Reflecting
on 2024
.jpeg)
Microsoft Excel Work Readiness Pathway for English Language Learners Launched
PPL launched the first in a new RI DLT-funded Microsoft Excel Work Readiness training series specially designed for English language learners. The series ran for 30 sessions over 12 weeks. Three more levels of the series would follow beginning in January with continued funding of $79,000 (slated for 2nd & 3rd series sessions) from the RI Department of Labor & Training (DLT), as well as renewed funding from the RI Department of Education (RIDE) and the Verizon Foundation. The program is also part of the RI SNAP Employment & Training program, administered by LISC RI and supported by RI Reconnect, an initiative of the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner. The program focuses on serving high beginner/low intermediate English language learners, as well as those who are unemployed or underemployed and working in or interested in careers requiring knowledge of Excel. In funding this initiative, DLT noted that it aligns with its mission to empower individuals, especially those from diverse linguistic backgrounds, with essential skills for career advancement, while uplifting learners, breaking down language barriers, and contributing to a more skilled and inclusive workforce In Rhode Island. The Excel Work Readiness Pathway for English Language Learners builds upon PPL’s five years of experience delivering Microsoft Office Certificate classes and entry-level MOS classes for mostly non-native speakers of English who have earned industry-recognized credentials and advanced in the workforce with high-demand skills.
September ’23
September ’23 - May ’24
Two Programs for Teens to Learn & Earn Kick Off
Teens in grades 9 - 12 were offered two opportunities to learn and earn, either a work stipend and high school credit or industry recognized certification, by participating in a Rhode Coders Python class (September - December) or a CAD & 3D Modeling class (September - May). Students in the Python course learned the code behind the website, getting a foundation of web development programming and coding through a fun and game-oriented approach. Participants earned a work stipend and .5 of a high school credit through the RI Department of Education's All Coursework Network in addition to a $350 stipend upon completion of the program. Students in the CAD & 3 D Modeling class learned how to design and make 3D models, getting the fundamentals of Autodesk Inventor, a 3D/CAD Design Software, and how to use it to design, model and create 3D objects. The year-long, in-person course allowed students to learn how to use professional level 3 modeling/CAD software, as well as to earn an industry recognized certification.
October ’23
2024 Creative Fellow Announced
Natalie Paris, an author, artist, and engineer, with a passion for writing science fiction, became PPL's 2024 Creative Fellow. For the 2024 Creative Fellowship, the Fellow was charged with creating a new, original work in the field of writing related to the topic of maritime culture, whaling, and the sea as part of the Library’s 2024 Exhibition & Program series. PPL offers an annual Creative Fellowship for an artist to create new work with a topical tie-in to the Library’s exhibition and program series. Creative Fellows perform in-depth research in our historical collections, using images and text as source material and/or inspiration. Natalie wrote the novel "Tomorrow Ye Will Get Your Pay," about whaling and climate change. To read a copy, visit the Special Collections reading room.
October ’23
PPL Served as Convening Site for Imagining America National Gathering
In partnership with College Unbound, AS220 community arts, and the City of Providence, PPL served as a convening site for the 2023 Imagining America National Gathering welcoming more than 600 participants. Invoking the cleansing work of fire, the changing form of water, the steadiness of the earth, and the ethereal nature of air, Radical Reckoning: Invoking the Elements for Collective Change conjured the elements to guide the radical work of reckoning with the past to create a future of collective liberation.
