Visit this page to find out the latest news about Providence Community Library, information about our Friends groups, community partners as well as views and comments on current events and stories that impact the library. Please check back often - we'll continue to send you a short, succinct summary in the form of a newsletter.
Spanish is spoken by more than 500 million people in the world and is the first language of a substantial number of residents in Providence. Why not join one of our Learn to Speak Spanish courses, starting in January, to learn or improve your knowledge of this important language?
A new season of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes will start in January at Knight Memorial, Mount Pleasant, Rochambeau, Smith Hill and Wanskuck, and in February at Washington Park. The classes will run until May and will cover grammar, conversation and writing. Call Carolina Briones 401-467-2700 x1608 or email
Olneyville will launch an exciting, new, all-ages creative program starting January 7th called Fashion For All with Tommy. Led by Tommy Maing, a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, everyone aged 8+ is welcome to come and learn sewing basics as well as how to sew and design a fashion collection in a class featuring brainstorming, collaboration and the creation of clothing.
Sankofa World Market and Friends of Knight Memorial Library Book Sale are joining forces for a Holiday celebration! Join us for this community event, celebrating the partnership of Sankofa Market and KML, where you will find affordable gifts for your friends and family.
Sankofa World Market's diverse mix of vendors will have a variety of homemade gifts including candles and body products, clothing, and crafts. There will be face painting, gift giveaways for kids, music, prepared food and more!
5% of sale proceeds will go to the library.
Carolina Briones, PCL’s Latino Program Coordinator, received a well deserved Latino Community Leadership award on October 15 from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA), in recognition of her tireless work to advance and promote Latino arts and culture in Rhode Island.
Back in March, PCL was chosen as one of just ten pilot sites nationwide for Storycorps@your library, a program of the American Library Association and Storycorps, the national oral history project, with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Over the last six months, we’ve recorded more than 70 conversations with people who reflect the fascinating diversity of Providence. We’d like to thank the library staff (especially Leah Lubman and David Sok), volunteer facilitators and interview participants who have made Storycorps@your library such a success.
When Brook Street’s Acme Video Store was forced to close its doors in 2013, PCL stepped in to make sure that its film collection remained available to the people of Providence. Eighteen months on, the task of cataloging the vast collection of more than 5,000 DVDs is now complete! The collection includes TV series, classic comedies, thrillers, drama, children's cinema and many popular titles – all available for loan for free with a PCL library card. We are sure you’re going to like the DVDs – the Acme collection has resulted already in more than 19,000 new checkouts!
Michelle Novello, PCL Program Coordinator and Cheryl Space, Youth Services Coordinator, have joined Mayor Elorza’s Summer Reading Taskforce. The taskforce is charged with making recommendations for ways to curb summer learning loss among Providence students and draws upon the collective experience of representatives from almost 30 educational and community organizations. The taskforce will report early next year.
Do you know someone who would benefit from our GED program in Spanish? A nine-month long preparation course began in September and a few places are still available. The program prepares participants to take the GED exam and move forward with educational and professional aspirations, such as college courses or jobs that require high school diplomas. PCL will continue to accept new students for the current program until December 31. The next Spanish language GED program will begin in September 2016. Contact Carolina Briones 401-467-2700 x1608 for more information.
We are pleased to announce that Festival Ballet Providence will present hour-long Nutcracker Ballet Workshops in December for students K-6 at all locations. The workshops begin with a reading of the Nutcracker Ballet story, followed by a short creative movement or pre-ballet class, highlighted by the use of images and music from the ballet. The programs conclude with a craft experience where children get a chance to make their own mouse king or queen crown. These workshops are extremely popular and are a great way to get into the mood for the Holidays!
