Special Events

• Tree Decoration Start: Monday, November 25, 2024 (during library hours)
  Trees will be available for decoration starting Monday, November 25th. Please feel free to come by anytime during our regular library hours.

  **If you need something additional for your library tree please leave a message for Andrea Marsh at 906-226-4318 or email at amarsh@pwpl.info

  Note: The library will be closed on Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29, in observance of Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day.

• Library Open on Saturday, November 30: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
  We will be open for tree decorating and other activities on this Saturday.

• Tree Decoration Deadline: Friday, December 6, 2024 by 5:00 pm
  Please ensure your trees are decorated by this date, as local school and homeschool groups will be touring the Winter Wonderland Walk shortly after. Let's make sure they have a magical experience!

• Winter Wonderland Walk Celebration: Thursday, December 12, 2024
  Mark your calendars for the celebration, starting at 6:00 pm, building-wide. Enjoy the festive sounds of Big Lake Acoustic playing your holiday favorites and sing-alongs from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm.
  Warm up with hot cocoa and cookies in the Huron Mountain Club Gallery.
• Winter Wonderland Walk Trees must be removed of all decorations no later than Saturday, January 4 at 4:30 pm. This is a hard deadline. 

Peter White Public Library proudly presents the Community Conversation program, generously sponsored by Meredith & Robert Kulishek. Launched at the height of the 2020 pandemic, this initiative has evolved to focus on educating the community for its collective advancement. Now, the program is dedicated to fostering learning and growth within our community. 

The Community Conversation program for this year, titled "Media Smart: Navigating Misinformation in the Information Age," centers around themes related to information literacy. The key areas of focus encompass misinformation, Artificial Intelligence, and the cultivation of digital literacy skills. Please explore this year's program resources below. 

Media Smart Resources

We are pleased to announce that Media Smart will be regularly updating resources and providing insightful questions throughout the year 2024. We encourage you to visit this space monthly for the latest tools aimed at enhancing your ability to discern misinformation in today's dynamic digital landscape.

Sue Ellen Christian Presentation

• "Everyday Media Literacy: An Analog Guide for Your Digital Life" By Sue Ellen Christian

     
  

• Sue Ellen Christian's Presentations with Slides
  • Q & A Clarification and Resources
    • The NYT lawsuit regarding potentially illegal use of news outlet content for training AI model is against OpenAI and Microsoft. You can read about it more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/business/media/new-york-times-open-ai-microsoft-lawsuit.html

    • News content aggregation is generally considered legal as long as it constitutes "fair use" under copyright law. Linking to the original source of the news in the aggregation is also important in the attribution of content and to monetizing the content.

      For more, see the second and third paragraphs of this article: https://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2021/10/articles/copyright-office-initiates-study-of-ancillary-copyright-protections-accorded-to-publishers-reviewing-news-aggregation-and-digital-medias-use-of-news-content-from-t/

    • An audience member asked whether "The Week" magazine was a credible news source. Here is more about the outlet from the media watchdog outlet MediaBiasFactCheck.Com: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-week/

