Maryann Riker: Selected Works | April 25 – July 30 | Bethlehem Area Public Library – Main Library

Maryann Riker’s works evoke a sense of memory, time and journeys. Her works incorporate digital images, Victorian iconography and other symbols to convey a sense of memory and time as one opens and unfolds the work. Her works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally and are in the Special Collections of: The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Walker Art Center, the Art Institute of Chicago, The National Museum for Women in the Arts, Yale University, Mills College, University of Iowa, Rhode Island School of Design, Lafayette College, Rutgers University, Newark Art Museum, Newark Public Library and many other private and public collections.

Contact jberk@bapl.org with questions.

Request for Proposal (RFP) Soundproofing Installation Services

Plant a Row Lehigh Valley (PARLV) was launched in 2016, as a chapter of the national Plant a Row for the Hungry program.  Since they began seven years ago, they have collected over 46,403 pounds of produce (fruits, vegetables and herbs). In their first season we collected 3,028.6 pounds of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Today, Plant a Row LV is a network of twenty one donation drop off points and three additional donation points, which supply fresh homegrown produce to the hungry every day of the week. Follow Plant a Row on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Studio 11 — The free, public recording studio at the Main Library! Note:

1. There is a maximum of 7 hours per week for booking the Studio. Bookings are limited to one Saturday a month.
2. Sound engineers are not provided by the library. If you need a sound engineer, you must provide your own.
3. If you reserve the studio and cannot attend, you must cancel the appointment on this site or by contacting the library. This is important so that the studio can be released to another user. If you do not do so, future bookings will not be approved.
4. Use of this room is restricted to Recording Studio usage and is not for public meeting purposes.

Laros Room — Meeting room at the Main Library with a capacity of 49. Lovely views and projector provided. There is a cost to rent. Full policies and procedures can be found here.

Telework Rooms — New for 2023, the Main Library has two small glass-enclosed spaces on the first floor of the Main Library. These are to be used for work-from-home projects (Zoom calls and the like) as well as small study sessions.

Cohen Room – The large first floor meeting room at the Main Library can be booked for a fee. The capacity is 75.

We’ve managed to keep the charm of the building while updating the space for the 21st century. And this Saturday, we’re hosting an Open House from 10-5 for you and all your friends and family to come check it out at the main library location: 11 W. Church St.

We think you’ll be pretty impressed, but there are still more exciting things we’re looking to add. Once the new space knocks your socks off and you find yourself wanting more awesomeness, check out how you can continue to support your local library.

-Your Friends at Bethlehem Area Public Library

Non-profits pay just $30 for four hours. Businesses, private parties, and events for which fees are collected are charged $100 for four hours. The room has been recently used for a wide variety of events including job fairs, credit union meetings, staff get-togethers, board meetings, and more.

We hope that you will join these groups in booking your next event in the Laros Room. You can easily reserve it through BAPL’s new online application system here.

See you there!

Emil Signes & the BAPL, Libraries & Life

Let me explain a little bit about libraries and myself; about the joy libraries brought me. I’m still thrilled by the day—in the 1940s—when my mother took me to the East Side Branch of the Paterson, NJ Public Library to get my very own library card.  I was nine, and had been reading voraciously since I was four. All those books! In my dotage, as I walk around my house, there are rooms full of books that I admire. I’m glad I have four stories (a basement, an attic plus the normal two-story living space) to shelve them properly (I feel sorry for the ones that have to reside in the basement), joy when my kids and grandkids enjoy the ones I have and maybe—all are for the taking—even decide to take one or more for their own; extraordinary pain when I have to get rid of any.

Emil Signes at the General Archives of the City of Madrid

During my pre-high school days in Paterson, a rare treat was to get on a bus and go to the main library on Broadway! Just today I searched for Paterson Public Library and found it still there on Broadway, but my East Side branch no longer exists.

At my Jesuit military high school—Xavier HS in Manhattan—I was a member of the Library Club. I don’t know how many library facilities MIT had, but I would hide out in a few of them from time to time, often falling asleep rather than working. (Nevertheless MIT saw fit to offer me a B.S and a M.S., in Metallurgy and Materials Science.) Then I moved from Cambridge, MA to Cambridge, England.

In England, I would pop in occasionally at the Cambridge Public Library. In fact, I recall a few years ago returning to Cambridge to visit, and telling them I was on the Library Board of a city slightly smaller than theirs. I inveigled a tour of the Cambridge Public Library: interesting, but I prefer ours. Unfortunately, I never got to any of the Cambridge University libraries.  (But in retrospect, I was too busy chasing Heide, my future wife of 56 years, while I lived there to spend too much time in any Cambridge library).

