by Vianey Becerra

Baltimore, we miss you. While we have all been practicing social distancing guidelines, the Pratt staff has continued creating educational and entertaining videos just for you. In addition to our daily schedule of virtual programs, we’ve rounded up a list of the Pratt’s Top 5 Videos that you can find on our Facebook page. 

So if you’re looking for DIY tutorials, activities to do with your children or by yourself while you stay at home, take a look at these videos and make sure to follow us on Facebook @theprattlibrary.

#1 Video: Baltimore We Are Here For You

https://www.facebook.com/theprattlibrary/videos/222933989034049/

Our doors might still be closed, but our resources have never stopped. Our e-Library has a collection of eBooks, eMagazines, eAudiobooks, movies, and more. With 8 locations available for Sidewalk Service, you can check out and pick up books and other materials contact-free simply by making an appointment. Don’t feel comfortable stepping out of the house just yet? You can also have books mailed to you using our Books by Mail service. If you’re looking to access the internet, we also offer free drive-in WIFI at 8 Pratt branch locations.

#2: Hula Storytime with Miss Ryan and Kane

https://www.facebook.com/theprattlibrary/videos/255328402345289/

Even though we celebrated Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, you can still hear Miss Ryan and Kane play the ukulele, learn how to say words in Hawaiian, and read along with them to “Up in the Hawaiian Sky,” by Lavonne Leong.

#3 Virtual Genealogy Circle: Family Myth Busting

https://www.facebook.com/theprattlibrary/videos/286558142501891/

Uncover the secrets in your family tree, using genealogical methods with the help of Julianne Mangin. Ms. Mangin is a writer, researcher, family historian, and a former Librarian and website designer at the Library of Congress. In this video, she discusses her mother’s French-Canadian ancestors, several of whom were mentally ill and committed to a state hospital. Don’t miss our Ancestry.com tutorials or weekly genealogy series, The Next Step, available now on our Facebook.

#4 How to Hula with Miss Ryan & Miss Kelly

https://www.facebook.com/theprattlibrary/videos/262180285192735/

No beach? No problem! Learn some basic hula dancing steps with Pratt Children’s Librarians Ryan and Kelli and dance along to a Hawaiian song. 

#5: Tuesdays @ Two feat. Dariusz Skoraczewski & Marcia McHugh

https://www.facebook.com/theprattlibrary/videos/2950921154944177/

Watch this mini-concert for cello & flute performed by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra musicians Dariusz Skoraczewski & Marcia McHugh. Make sure to tune in every Tuesday for live music performances from local musicians. 

If you’re looking for more videos like this, follow us on Facebook and check out all of our upcoming programming. You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram and  Youtube.

Great All-American Classics

This year, the holiday might feel a bit different than usual but we still wanted to highlight a few books to help celebrate. In between a plate (or two) of barbecue, check out this list of All-American classics. Some are older and traditional, while some are newer and more out-of-the box, either way we hope you enjoy them. 

Push the conversation on antiracism, race relations, and social justice even further with eBooks on Overdrive. Here’s a quick selection of books that are available to download with no wait. 

This New York Times bestseller published in January 2020 is based on the viral #meandwhitesupremacy Instagram challenge and provides a framework for readers to dismantle the privilege within themselves.

Named one of the Most Influential Books of the Last 20 Years by the Chronicle of Higher Education and winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction, Alexander’s critically acclaimed book examines racial disparities through the lens of mass incarceration.

This bestselling young adult novel follows Starr, a Black teenager caught between the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these two worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer.

By Emily Sachs, African American Department

Each year in June, Baltimore and other cities across the U.S. host Gay Pride parades and festivals.  These events celebrate LGBTQ+ lives and commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a protest against police brutality that catalyzed the modern Gay Rights Movement. 

This year the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march is different, with many large, in-person Pride events cancelled.  The country is reeling under a historic pandemic that has disproportionately affected Black people and communities of color.  The health crisis is also occurring amidst a backdrop of ongoing protests focused on ending the killing of Black people by police, confronting systemic racism, and dismantling white supremacy.  

Pride month has brought increased public discussion around the intersection of the LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter movements.    We see it acknowledged, at least aesthetically, by organizations who this year have opted to display Pride flags that include black and brown stripes, an acknowledgement of the unique inequities experienced by Black and Brown LGBTQ+ people.  We see it on the cover of Time Magazine, where Baltimore photographer Devin Allen captured a scene from a recent march against police brutality organized by the Black transgender community in Baltimore.  We see it in interviews with The Pride Center of Maryland (the host of Baltimore Pride) that discuss this year’s realignment of Baltimore Pride with Black Lives Matter.

With Baltimore Pride cancelled this year, Pratt Library staff will miss seeing you in the streets and talking to you in Druid Hill Park.  Instead we invite you to check out our books and movies to learn more about the intersections of race, gender, sexual orientation, and other social identities.

In addition to our books, eBooks and Audio books, below you’ll find a few film titles from the Kanopy catalog, but we have many more.  Write to us on Facebook or Twitter to share your own recommendations we’d love to hear from you.