Local Media Panel Discussion

• Media Bias Fact Check (MBFC)
  • The most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. There are currently 7500+ media sources, journalists and politicians listed in their database. Sources rated very high or high on factual reporting have proper sourcing and a clean fact-check record.
• The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN)
  • To be deemed compliant with IFCN principles, an organization must exhibit a commitment to nonpartisanship and fairness, transparency of sources, transparency of funding and organization, transparency of methodology, and a commitment to open and honest corrections. Some of the verified signatories of the IFCN.
• AP Fact Check
  • Focuses on fact-checking political claims and publishes “Not Real News: A Look at What Didn’t Happen This Week.” MBFC rates The Associated Press as at the border of least-biased and left-biased but very high on factual accuracy.
• factcheck.org 
  • monitors the factual accuracy of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. MBFC rates it as dead-center, least biased, and very high on factual reporting.
• PolitiFact
  • Is among the least biased IFCN sites. It leans slightly left or center and ranks high on factual reporting of the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. 
• Science Feedback
  • Reviews climate-related, health and medical claims. Their fact-checkers with PhDs with recently published articles in top-tier peer-reviewed science journals, making this the best fact-checking for science-related claims. 
• Ballotpedia
  • This is a nonprofit and nonpartisan encyclopedia of American Politics and elections. It is designed to connect people to politics utilizing a neutral point-of-view philosophy. MBFC rates us as dead-center, least biased, and very high on factual reporting. 
• Sunlight Foundation
  • Monitors government websites for transparency and accountability. MBFC rates it slightly left-center and high on factual accuracy. 
• Michigan Voting "Fact Checks"
  • This is the State of Michigan-based website formed to provide Michiganders with accurate and truthful election information. 
• Media Wise Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN)
  • Publishers fact-check for teenagers, by teenagers. Learn from amazing kids! 

NEA Big Read Returns to Peter White Public Library

Marquette and Surrounding Communities to Read and Celebrate Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? in March 2025

Peter White Public Library is one of 62 nonprofit organizations nationwide selected to receive a 2024-2025 NEA Big Read grant. The grant of $16,600 will support a community reading program focused on Roz Chast’s graphic memoir Can’t We Talk About Sometime More Pleasant? in March 2025.

“We are so excited at Peter White Public Library to be bringing the NEA Big Read back to the Upper Peninsula,” said Marty Achatz, Adult Programming Coordinator and Big Read organizer for Peter White Public Library. “And we’re excited to be focusing on Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, which highlights subjects like intergenerational communication, elder care, family dynamics, and people who make up a community. Chast approaches this subject matter with so much humor and compassion. Everyone is going to fall in love with this book.”

In total, the NEA is investing $1,075,000 to support programming centered around a book from the NEA Big Read Library, with the goal of inspiring meaningful conversations, celebrating local creativity, elevating a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and building stronger connections in each community.

“With every page turned, the NEA Big Read fosters understanding, empathy, and connection,” says Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair of the NEA. “Through a shared reading experience, our NEA Big Read grantees will explore their collective story and sense of place, cultivating a deeper appreciation for the diverse narratives that make up our beautiful and complex communities.”

The NEA Big Read offers a range of titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives, aiming to inspire conversation and discovery. The main feature of the initiative is a grants program, managed by Arts Midwest, which annually supports dynamic community reading programs.

“We live in a nation full of so many stories,” says Torrie Allen, President and CEO of Arts Midwest. “The NEA Big Read offers jumping off points for us to connect, converse, and learn about each other, all inspired by incredible books.”

This Big Read cycle focuses on the theme “Where We Live.” Grantees chose their NEA Big Read book based on how its themes, characters, and setting relate to the unique aspects of their community.

Peter White Public Library will partner with many community organizations and libraries for its Big Read programming, including the Center for Native American Studies at Northern Michigan University (NMU), English Department at NMU, Marquette Regional History Center, Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, and arts organizations and libraries throughout the U. P.

The NEA Big Read will kick off on Monday, March 3, 2025, at Peter White Public Library with an event featuring award-winning novelist John Smolens discussing the subject of researching history/historical personages to understand who we are and where we live. Other programs during the month include writing workshops, movies, art exhibits, and a virtual appearance by Roz Chast, author of Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,800 NEA Big Read programs, partnering with over 40,000 organizations. More than six million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, and over 90,000 volunteers have participated at the local level to make NEA Big Read activities possible. For more information about the NEA Big Read, including book and author information, podcasts, and videos, visit arts.gov/neabigread.

Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.

Arts Midwest believes that creativity has the power to inspire and unite humanity. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest grows, gathers, and invests in creative organizations and communities throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 30 years. For more information, visit artsmidwest.org.

