April 2019 -- Upcoming Events - Join Us!
2019 Exhibition & Program Series: “New Century, New Building: PPL Opens, 1900”

Tuesday, April 16
6 pm reception; 6:30 - 8 pm program
PPL Marble Staircase/Balcony (3rd fl)

Join us as we kick off our 2019 program series!
As the 19th century drew to a close, Providence thrived as a manufacturing center, and immigrants seeking work fueled rapid population growth. PPL opened in 1878 in one rented room downtown; within a dozen years library trustees were drawing up plans for an aspirational and enduring building that would meet the needs of this booming city into the future. Join cultural historian Nancy Austin, Founding Principal 3sixØ Architecture/RISD Professor of Architecture Christopher Bardt, writer Taylor Polites, and RI Historical Society Deputy Executive Director for Collections and Interpretation Richard Ring for a conversation about how that building reflected the city’s cultural, economic, and geographical realities, and fit into the larger story of public libraries, at a time of great but precarious promise in Providence. Free and open to the public; space is limited. Please register.

Upcoming Programs - SAVE THE DATES!
Thurs, May 9, 6 pm reception, 6:30 pm program - "Mid-Century Modern? PPL Expands, 1954" 

Tues, May 14, 6 pm reception, 6:30 pm program - "Think Again: PPL Transforms, 2020"
Check out our Exhibition at Rhode Tour
 
We've officially launched our 2019 Exhibition & Program Series, titled 41.8219° N, 71.4171° W (PPL’s coordinates) . Both exhibition and programs will examine themes of permanence and impermanence, mutability and immutability, and create intentional links between the two. Although the object of each differs, both the exhibition ( digitally on Rhode Tour at:  prov.pub/UsedToBe ) and programs will study the evolution of the urban landscape and the imprints left by human activity.

Beginning with PPL’s building and rippling outward, the 41.8219° N, 71.4171° W exhibition explores how our environment illuminates the city’s larger history and encourages people to look at their surroundings in ways that they haven’t looked before. It focuses on the histories of vacant places and open space throughout Providence, utilizing site-specific signs and a digital tour featuring maps, photographs, and information gleaned from PPL’s Special Collections. As PPL is in the midst of a major building transformation for the 21st century, the 41.8219° N, 71.4171° W program series will consider how PPL’s physical continuities and changes over the past 120 years reflect the evolution of Providence as a city, a culture, and a community.

We are pleased to present this year's exhibition in partnership with Rhode Tour and as part of  Year of the City, Providence 2019 . See more
These illustrations were drawn by our wonderfully talented volunteer, Nancy Hart. Nancy is also a painter.  Our friends at Rhode Island Plant Society gave us seeds from plants native to Rhode Island, like the Swamp Milkweed ( Asclepias incarnata)  and New England Aster ( Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) pictured here . We will be giving away various seeds for plants native to Rhode Island during our Plant Swap on April 27. You can also learn more about using native plants in your garden during our Eco-system Gardening with RI Native Plants program on May 6.
Join Us...Upcoming Gardening Programs at PPL

Soil Testing with William Baddeley, URI Master Gardener
April 19 | 12—1:30 pm | Ship Room

Spring Plant Swap
April 27 | 10 am—12:00 pm | Grand Hall

Eco-system Gardening with RI Native Plants with Karen Asher from Rhode Island Wild Plant Society
May 6 | 6—7:30 pm | Ship Room
Spring Small Business Workshop Series Continues

Saturdays through April 27
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
PPL Ship Room

RI SCORE  counselors present and discuss the various aspects of planning and owning a business. PPL staff discusses print and electronic resources available at the Library to research your business and marketing plan.
Registration required. REGISTER

Upcoming Workshops:
Apr 13 -- It’s Who THEY Know that Counts -   The Art & Science of Power Networking & Sale
Apr 20 -- Show Me the Money Part 2 - Accounting for the Small Business  
Apr 27 -- Discovering Your Business Model -   Starting Your Business Plan
MONEY SMART WEEK
Financial Education Programs

As part of annual Money Smart Week, PPL is pleased to offer two free financial education programs to be held at the Library, 225 Washington Street, Providence (Ship Room). Attendees are asked to sign up for these programs.
 