When I came back to the US in 1966, I started working for Bethlehem Steel; shortly thereafter they began to pare down the size of the company, trying desperately to keep it alive. I changed from Research Engineer to Director of Libraries. This was exciting, because as a passionate user, I now got to learn more about these great tools available to librarians and users, new stuff utilizing lots of automation—geez and wow!—and … I got my Masters Degree in Library Science at Rutgers. But after just a short time doing that, my main job became to dismantle the libraries, trying to find homes for some of our (formerly) valuable collection items. I kept a couple of the things I couldn’t bear to part with, but mostly watched as they were tossed away … not as painful as losing a breathing, living loved one, but painful nonetheless.

So “the library,” wherever it was, whatever form it took (the physical plant and the information, ancient scraps of paper or bits and bytes), has always been an important part of my life, as has imparting information. I was never a school teacher like my grandfather, my mother, and my daughter, but I looked at my life as a rugby coach to be one of a teacher. The fact that I rose to coach the US national team is, I’m sure, mainly the product of my passion for accumulating, sorting, and disseminating information. This started out with my mother, who had zero interest in sports of any kind but was a great teacher. In Paterson, she taught in three different elementary schools, became a principal, and later became the founder and first Director of Bilingual Education in what was then a largely Hispanic Paterson. As a coach, I too was a teacher; I utilized all the research skills I had learned in life, largely in library life.

In 1982—while working for Bethlehem Steel full-time and serving as a member of the City of Bethlehem’s Planning Commission— I completed two Spanish degrees. I obtained both my MA and a Ph.D. at Rutgers. Why? I had a need to put myself in touch with my 100% Spanish heritage. My family refers to the latter as my “recreational Ph.D.”  On a roll, and having used tons of different libraries’ resources, I stayed with Rutgers, and in 1984 I was officially a “Master of Library Service” when I got my M.L.S. there. (These followed a B.S. and M.S. at MIT and an M.A. at Lehigh, so … I guess I like to learn.)

When I moved to Bethlehem, one of the first things I was told was that I’d be perfect for the Library Board. I think it was by the chair of City Council—don’t remember the name, just the message. This was at a time that the Library’s “future” kept evolving, from part of the City of Bethlehem, to maybe be put under the School Board, to finally, a “Bethlehem Area” Public Library. I was afraid it would be another Bethlehem Steel, Revisited, but thanks to our then new Director Jack Berk, and now his son Josh, it’s thrived. And it’s been a fun fifty years in Bethlehem, thirty-five of them with the Library!

Submitted to my colleagues, friends, & mentors at the Bethlehem Area Public Library, Valentine’s Day 2022

 Respectfully

 Emil Signes

A small portion of Emil’s home library is pictured above.

Foster E. Leonhardt
February 19, 1930 ~ June 12, 2021 (age 91)

The Bethlehem District Libraries have brought on a new platform for eBook and eAudiobook lending. The new platform, cloudLibrary, will provide an app that is extremely easy for all users, and allows for the library to better manage its content and offer far more to you through a partnership with other libraries across PA. On June 23^rd, the collection within OverDrive will be turned off and those titles will be moved over into cloudLibrary throughout the day.

Access to cloudLibrary will begin June 14^th. The new cloudLibrary app can be found in app stores, or you can find the link at www.yourcloudLibrary.com. You can download it any time to begin browsing, borrowing, and reading/listening to our collection. Once the app is added to your device, there is a simple, one-time sign in process of selecting the library, and entering the library account barcode and pin. Users can be browsing for books in less than a minute. We’re sure patrons are going to love the new apps, unique features, and more available content from cloudLibrary.

Please let staff at Bethlehem District Libraries know if you need help, or visit www.yourcloudlibrary.com.

You can find all of these books in the Bethlehem Area Public Library catalog to check out and read! Click on their links to check availability.

Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour and Daniel Egnéus

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini*

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai

What is the What by Dave Eggers

The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri

No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil

The Boat People by Sharon Bala

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

For more information and how to help, visit the UN’s page on World Refugee Day.

*Parents should look through book before giving to child to read and/or read with child to help them understand the content of the book.

