MICHAEL POLLAN AUTHOR TALK Tickets are still available for the Mt. Lebanon Public Library’s speaker series. Michael Pollan, author of several New York Times bestsellers, including “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals,” will speak at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 1, in the Mellon Middle School auditorium. Tickets are $25. Pollan’s books will be available to purchase at the lecture from City Books and Pollan will sign books after the talk.

The Mt. Lebanon Public Library’s Speaker Series was created in honor of Joe Wertheim, a long-time resident of Mt. Lebanon who served for many years on both the Friends of Mt. Lebanon Library and the library advisory board.

BOOK CLUBS Reading is generally kind of a solitary pastime, but if you like to share your ideas and impressions about what’s on your bookshelves, the Mt. Lebanon Public Library has you covered.

The Mystery Readers Book Club meets at 7 p.m., on the third Thursday of each month. Upcoming topics are “Wrong Place, Wrong Time,” by Gillian McAllister in March; J.T. Ellison’s “No One Knows” in April and “The Decagon House Murders” by Yukito Ayatsuii.

The Eye on the Prize book group meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month from February to November to discuss the previous year’s literary prize winners. Up next is “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver; “Bliss Montage” by Ling Ma and “The Swimmers” by Julie Otsuka.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear is a Shakespeare discussion group that meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month. Discussion topics are “As You Like It” in March, “King Lear” in April and “The Tempest” in May.

The Lunch and Munch Book Club meets at noon on the last Wednesday of the month. This month’s book is “How to Be: Life Lessons From the Early Greeks.” April’s subject is “Grey Bees,” by Andrey Kurkov, and in May the group will discuss “Life on the Mississippi, an Epic American Adventure,” by Rinker Buck.

The Green Reads Book Group focuses on books related to conservation, nature and environmental action. The group meets at 7 p.m., every other month on the second Thursday. Next up for discussion is “Braiding Sweetgrass” in March. May’s book is All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Keeble.

You can find information on these and other book clubs that meet at the library here.

NEW CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN After retiring last year from a 33-year career as a teacher and librarian with the Upper St. Clair School District, Ginny Husak had time on her hands. She also had some books she wanted to donate.

As the Avon Drive resident was dropping her donations off at the Book Cellar, she was talking with a staff member, and asked about any chance of part-time work. She found out the library was looking for someone to work in the children’s section.

“I knew I wanted to stay connected to people and books when I retired, so this is perfect for me.”

Husak had a connection to the library since she began bringing her children, now 20 and 22, to kids’ programs.

“I feel like it’s a good fit for both of us,” she said. “It’s all the joy of being a librarian without the stress of teaching.”

One of her duties is leading children’s storytimes, something she had not done before, but she got lots of help from some of the other librarians to get into a rhythm.

“It’s fun to see the kids get excited, getting into beginning reading,” she said.

Husak appreciates the difference between being a school librarian, where students had to spend time in the library as part of their class schedules, as opposed to kids and parents who love to visit .

“The library is such a pleasant place to be,” she said. “It’s such a hub of the community.’”