Credit Building Tips | Monday, April 15 | 2 - 3 pm
 
Join us for a free information session to learn how our Financial Coaching PLUS program can help you fix your finances. You'll walk away knowing how to improve your credit score and avoid predatory debt. You’ll also have an opportunity to get to know our Financial Coaches and ask any questions about our program. Presented by Isabel Rodriguez from Capital Good Fund . Sign up

AARP Fraud Watch Presentation | Wednesday, April 17 | 3 - 4 pm

Every year, hundreds of Rhode Islanders are impacted by fraud and scams. Some lose life savings. You should not become a statistic. AARP’s Fraud Watch Network helps fight con artists and identity thieves. Join us for an AARP presentation that explains how scammers operate. You’ll discover the warning signs that a scam is in play and stop crooks in their tracks. You’ll also receive a free copy of AARP’s  The Con Artist’s Playbook  – based on thousands of hours of interviews with con artists and law enforcement. Sign up
Context & Conversation: "Human/Nature," inspired by Little Shop of Horrors

Brown University Herbarium
34 Olive St., Providence

Domesticated and disciplined into doing our bidding, the natural world awaits a chance to reassert its power, to overrun the man-made boundaries and borders we arrogantly thought would keep us safe. After decades of relying on antibiotics to wipe out once fatal diseases, we now know that our careless use of them has led to the development of new, untreatable pathogens, which threaten our social order and our very lives. Join us for a conversation with artists, scholars, and community practitioners to consider the unfolding consequences we now face, and what it means to live in their shadow. 

Context & Conversation is inspired by the production at Trinity Rep, but is not dependent upon it; you don't need to see the production to attend and participate in a Context & Conversation event.

Reservations are encouraged, please RSVP to  events@trinityrep.com  (with "Little Shop C&C" in the subject line) indicating the number of seats you would like.
Sunset Show on Earth Day

Monday, April 22 | 5:30 - 8 pm
Collier Point Park, Providence

Our 2019 Creative Fellow Laura Brown-Lavoie sent along this invitation to an event she is organizing for Earth Day: 

Please come for a sunset show at the water's edge at Collier Point Park on Earth Day, April 22. Poetry, music, and an interactive installation for the fossil fuels we rely on and the bay by which we wheeze and thrive, grow pray and die. The show opens at 5:30 with performances periodically until a finale at sunset around 7:30. Bring your dinner if you wish. There will be opportunities to share your own stories or poems, and guaranteed the beauty of the evening sea.
NEWEST BOOK CLUB!

The Nature of Things Book Club at PPL!

NEXT MEETING:
Weds, April 24 | 7 - 8 pm
PPL Ship Room

The group is reading: The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montogmery.

This group meets the last Wednesday of every month. Join us...all are welcome!

Are you curious by nature? Do you wonder about the world around you?
Join the newest PPL book club  to explore our fascinating world and discover all there is to know! Members choose non-fiction titles to pique our curiosity and lead us to amazing discoveries. Copies of each month’s title will be available for check-out at PPL’s service desk in the Rhode Island Room. For more information, contact Tien Tran at  ttran@provlib.org.
Family Learning Sunday: URI Master Gardener Kate Aubin Teaches Composting

Sunday, May 5
2 - 3 pm Register 
This year's free programs will take place off-site at our temporary location for children's programs at the Pavillion at Grace Episcopal Church,
300 Westminster Street, Providence

When we're done eating, where do our food scraps go? In this hands-on program, you'll learn about the importance of composting and how you can start doing it at home. We'll get our hands dirty, explore what role worms play in the process, and plant some seeds in compost to take home.

Family Learning Sundays offer a variety of free interactive workshops for children ages 5 - 10 and their families from October through May.