Next OnQ, a visit to the library.

Not to check out books, but to find out what's behind a new study that shows the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has had a major economic impact on this region.

Also tonight, the preview of Silk Screen, the local Asian American film festival that starts this weekend and will take you to the Mother's Day Shrine and Museum in Grafton, West Virginia.

See how Mother's Day came into being.

It is coming up next OnQ.

Stay connected.

Welcome to OnQ magazine.

I'm Stacy Smith.

The Carnegie library of Pittsburgh.

It's been in operation for more than 100 years.

But it's not just about books these days.

In fact, there is a new study that outlines the library's impact on the entire region and from economics to quality of life.

There are some surprises in the library research.

Here is OnQs Tonia Caruso.

It's 110 years old.

But it still attracts more people each year than the Pirates the Penguins or even the Steelers.

What is it.

It's the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

And if you haven't paid a visit recently, here's a little of what you've been missing.

It's about five years ago we started on a building renovation rejuvenation program.

What we realized is that we had these wonderful locations, but they really needed to be contemporary in order to serve the community best.

Doctor Barbara Mistick is the director of the Carnegie Library, which has branches in 18 city neighborhoods.

We talked with her at the newly renovated main library in Oakland.

Walk through the door and you'll find a coffee shop.

Easy internet access, new teen and magazine sections, and of course, lots of books.

Still, first and foremost is books.

We do see that as our primar brand of the library, but people also come here to socialize, to meet other people.

And the coffee shop gave us an opportunity to have people be in a settin that was a little more informal.

We have about 6000 visitors per day into our system, so I know we're a very vibrant system and the role we play.

But just how key a role does the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh play in our region?

And with the dawn of the internet.

Is the library dead?

A new study says not at all.

In fact, it suggests just the opposite that the library system may be more valuable to our region now than ever before.

This is probably the first study that's been done in our Commonwealth about the return on investment of libraries.

The primary funding source for the library today is the Allegheny County Regional Asset District.

And it's extraordinarily important to us because it provides a solid foundation of funding.

We also get funding fro the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and recently that funding has been up and down.

But Docto Mystic says this new study shows the library steadily gives back to the community.

The research was funded in part by the Alcoa and Eden Hall foundations and was conducted by doctor Jerry Paytas.

He's the director of the center for Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University.

We did a variety of methods.

We used surveys.

We conducted focus groups.

We interviewed people, and then we did some economic analysis.

We came up with some significant impacts on the economic side in terms of the total return of the library.

The library's annual operating budget is about $22 million, but the study found it returns much more than that $91 million a year to Allegheny County's economy.

That's a $6 return to the economy for every $1.

The library receives in public funding.

We looked at the kinds of spending the library does in the community.

We looked at the spendin that suppliers to the library do and the community and other induced spending that comes in the community.

We also looke at that from a job‘s perspective The library employs more than 700 people throughout its system.

That number grows to nearly 900 if you include construction jobs from the ongoing renovations.

The study bolsters the library's argument for maintaining or even increasing the amount of public funding it receives.

But Doctor Paytas says it's about much more than just dollars and cents.

The economic impact is really only part of the story.

I mean, there's clearly a benefit that comes back to the residents.

We could measure that in dollar terms, but there's a lot of thing that we were not able to measure or that you can't really assess the value of the information that the library provides.

If a business owner calls in with a question to the business library and they get an answer within 2 or 3 minutes, for something they needed to know for their business, it's hard to estimate the value of that.

Furthermore, just the value of literacy and learning is one of those things that has not been estimated anywhere.

Encouraging literacy and learning remains the Carnegie's top priority.

But Doctor Mistick says the research shows people have come to rely on the library for other things, too.

Two thirds of people who responded to the survey said they use the library as their primary source for internet connections.

So we're finding that rather than diminish the need for the library, the internet has really increased the importance of the library to the community.

And it was really exciting to see the community talk about the library as a place that enhance the quality of life in our community.

It was great to see them talk about us in terms of services for children and youth, adults and families, and we see that as part of our core service.

So that was very exciting.

And perhaps most surprising, a look at who's using the library system today.

When you look at the library statistics, you see that a lot of the patrons of the library are older, but the system's largest audience is fast becoming younger people.

We found that 70% of the city residents between the ages of 1 and 36 are library card holders.

That's the most exciting part about the study is, sort of understanding the number of young people that are at the library.

So I think it says a lot about the future of our, region and also says a lot about the importance of the library to the next generation.

Now, along with books and the internet, the Carnegie continues to gain customers because it's a popular place to pick up videos and DVDs.

And as we mentioned, the main library and several branches have undergone renovations recently.

Improvements are also expected to be made to all of the branches in the next few years.

And if you would like more information about the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, log on to our website at wqed.org and click the OnQ logo on the first page.

And Stacey, on average, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh receive about 2 million visitors a year.

So it really is contributing to the region.

All right, Tonia, thank you.

