Culture of Conspiracy in Contemporary American Fiction and Mystery of Mysteries: Cultural Differences and Designs.

He is a book reviewer for The Providence Journal and also writes theatre, film and book reviews and feature articles for the East Side Monthly in Providence. Coale’s work has taken him to Belarus and Brazil, as well as Romania, Poland, India, the Czech Republic, Pakistan and England. He has just returned from a lecture tour in Jordan and Lebanon. This program is free and open to all. For more information, call 455-8090.

PPL Welcomes the Rhode Island Pirate Players Sunday, October 14
Program marks the return of Central Library’s “Family Learning Sunday” Series
Did you know Rhode Island has a pirating history? Providence Public Library invites families and history buffs of all ages to come and learn all about it from the Rhode Island Pirate Players on Sunday, October 14 at 2:00 PM at Central Library, 150 Empire Street. The free program marks the reopening of Central Library on Sundays from 1:00 – 5:00 PM (October 14, 2007 – May 18, 2008) and the return of the Central Library’s popular Family Learning Sunday program series. The program will be held in the Library Auditorium*, 3rd floor.

If you have never seen a re-enactment society before, you might be wary of a bunch of eccentrics who wear funny clothes from the past. However, if you have a special interest in pirates and historic life at sea, you’ll love them! The Rhode Island Pirate Players (RIPP) is a new and up-and-coming living history society in New England with the goal to educate all ages about the truly great and rich history of Rhode Island pirates. (It’s not exactly what Hollywood portrays!) RIPP uses interactive demonstrations to teach the everyday skills and pastimes of the golden age of piracy, as well as the lives of the pirates themselves. For more information, visit RIPP.

* Please call ahead for accessibility needs — 455-8090.

Mentalist Rory Raven Presents Seances: Searching for the Spirits at Central Library October 29
Just in time for Halloween, Providence Public Library welcomes mentalist Rory Raven who will present Seances: Searching for the Spirits on Monday, October 29at 6:30 PM at Central Library, 150 Empire Street, Barnard Room (3rd Floor).What started as a prank by two young sisters soon grew into a worldwide controversy that attracted the attention of William James, Queen Victoria, Harry Houdini, and even Mae West. In this presentation, Rory Raven traces the history of talking to the dead and offers re-creations of what happened in the Victorian séance room.

Rory is a mentalist with over a dozen years’ experience reading minds and astonishing audiences. Neither a psychic nor a magician, he offers a new and compelling kind of entertainment unlike anything you’ve ever seen. With a few simple props (paper and pencil, a pack of playing cards, some paperback books, and the thoughts of some volunteers) he involves the audience in a highly unusual -- and unusually entertaining -- experience. Thoughts are revealed, predictions come true, and perhaps even the spirits are summoned .... For more information, call 455-8090.

PPL celebrating American whaling’s rich history at Central Library this Fall!
Author visits, book discussion, and Nicholson Whaling Exhibit among planned programs and events
Providence Public Library is celebrating the rich history of the American whaling industry this fall with a complete line-up of programs, including multiple author visits and a month-long exhibit of the Library’s Nicholson Whaling Collection, the second largest collection of whaling logbooks in America. All of the following programs and events are free and open to the public. | Complete calendar of events

Eric Jay Dolin — author of LEVIATHAN: The History of Whaling in America
Saturday, October 20, 2:00 PM, Barnard Room, 3rd floor
Eric Jay Dolin will discuss LEVIATHAN and present a slide show illustrating the history of whaling. Leviathan chronicles the rise and fall of a once mighty American industry and presents the most original and stirring history of American whaling in decades.

Nicholson Whaling Collection on Exhibit in October
PPL will exhibit items from its Nicholson Whaling Collection, the second largest collection of whaling logbooks in America, in the Third Floor Exhibit Hall.

Exhibit Discussion — Saturday, October 20 – 1:00 PM, Barnard Room, 3rd floor
Special Collections Librarian Emeritus Philip Weimerskirch will discuss the Nicholson Whaling Collection.

Women in Whaling, a book discussion
Sunday, October 28 – 2:00 PM, Barnard Room, 3rd floor
Explore the role women played during the whaling industry’s heyday. We will read/discuss the following two texts (participants may read either):

The Captain’s Best Mate: the Journal of Mary Chipman Lawrence on the Whaler ADDISON, 1856-1860. Edited by Stanton Garner. This is a nonfiction journal, i.e. a whaling log by the wife of the Captain.

Ahab’s Wife: or the Star Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund. This is a fictional work inspired by Moby Dick, with wife Una as the protagonist.

Also receive a special up-close look at original whaling journals in the PPL Nicholson Whaling Collection. Copies of both books available at Central Library or may be requested from any PPL branch.

Marc Songini, author of The Lost Fleet
Sunday, November 4 – 2:00 PM, Barnard Room, 3rd floor
Meet and hear from the author. The Lost Fleet chronicles the remarkable exploits of a true life whaling master, Thomas Williams, and his wife, as he struggles to catch whales and avoid the Confederate Navy and Arctic disaster in this fascinating, sprawling, richly detailed book is as big and epic as its subject, the whaling era of New Bedford and Nantucket.