Children

We offer fifteen weekly programs for children birth to age six. These include storytimes, craft programs, a Spanish class, exercise classes and more. Please go to bpstorytimes.blogspot.com for more details.

Collection

We have a wide array of materials available to children and young adults.

Printed materials include:

Board books for toddlers

Picture books

Easy Basic (EB) fiction and non-fiction for beginning readers

Easy Reader (ER) books fiction and non-fiction for first and second grader

Foreign language books

Graphic novels – comic books for all ages

Juvenile Fiction and Non-Fiction

Magazines for all age ranges

Sensitive topic – a selection of books about sensitive issues such as death, divorce, abuse, and more

Young Adult (YA) for children in upper grades

Non-Print Items:

Books on CD

Computer games

DVDs

Music CDs

Puppets

VCR tapes

Display Case

We have a display case located in the Children’s Department where kids can show off their favorite collection for one week. Please sign up in advance since this is one of our most popular attractions!

Grandparent Kits

Do you have grandchildren coming to visit? We will make up a special kit with books, cd’s, dvds, and/or puppets geared to your grandchildren’s ages and interests.

Homeschool Programs

We offer monthly homeschool programs throughout the school year for all ages. Classes offered include Writing, Spanish, and Homeschool Happenings. Please go to bethelparkhomeschoolhappenings.blogspot.com for more details and class schedules.

Summer Reading Club

Every year we offer Summer Reading Clubs for all ages to encourage children to read during the summer months. We offer cool prizes and programs for all ages. This years theme is “Be Creative!” Please check our blog (bpkids.blogspot.com) after June 1^st for more information.

Teachers Resource Center/Concept Kits

The teacher resource center consists of resource books, magazines, concept kits, and storytelling kits for use by educators.

Concept kits consist of a collection of books and materials related to a specific theme. Most kits include several picture books, fingerplay ideas, felt stories, stamps, puppets, and more. We have more than 50 kits available and we also can make a kit up about any topic you may need with advance notice. These kits circulate by week and must be reserved by signing up in the library.

Trip Kits

Going on vacation? Long road trip ahead? We will make up a trip kit with books, cd’s, dvds, and/or puppets geared to your children’s ages and interests.

Volunteers

We have many volunteer opportunities for teens and adults in our department. Please contact Nancy McLaughlin at 412-835-2207 ext 266.

-Reserve requests – the general public may reserve currently checked out circulating materials. The library may consider adding duplicate copies to satisfy the expressed demand. --
Purchase suggestions – Library users are encouraged to suggest titles and/or subjects that they would like to see in the collection. Suggestions can be made to any staff member. In such cases, the stated selection criteria will be taken into account.
Statement of Concern Regarding Library Materials – There may be occasions when a member of the community may be concerned about a particular item in the library’s collection. If a patron wishes the library to reconsider material that is in the collection, a form (Appendix C) is available from the circulation desk. This form must be completed in its entirety and returned to a library staff member. Once the form is received, the Director will review the request, the item’s place in the collection, and reasons for including the item in the collection. The Director will then contact the patron. A copy of the letter will be filed and the Board of Trustees will be informed

Fiction
Audio-visual (video, recorded books, recorded music)
Non-fiction (including materials for curriculum support)
Periodicals
Reference (including materials for curriculum sup

Allegheny County Library Association