Updike Prize Ceremony Features Katie Garth
We welcomed Philadelphia print-based artist Katie Garth as our featured speaker for the 2023 biennial Updike Prize ceremony. Every other year we gather to reward and celebrate student type designers who are designing new typefaces by refashioning the historical artifacts in the Library’s Updike Collection on the History of Printing. Whether students choose to revive a historic typeface or create a new typeface inspired by an earlier design, applications are judged on the quality of the specimen, the quality of the typeface submitted and how creatively and thoughtfully it interprets a historical model. Katie’s talk was entitled “What About All These Words and Images?” and was the first to take place post-pandemic in the newly-renovated library. The 2023 winners and finalists were: Clara Cayosa, Montallegro (Revival) (First Prize) Emily Bludedorn, Household Management Tina Zhou, Dupe
November ’23
RI Poet Laureate Colin Channer Visits PPL during National Poetry Month
PPL welcomed Rhode Island Poet Laureate Colin Channer during National Poetry Month to read from his new book, Console. A finalist for a 2023 New England Book Award, it is the second collection by “one of the most significant literary figures in the Caribbean.” (The Globe and Mail). Assured but chance-inflected, ever rooted in the local but always world-aware, Console reconsiders languages, geographies, and memories as luminous soundscapes. With lyric dexterity, Colin Channer jolts old notions of New England, cross-fading from the Berkshires to Anguilla, from Connecticut to Senegal. A dissolve to the poet’s childhood in Jamaica occurs after glimpsing an old record player in Providence, leading to the title poem’s meditations on reggae, religion, marriage, justice, and transgressions in the home. Born in Jamaica, Colin Channer was educated there and in New York. He has published ten books as fiction writer, poet, and editor, and his prose and poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Bomb, The Poetry Review, Harvard Review, Conjunctions, Agni, Prairie Schooner, Virginia Quarterly and other venues. Recent honors include a 2023 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award from Poet’s & Writers Magazine; and a 2022 Cullman Fellowship from the New York Public Library. He is an associate professor in the Department of Literary Arts, Brown University.
April ’24
February ’24
A RI LGBTQ History Collection Newly Digitized
PPL announced that the Kim Deacon Collection photographs are digitized and available on provlibdigital.org. Kim donated materials to the RI LGBTQ+ Community Archives at Providence Public Library in 2021. Her collection documents the Kings & Queen Bar in Woonsocket, R.I., as well as the LGBT community in Rhode Island from the 1970s-early 2000s. Kings & Queens was a gay bar at 285 Front Street in operation from 1977-2002. It was opened by Rita Paux (1922-2015) and operated by Kim Deacon (1951- ) from that time until it closed in 2002. A lifelong Woonsocket resident, Kim is a community activist, martial arts instructor and was the long-time manager of the Kings & Queens. Kim and Rita Paux were close friends and chosen family members after meeting. Together, the two women created a safe haven for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Kings & Queens included a bar and small dance floor. During her time operating the bar, Kim increasingly added annual events and holiday parties, fundraisers, and drag shows as well as regularly scheduled evenings for live entertainment, karaoke, darts, card games, and movie nights. In addition, she created social opportunities for LGBTQ+ people. The bulk of Kim's full collection includes photographs and videos, but additional clippings, event calendars and ephemera are also included. While 650+ photographs are now digitized, the other materials are available for viewing at PPL. Her photographs are now described and available online for people to reminisce about their own time at K&Q with friends or to learn about LGBTQ local history. PPL welcomes donations of personal collections to the RI LGBTQ+ Community Archives.
April ’24
PPL’s First-ever Podcast Debuts
Providence Public Library’s first-ever podcast “This, That, and Another,” about all things PPL and the communities we serve, launched just in time for National Library Week. The series is produced by PPL’s Digital Content Creator Jay Ruzicka and Community Partnership Facilitator Sophia Ellis. We invite you to tune in monthly to stay up to date on PPL news, programs & events, and connected to local authors, artists, and other voices from our community. We’ll talk about books, films, history, library collections and programs, and other topics of interest with members of our library staff and guests. Listen on Spotify or stream at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/providencepubliclibrary.
2023 Teen Creative Fellow Gallery Opening
PPL proudly announced the gallery opening of 2023 Teen Creative Fellow Seoyon Kim’s show “Return of the Celestial Visitors” and artist talk. In “Return of the Celestial Visitors,” Seoyon reimagines the Allen family of hot air balloonists, an 1800s Rhode Island family of aeronauts, to explore immigrant narratives inspired by her own family’s history. Drawing upon themes of spectacle, perception, and cultural disconnect, this exhibition features a series of multimedia pieces combining oil painting, fiber art, and woodworking. Seoyon’s work will hang in the Community Gallery on the 3rd Floor.