In recognition of National Poetry Month this April, Peter White Public Library is set to celebrate its annual Great Lakes Poetry Festival. Generously supported by the Library of Michigan, Friends of PWPL and the Carroll Paul Memorial Trust Fund, the library is eager to establish this festival as an annual tradition.

Marty Achatz & Ronnie Ferguson, co-founders, envision the library transforming into a central hub for poetry and art within the Great Lakes region. To foster a rich cultural experience, the Peter White Public Library is committed to making the Great Lakes Poetry Festival an integral part of its yearly calendar.

3-Day International Chapbook Contest

Contest Details:

The 2024 International 3-Day Poetry Chapbook Contest is an opportunity for writers to engage for one weekend in the collective spirit of creating new work. The contest is designed to push participants to try new writing methods, ideas, and forms. Following all contest guidelines will help generate poetry that is raw, original, fresh, and exciting.

Registration:

Registration is now full and manuscripts are being reviewed.

Theme:

"Room for Love"

Details:

Registered poets will begin writing on Friday, August 30, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. EST. They have until Monday, September 2, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. EST to produce a manuscript 15 to 40 pages in length. All poems included in the manuscript MUST be new and written within that timeframe. All participants are on the honor system.

To assist in the writing process, 30 poetry prompts based on the contest’s theme, will be made available to registered poets on Friday, August 30, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. EST.

Following the completion of the writing period, poets have 24 hours to polish and submit their completed manuscripts. All manuscripts must be submitted no later than Tuesday, September 3, 2024, by 6:00 p.m. No exceptions. Email your final chapbook submissions to 3daychapbookcontest@gmail.com.

Prizes:

· 1st Prize: $500, soft-cover publication (perfect bound), 50 free copies

· 2nd Prize: $30, soft-cover publication (perfect bound) 25 free copies

· 3rd Prize: $25, soft-cover publication (perfect bound) 25 free copies

Winners will be announced in January 2025.

Final Judge:

Diane Glancy is a celebrated poet, playwright, and novelist renowned for her exploration of diverse themes in her writing. Her works delve into the complexities of identity, culture, and spirituality, drawing inspiration from a rich tapestry of experiences. With a distinctive voice that weaves together history, myth, and personal reflections, Glancy’s poetry offers profound insights into the human condition and the dynamic interplay between tradition and modernity. Her prolific output and literary accolades speak to her standing as a significant figure in contemporary literature. Diane Glancy was the Headline Poet for the 2024 Great Lakes Poetry Festival.

Previous winners are ineligible for the competition.

POSTPONED TILL WINTER 2025

We're shifting Puzzle Mania to winter—because Marquette's summer views are too distracting for puzzle pieces!

Let’s get ready to puuuuuuzzzzllllleee!!!!  Join in the fun for PWPL’s first competitive puzzle competition!  

CONTEST DETAILS

Here's how it works:

• Get a team together of 2-4 people. This is an event for individuals 12 years and older. There must be at least one adult (18+) on each team.
• Create a team name.  Creativity counts toward a “Puzzle Spirit Award.”
• Team captain registers for the team online HERE.  The captain will be the primary contact for the event. Space is limited to 15 teams. 
• Come at least 15 minutes early to sign in and get last-minute instructions.
• Registration will close 24 hours before the event. If you need to cancel your registration, visit pwpl.info to do so.

Event Details:

• • Each team receives the same 1000-piece puzzle. No one gets to see the puzzle until the timer begins.
  • The goal is to be the team that finishes the jigsaw puzzle in the shortest amount of time.
  • If no team is finished at the 120-minute mark, the winning team will be the one with fewest remaining loose pieces.
  • In the event of a tie, teams will get an additional five minutes to work on the puzzle.
  • No outside assistance (persons or technology or cell phones) is permitted.
  • Team members must be adults or teens and are the only people allowed at their team's table during the competition.
  • PWPL will supply the competition puzzle and table.  Teams are allowed to bring puzzle trays, if they wish.