Coming up next, a preview of this weekend's Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival.

And then after that, as Mother's Day approaches, we're headed to Grafton, West Virginia.

That's where Mother's Day began, close to 100 years ago.

And we will show you how they commemorate this special day.

When OnQ continues.

So stay connected.

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The members of WQED, Pittsburgh's first Asian American film film festival, begins tomorrow night.

It is called Silk Screen and it features films from countries throughout Asia.

And there is, well, there's a pretty snazzy promotional trailer for the festival produced right here in Pittsburgh.

And joining me now is the director of the Silk Screen Festival.

Harish Saluja Thanks so much for joining us.

Thank you for inviting us again.

First, the question has to be why Pittsburgh?

Why not Pittsburgh?

Why is that is the answer?

Well, we've been talking about economic development for a while, trying to do different things.

And you have to think out of the box and do things which are different.

And one of the things if you study, since I am an immigrant from a different part of the world, it's obvious to me which may not be to others that the new immigrants are coming from Asia.

They're coming from China, India, Japan, Philippines, and so forth.

They've been with us for almost 30 years.

Professors, doctors, engineers, and the jobs.

These are the new people who are building the new economy.

But this the cultural atmosphere.

The cultural offerings are not there yet.

And so I have been promoting the idea that we should do more things in this region.

The Pittsburgh area has a large contingent of this Asian immigrant.

Yes.

All of Pennsylvania has more than 80,000 Asian families.

Average family size 3.1.

Let's say, Ohio nearby which is closer than some places in Pennsylvania, has 60,000 plus Asian families, according to US census, the most educated niche market group in the countr and quite affluent, as you know.

Now, for those who who may have forgotten their geography, when you say Asian, most of the time we would think of someone maybe from China or Japan, right?

Or the Vietnam.

That's the Asia Pacific.

Okay.

Yeah.

Asia, traditionally in geography lessons, starts in the bridge in Istanbul, Turkey.

That's where Asia meets Europe, you know, Constantinople.

And you start from there and go through Iran, Afghanistan, India and Thailand and all the way to Japan, Korea, China, of course, in between the Philippines, Indonesia.

So that does encompass a large section of the huge section of the world.

And that's something that 3.5 billion people or I think half or two thirds of the world's population.

Exactly.

Now, the film festival itself, how many films are going to be shown?

22 films, 22 films, and where are they going to be shown?

They are in the Pittsburgh Filmmakers movie halls, which is the Melwood screening room.

The Regent Square Theater and the Harrison Downtown three Movie Hall starting tomorrow.

And it starts Friday night.

Friday night goes through the 20th.

All right.

Now, are there subtitles?

Oh, yes.

Of course.

You know, some film are in English because they are.

It's not just Asian, you know.

We do.

We are doing something, clever here.

Asian American.

So it's not just films made in Asia, but made in America by Asians or about Asian content, but primarily variation.

So some of them are in English, but most are in, various native languages.

And of course, there are subtitles.

Are there varying degrees of plots, stories?

Yeah, there are dramas an there are comedies and so forth.

Nothing terribly controversial.

There's a film called Water which has some, undertones of some social ills.

There's one the opening night, which takes in politics, but all these descriptions are on our website.

Each and every film is described there.

And you're also bringing in some big stars.

Oh, yes.

Yes.

The the, the most dynamic, youngest, rising movie star in India called Konkona Sen Sharma.

In fact, is arriving within a couple of hours, and I'm going to meet her for dinner.

And she's coming all the way from Mumbai, India.

She'll be here for 4 or 5 days.

And many other directors of the films are coming.

This is also listed on our website.

Now, how many years has this taken place?

This is the first year and got started in October or November 2004.

So it's taken that long that long to do it.

Well, you do something so entirely different.

Takes a lot of money.

We have more than 100 people working on it.

All volunteers.

All of us are volunteers working on this.

This is the people who believ that this thing ought to be done and that people could use something beautiful, something interesting, something fun like this.

Does any other city do this?

Yeah.

The many cities who do this.

In fact, that has been a strange way to judge which cities welcome immigrants and which don't.

New York does it.

A San Francisco does it, Boston and Austin other places have this festival.

But the ones of note are New York and San Francisco.

These are huge Asian film festivals.

Our hope is to, will never become as big as them.

But we want to become as memorable and as much fun as any of them in the world.

I read somewhere that you even had some help in organizing this from the people in San Francisco.

Oh yes, they are mentoring us because my film The Journey was shown in New York and and in San Francisco and other festivals, and I was on their panels and I was on their TV stations and so forth.

And we have kept good relations over the years.

As a filmmaker.

So when they heard that I was starting a, a film festival and of course they gave me advice and not to do something foolish like this.

And then they said, what do you need?

And and the San Francisco Festival is very kindly mentoring us indeed.

Now, you say your film you were also a director, right?

I write, produce, direct.

You write and produce and direct.

How many films have you done?