May ’24
August ’23
New Adult Sewing Meetups Start
Whether new to sewing or an old pro, adults were invited to join a regular sewing meetup on Saturdays in the Workshop. The groups were organized and hosted by Poonam Parab, who has more than 25 years of experience sewing apparel and is a certified sewing instructor. Sewers could join to learn to sew, work on their own projects and discuss/ask any questions related to sewing. The meetups were an opportunity to socialize and have fun, all while learning to create new items as well as how to alter/upcycle old or unwanted pieces of clothing. Participants could bring their own machines or use the Library's.
Congressional District 1 Debate
PPL partnered with the Black Lives Matter Rhode Island Progressive Action Committee (BLM RI PAC) and Rhode Island Black Business Association (RIBBA) to present a debate with candidates running to represent RI District 1 in the U.S. Congress and enable community members an opportunity to meet the candidates and find out their positions ahead of voting in the upcoming election. The debate centered on the needs of communities and figuring out ways to have folks who traditionally have been hurt by the system want to change the system. BLM RI PAC works to dismantle systemic racism and to build coalitions, as issues around power are not siloed. The PAC is also thinking about how the intimacies across intersectional differences help build a movement that protects the most vulnerable in Rhode Island.
August ’23
July - August ’23
Winners’ Circle XR Academy, Game Jam Summer Camp
PPL partnered with Winners' Circle XR Academy to offer a week-long Game Jam Summer Camp. Middle-school age participants dove into the amazing world of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) to learn how to design and code their very own VR or AR game, compete in thrilling VR tournaments, and learn all about the coolest XR technology!
Meshanticut Cultural Placemaking Confestival at PPL
From August 17 - 20, PPL proudly hosted the first annual Meshanticut Cultural Placemaking Confestival, organized by the Providence Cultural Equity Initiative. This inaugural two-day cultural placemaking conference was attended by over 70 individuals including national and international dignitaries from West Point Military Academy, the Republic of Mali, the United Nations Association — Ghana, the Garifuna Nation, the Maya Nation, and the Kinakwii Nation. The Conference featured an exciting array of activists, scholars, artists, and community practitioners from around the globe (including from here in Rhode Island) in dialogue about cultural placemaking strategies, initiatives, and policies within the international landscape as well as in Providence.
August ’23
PPL Awards First-ever Digital Humanities Fellow
PPL awarded its first-ever Digital Humanities Fellow, Abigail Dolan, to work with the Library’s Nicholson Whaling Collection in conjunction with a digital project focused on the 1887 voyage of the Eunice H. Adams, captained by George Martin, a Black whaling master. (More information at the William Martin project site at nicholsonwhaling.org/scalar/william-martins-1877-whaling-voyage/index.) The project was made possible thanks to funding from the Papitto Foundation. The Library's digital humanities fellow will work with existing images and data from the collection to create additional material (resources, visualizations, etc.) that illuminates the voyage and will be published via the project’s Scalar site. Dolan, a Bryant University librarian who has worked on a number of digital projects and has a special interest in data visualization, gave a presentation on her work with the Martin Whaling collection data in the spring.
October ’23
June ’24
CHOP Opens
Years in the making, the Genesis Center's CHOP (short for Culinary Hub of Providence) — a hybrid cafe/restaurant/training kitchen — opened in PPL's ground level on the corner of Washington and Empire Streets with the perfect recipe...a mix of creative food, education, and an eclectic, book-themed decor. At its core, CHOP is a real-life classroom for 30 or more of the Genesis Center's culinary students who will rotate through. The Genesis Center has long trained low-income residents of Providence to work in restaurants and other kitchens and now CHOP will elevate their education, not only providing an on-the-job learning experience but also, because they come from many diverse ethnic backgrounds, students will be able to contribute to the richness of the menu with ideas for new dishes.