The Friends of the Library is a group of dedicated volunteers who raise money to underwrite the library’s innovative programming and support the library’s growth. A gift to the Friends supports:

• Storytime, art, and STEM activities for kids of all ages
• Life-long learning and community building for adults
• Special events and guest speakers
• Summer reading presenters and prizes
• BAPL’s busy calendar
• And so much more 

The benefit will be held virtually via Zoom and will feature a trio of local authors that will be discussing the local library and literary scene, their recent work, and more. Authors featured include Jennifer Gilmore (If Only), Joyce Hinnefeld (The Beauty of Their Youth), and Stephanie Powell Watts (No One is Coming to Save Us). The event will be moderated by author and Friends board member Kate Racculia (Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts). 

Registration is free and donations will be accepted during the event and can be made anytime by visiting the Bethlehem Area Public Library website at bapl.org/friends. Once registered, the Zoom link will be shared with attendees by 5 p.m. on the day of the event.

Those interested in sponsorship opportunities for this event should contact Jennifer Khawam at jkhawam@bapl.org.

Every $30 Buy-A-Book gift to BAPL purchases a new book that will receive a special bookplate honoring a loved one, family, or organization that commemorates an occasion. Buy-A-Book gifts can be designated for either adult or children’s book collections.

Buy-A-Book really makes a difference to your community. Without your generosity, BAPL would not be what it is today. Give online to Buy-A-Book, use the printable donation form and mail with payment, or stop in to ask how you can donate.

Note: Bookplate name dedications are not available within the online credit card process. Please email with any name dedications AFTER processing your gift online OR, use the printable donation form and mail with payment.

Contact Executive Director Josh Berk with inquiries regarding Buy-A-Book. Thank you for your continued support!

It wasn’t until my 24th year of life that I learned that there is a month that celebrates Arab Americans such as myself in the United States. We are in the midst of it now — in April 2021 — and I am so excited to finally be able to celebrate this month with my fellow Arab Americans and the rest of the Lehigh Valley community.

As this is a blog post on a library website and I myself am a self-proclaimed lover of books, I thought I would share books that have meant a lot to me these past few years. It wasn’t until I was 23 that I saw Syrian culture represented in a book, and since then I have been carefully looking out for books by Arab Americans about the Arab world and culture. Because to see your own culture and language in a book is not just about being seen, it’s about being heard. To be seen is to just be observed, but to be heard is to be understood. Being understood is so important to Arab Americans, especially in times of prejudice and turmoil.

And so, this list of books by Arab Americans is for those of you who wish to read about yourselves, and for those of you who are looking to learn and listen. I hope you’ll pick them up and enjoy them just as much as I did and will — after all, a bookworm’s reading list is never ending!

~ Jennifer Khawam, Development & Marketing at BAPL

• The Map and Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar – Check availability
• The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar – Check availability
• The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah – Check availability
• The Other Americans by Laila Lalami – Check availability
• Conditional Citizens  by Laila Lalami – Check availability
• You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat – Coming soon to our catalogue! Check back soon!
• The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber – Coming soon to our catalogue! Check back soon!
• An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine – Check availability
• We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal – Check availability
• Mirage by Somaiya Daud – Check availability
• Once Upon an Eid edited by S.K. Ali & Aisha Saeed – Coming soon to our catalogue! Check back soon!
• Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga – Check availability
• Silverworld by Diana Abu-Jaber – Coming soon to our catalogue! Check back soon!
• The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil – Check availability
• The Three Lucys by Hayan Chakara – Coming soon to our catalogue! Check back soon!

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.bapl.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Hemingway-make-your-own-story-2-3-8-1.pdf” title=”Hemingway make your own story (2) 3-8 (1)”]

NOUNS
rucksack, carbine, wine, fishing rod, regiment, trout, blood, truck, sea, dog, tramp, bridge, toreador, dust, silence, grappa, mackinaw, pocketknife, river, train, pine tree, bullfight, medic, book, cat, bottle, cheese, war,rooster

VERBS
slice, boil, poke, run, speak, stare, camp, punch, fish, wrestle, shoot, kindle, shoulder, walk, chew, spit, bleed, hunt, drink, squint, tramp

ADJECTIVES
strong, cold, hot, drunk

The Albertina. This museum in the heart of Vienna, Austria, allows you to view collections by medium, such as chalk, pen, and watercolor. Taking the museum tour allows you to explore the building and view the gorgeously decorated rooms, including statues of Greek gods and more. The tours are free, and there are also virtual art workshops for children for an additional charge.

The Benaki Museum. Specializing in Greek art from prehistoric to times, this Athens museum is a delight to browse. An interactive map allows viewers to navigate from room to room, and also take advantage of some exhibits that have an audio component. If you’re just going to take a look around, that is easily achieved. If you’d like to delve a little deeper into the collection, the audio makes that easy and informative.

