C&C Series: Mark Podvia Presents Haunted PA Libraries

Haunted Libraries: Mark Podvia

Monday, October 30, 1 pm

Ready for something spooky?

Because I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!

Andrew Bane Memorial Library

Several Pennsylvania libraries, including public, school, academic, and special libraries, are reportedly haunted.  A number of these libraries are located in the City of Pittsburgh, including several of the City’s Carnegie Libraries.  Some of these libraries were built on former graveyards or other disturbed sites, other library buildings previously served another purpose (private home, inn, etc.).  In some cases an individual died in the library or the library is haunted by former employees or former patrons.  In others, the items in the collection are responsible for the hauntings.  This presentation will look at approximately 25 haunted Pennsylvania libraries located throughout the Commonwealth–most of which have been visited by the speaker–as well as a few haunted libraries in surrounding states.  A detailed bibliography will be provided to attendees.

Mark Podvia

Associate University Librarian Mark Podvia is Interim Co-Director, Head of Faculty Services, Curator of Rare Books and Archivist at the West Virginia University College of Law George B. Farmer, Jr. Law Library. In addition, he is a member of the emeritus faculty of the Pennsylvania State University. Mark has published more than 80 articles, dedications, book and program reviews and indices and bibliographies in various publications including Law Library Journal, Penn State Law Review, UCC Law Journal, Unbound: A Review of Legal History and Rare Books, Perspectives: Teaching Legal Research and Writing, The Green Bag, Penn State International Law Review and Penn State Environmental Law Review. In addition, he has authored portions of four books, including A Citizens’ Guide to a Modern Constitutional Convention in Pennsylvania, and has written two entries for The Encyclopedia of the United States Constitution. Mark is a member of the American Association of Law Libraries and the Bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He is a past chair of the American Association of Law Libraries Legal History and Rare Books Special Interest Section, the AALL Council of Newsletter Editors, the AALL/LexisNexis Call for Papers Committee, and the Pennsylvania Library Association Preservation Round Table. He is also a past president of the Interlibrary Delivery Service of Pennsylvania. A former member of the Pennsylvania Library Association, he is now a member of the West Virginia Library Association and the Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Chapter of ACRL. He has spoken at local, state and national meetings and conferences on a wide range of topics including beer and the law, wine and the law, Bourbon and the law, Tequila and the law, American witchcraft trials, researching and writing institutional history, legal citation, the ghosts of Penn State, Pennsylvania law resources on the web, and state constitutional conventions. For the past seventeen years he has offered yearly ghost tours of Carlisle, Pennsylvania to benefit the Dickinson School of Law’s Public Interest Law Fund. For the record, he has never seen a ghost.

Remember, only the first 50 people will be guaranteed a spot for this session online through Zoom, so register ASAP here using this link.