Avast ye mateys! Every September 19th is "International Talk Like a Pirate Day" and to celebrate, the pirate duo The Rambling Sailors will perform traditional and modern sea shanties and ballads of the sea at 2PM in the lower level of the Louis Stokes Wing. There will be pirate activities for the kids and refreshments. Make sure you dress and talk like a pirate! This event is free and open to all ages. So weigh anchor, hoist the mizzen, and bring the lads and lassies to the Main Library Louis Stokes Wing on Saturday, September 19^th, 2009 at 2PM to enjoy an afternoon of maritime fun. Aaarrrrrrr!

Be sure to check out these pirate-themed book titles! 

Cleveland Public Library, along with all 31 CLEVNET libraries, got a "thumbs up" from library patrons for digital downloads at Progressive Field's Gateway Plaza on Friday. Local company OverDrive showcased their high-tech Digital Bookmobile, demonstrating how easy one can download eBooks, Audio Books, Music & Video from our eMedia Collection -- and it's all available at your CLEVNET library! Slider passed out hugs, danced and mugged for the camera. See photos from the event...

Inspired by a discussion of vampire novels at the library, teens from our Carnegie West branch took the Summer Reading Club theme of Be Creative @ Your Library to another level. During a discussion of the novel Blue Bloods, librarian Helen Zaluckyj challenged the group to write a book using Cleveland locations as inspiration, while incorporating the term "mercy killing" into their writing. Writing under the pen name The Carnegie Seven, they have written seven parts to a story entitled Mercy Killing and have YouTube and Quizilla accounts to share it with the world. The group is also developing zines and manga related to Mercy Killing. Says the group, "Writing Mercy Killing has been lots of fun for everyone." Click here for an excerpt.

Sustainable Cleveland 2019:
Building an Economic Engine
to Empower a Green City on a Blue Lake

From August 12 -14, Mayor Frank G. Jackson hosted an appreciative inquiry (AI) summit, bringing together a diverse group of people vested in and dedicated to Cleveland to use their vast knowledge and imagination to create an action plan for building a green economy for Cleveland’s future. Learn more at the city's website and view titles discussed at the Summit.

The Cleveland Public Library is pleased to announce a new podcast archive page on the Fine Arts and Special Collections Department portion of our site. This page features MP3 files for most of the "Music at Main" events that have been held. The next live event will take place this Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 2PM and will be held out in the Eastman Reading Garden. The library will host the Kent Shindig All-Stars (featuring some of the finest traditional musicians in northeast Ohio) performing old-time music. See the Fine Arts and Special Collections blog for more information.

Cleveland Public Library would like to publicize a new public health initiative called the Black Health Empowerment Project (BHEP). Now entering its fifth year, BHEP is an obesity awareness and health promotion tour designed to educate African Americans about the health risks associated with obesity.

We are very thankful for the overwhelming support given by Ohioans for libraries across the state. In an effort to keep you informed, we will post updates about the budget and how it will affect the Cleveland Public Library on a regular basis.

Where We Are and Where We're Going

Library to be Closed on Sundays in Response to the State's Funding Cuts (8/4/2009)

Realigning the Budget in Response to the State’s Funding Cuts (7/21/2009)

In these difficult economic times, any small business would like to make itself more successful and profitable. One such way is by using competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence involves looking at your business in relation to its competitors, industry, and the general environment in order to make better informed decisions. While competitive intelligence is most commonly used by Fortune 500 companies, it is equally beneficial for small businesses.  Small business owners may think that they cannot afford competitive intelligence; however, this is not true. Any small business owner can perform some basic, beneficial research using freely available Cleveland Public Library (CPL) resources.