National Museum of Scotland. This museum, based in Edinburgh, specializes in Scottish antiquities, culture and history. The digital tour takes a little bit of trial and error to navigate, but thanks to Google’s Arts & Culture, they are able to spotlight noteworthy collections as well as offering virtual tours of the building. We particularly enjoyed the Textile and Early Silver exhibits.

National Museum of Anthropology. Collections in this Mexico City-based museum are rich in archaeological and anthropological history; we wanted the museum first and went back to learn about each piece individually. A creative feature is the “View in Street View” option, which takes you directly from an artifact’s description to a virtual tour of where it is housed in the museum.

Tokyo National Museum. Discover paintings, sculptures, textiles, clay, and ceramics at this renowned art museum, which allows you to wander the rooms as if you were there. As you browse the halls, you can select individual items for an up-close look and more information about specific items. We especially enjoyed the clay collection in this family-friendly museum.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS TO EXPLORE

National Aquarium. Baltimore is known for its renowned aquarium, and now you can watch jellyfish, blacktip reef sharks, and coral reef firsthand thanks to three livestreams. While the livestreams are only available during business hours, views can watch pre-recorded segments at their own convenience during off hours. For similar exhibits, visit our article on watching and interacting with animals online.

The Exploratorium. Children interested in science, technology, and the arts will delight in the interactive experiences offer by the San Francisco-based museum. Videos on cells as well as soap film painting are a highlight. The museum helpfully includes a comprehensive list of past videos, allowing for browsing at one’s own pace.

Frida Kahlo Museum. With the extensive online collections of this Mexico City museum, you can learn more about the list of the influential artist and her legacy. Browsing items in each part of the collection, from oil painting to paper, allows for a better understanding of Kahlo’s appreciation for the genre of photography.

The Rijksmuseum. The extensive virtual collections of this Amsterdam-based museum spotlight Dutch history and culture throughout the centuries. In addition to collections of engraving and etchings, viewers can explore each floor of the museum firsthand, thanks to the Museum Views feature.

Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Teenagers and adults looking to strengthen their knowledge of social justice will find much to explore in this museum, located at Ferris State University. With options for a virtual tour and plenty of historical artifacts to browse, this is a welcome resource for students and educators.

To attend the meeting, please email Library Director Berk: jberk@bapl.org. You will be emailed the link to attend.

Bethlehem’s history comes to life in this picture book brought to you by the Bethlehem Area Public Library and the National Museum of Industrial History. TUG is a tow tractor helping Bethlehem’s steelworkers to do their very best. He is always there when the workers need him, but what happens when the steel mill closes? After the last cast is poured and TUG is left alone at the steel mill, he learns that no matter how much Bethlehem might change there is always more that he can do to help. Children can read TUG’s story and then visit him at the Industrial Museum, where he is still a working artifact helping with the heavy lifting 25 years after the last cast.

The book will be released on November 14, 2020, as part of the Last Cast celebration at the National Museum of Industrial History. Members of the Steelworkers Archive will help celebrate the book with a “Storytime with a Steelworker” as part of the day’s events. Children will also be able to meet the real TUG that day, as the vehicle will be on display at NMIH.

So where did the idea for the book come from? “In late March, [library director] Josh Berk emailed me to ask if I knew of any children’s books about Bethlehem Steel,” says author Catherine McCafferty. “When I said I didn’t, he said, ‘Maybe we write one…'”

Berk had a conversation with NMIH’s historian, Mike Piersa, who had the perfect idea for a main character. Piersa says “What makes TUG such an engaging character is that, like a person setting off on their own career, he took his skills to new places, multiple times, and made a living that earned him respect and admiration.”

TUG’s commitment to hard work is something that any young readers can take with them long after turning the last page. Berk says “if a kid goes to their first day of school after reading TUG!, they can carry with them his commitment and dedication to doing a good job, and his belief that he can do anything he puts his mind to, even if they are nervous.”

McCafferty adds “from the beginning, I felt very strongly that TUG’s story was the story of the Steel: hard work and friendship, loss and abandonment, then a renewed sense of value and purpose.”[/vc_column_text]

PLEASE READ the rules carefully and fill out the form completely. For further questions, please email rkochmaruk@bapl.org with the subject line “GHOST STORY.” Have fun writing!

CONTEST RULES

1. The contest is open to youth aged 7 to 15.

2. Submit your ghostly tale in one of the following age categories: Ages 7-9, Ages 10-12, Ages 13-15.

3. The contest runs until Monday, October 19th, 2020.

4. The story must be your own work: either an original piece, or a retelling (in your own words) of a ghost story that you’ve heard.

5. Judges will pick two winners in each age / story category, and winners will be announced the last week in October.

6. The winning authors may choose to have their stories shared on one of the library’s social media platforms (with parent consent). A small prize will be awarded to each winner as well.

7. Limit of one story per writer. Individual entries only; group or class submissions will not be accepted.

8. The entries may be typed or LEGIBLY written. Entries may be submitted through the form below, by dropping them off at any of the Bethlehem Area Public Library locations or by emailing them to coolidge@bapl.org with the subject line GHOST STORY.

ENTER HERE

For the past several years, what I really wanted for Mother’s Day was to take a drive down to Longwood Gardens and enjoy the splendor of color and fragrance and hidden garden paths after a Pennsylvania winter. But there was always something else to do with children – dance recitals, track events, birthday parties – you know how that goes. And before I knew it, both daughters were away at college. So this year, with them back at home due to the pandemic, it would have been the perfect time to visit a botanical garden, especially since spring seems to have been extended with yoyo-like weather. But alas. We could not visit due to the quarantine. But what I learned is that many public gardens around the country are bringing their beauty to us in virtual tours.

An arbor of wisteria at Longwood Gardens beckons a leisurely stroll. (Photo credit Carlita Benazita at Unsplash)

At this time of year, I expect to find dappled woods with a profusion of azalea in coral, carnation, and fuschia pinks. Native dogwood blooms with a moon-like glow, and arbored pathways are draped with cascading purple wisteria clusters.

Two botanical gardens near to the Lehigh Valley are offering virtual tours  – Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA and the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, NY. So this year, I savor the visit to Longwood via my MacBook, and I will wait in anticipation for next spring.

Our Gardens, Your Home:
https://longwoodgardens.org/our-gardens-your-home

NYBG at Home
https://www.nybg.org/nybg-at-home/

The second thing you can do is apply to be a Census worker at this site. There are many openings for workers. These positions offer competitive wages as well reimbursement for authorized travel expenses during your field work. Most of these positions feature flexible hours — you can help your country do the important work of counting its population around your own schedule.

Take the Census Online

Find a Census 2020 Job

Josh recommends: Alexander McCall-Smith. We have a lot of his books on Overdrive! I got into him through the Number One Ladies Detective Agency series, but I really love Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. Those books are a hilarious and gentle skewering of academia. I also recently enjoyed his My Italian Bulldozer (on Overdrive). It has a lovely setting and funny adventures. Things go wrong — but not too wrong— for food writer Paul Stewart and there is an enjoyable conclusion to this first in a new series.

Jennifer says: I am  one those weird people who prefers to read things that remind me it could be a lot worse. Feed by Mira Grant is one for this occasion.

Matthew R. recommends: Hannah Tinti. Her two novels The Good Thief and The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley both share a love for misfit characters, oddball mysteries, and quirky New England locales. They also both feel like timeless, ageless classics already – books that could have been written today or 100 years ago, and can be enjoyed by any age. I also love that both feature younger protagonists that are unsure about their past, and that must overcome that past in order to grow. And as described by many before, Tinti’s writing has a sort of Robert Louis Stevenson vibe to it that harkens back to adventure novels of the 19th century.

Robin recommends some books she enjoyed with her daughter: (1) A Child’s Book of Poems illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa. The illustrations are dreamy, sweet, and beautiful. (2) The Hilarious Adventures of Paddington by Michael Bond, especially for reading aloud (British accent a must) because Paddington is so lovable and funny that you’ll wish he was real.

Jeff, Roy, and Jean Schreffler present the Vintage Postcard Art piece of the Butztown Hotel, circa 1910.

These calendars are distributed through St. Luke’s University Health network and also are now here digitally! See the link below for a full month’s worth of storytimes and other early literacy events for kids and families to enjoy. This is for January 2020. Events are held at all BAPL locations as well as the Banana Factory, Barnes & Noble, Bethlehem Township Community Center, and PBS39. Find out more about how the calendar program started here.

January 2020 Literacy Calendar

Sunday, October 13 – Friday, October 18
Barnes & Noble at The Promenade Shops
2960 Center Valley Parkway
Center Valley, PA 18034

• Check out the article here
• More info on Bike Bethlehem here

“The initiative is part of a trend where renting a bike to get around town is just as easy as borrowing a book.”