I have only one film.

Of note, I've been part of other films as associate producer or executive producer, but the last one was called.

The journey was done a few years ago in Pittsburgh.

It is won many awards, was on Independent Film Channel for the last 3 or 4 months.

In fact, some of the people who work with me, like John Rice, is my, director of programing for my film festival.

We have other people like Kate Freed and Jodie Kleberg and, Ritesh Batra and Judy Soy who are helping u with the festival.

Very quickly.

Do you have another film in the works?

Oh, yes, two of them.

You have two films.

When do you hope to have those out?

I'm going to start working on it as soon as the festival ends.

What else am I going to do in my old days?

All right, Harish, thank you so much for joining us.

And great luck on the on the first Asian Film Festival.

I hope you everybody will come and support us.

And we can then make this an annual cultural event in Pittsburgh.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Best of luck to you again.

Silk Screen.

The Asian American Film Festival is showing at various theaters in the Pittsburgh area starting tomorrow night, Friday night through Saturday, May the 20th.

There is more information on our web site wqed.org.

Click the OnQ logo on the first page.

Now coming up next, it is where Mother's Day began.

OnQ, contributor Dave Crawley takes us to Grafton, West Virginia to visit the Mother's Day Museum and Shrine.

It is coming up next, so stay connected.

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Mother's day the second Sunday in May.

It's now celebrated in 150 countries, but the very first Mother's Day ceremony took place just two hours south of Pittsburgh in Grafton, West Virginia.

The community is also celebrating its 150th birthday this year.

OnQ, contributor Dave Crawley visits a little town with a lot of history and a very important claim to fame as the birthplace of Mother's Day.

Locomotives still rumble through the railroad yard in Grafton, West Virginia.

But these days it's strictly freight.

The last passenger trains stopped here in 1971, and the once prosperous city began a slow decline.

But Grafton's sesquicentennial year shows signs of renewal.

Down on Main Street, the once majestic hotel, named for railroad president Daniel Willard, is getting a facelift, and the B&O railroad station, built in 1911, has been restored to its former grandeur.

Just in time for Memorial Day, that's also an important day at the Grafton National Cemetery.

The only national cemetery in West Virginia, annual Memorial Day services honor the 2000 veterans buried here, including private Thornsbury Bailey Brown, shot dead near Grafton in May of 1861.

He was the first Union casualty of the Civil War.

On a happier note, the long weekend is a fine time to relax on the Tygart Valley River, where the fishing is good.

But Grafton is best known as the birthplace of Mother's Day.

It all began on May 10th, 1908, in what was then the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church.

This is where the first Mother's Day service was held in 1908, and at that time there was a congregation of about 350 people in Grafton.

Linda Shriver has raised two sons and a daughter in the town where she too was born and raised.

She told me the story of another mother from Grafton, Ann Marie Jarvis, and her daughter Anna, who established a special day in her honor.

Ann Marie Jarvis always wanted to improve the lot of mothers and wanted them to be recognized and respected for what they did.

And this story goes that when Anna Jarvis, the daughter, was in her mother's Sunday school class, there was one particular lesson that she get.

She gave us mothers in the Bible.

She stated later that from that point on, she wanted there to be a day for mothers.

That first Mother's Day was held almost three years to the day after Ann Marie Jarvis died in 1905.

The service merited brie mention in the Grafton newspaper the following day.

But for daughter Anna, that wasn't enough.

She was trying to get it proclaimed a national holiday.

It took from 1908 to 1914.

Woodrow Wilson was the president.

At the time the proclamation was signed recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

Woodrow Wilson's proclamation is on display in the former church, which was transformed into the International Mother's Day Shrine in May of 1962.

Visitors like Ellen Hutchison, a mother of four from Huntington, West Virginia, visit the statue in the park next door to honor a special day that is now observed in more than 150 countries.

Mothers really hold it together.

And I think they hold an important place in society that's kind of dwindling.

And all homes need moms who.

Moms and daughters and daughters of daughters fill into the old church for the annual Mother's Day tea the first weekend of May.

Here in the place where it all began, the gentility of Victorian times, the days of Anne Marie Jarvis are relived, if only for an afternoon.

Little girls strive to be ladylike.

But meanwhile the boys will be boys.

That's what motherhood is about.

Yes, it's the blessings of motherhood.

They sip their tea in what is now a museum.

Black and white images recall Memorial Day parades through the generations.

The days when business was booming.

Now the sons and daughters of Grafton often move away to gain employment elsewhere.

But occasions like this one bring them back.

I'm from Grafton, but I live in Pittsburgh.

But I came to spend some time with my mother and to bring my children to the table.

Would you like cream?

No.

Thank you.

Sally Thayer left her hometown for 35 years, then returned for good.

Darlene Ford first arrived here 30 years ago.

Don't tell her.

There's nothing to do in Grafton.

But I retired this past year, so, that gives me an opportunity to work seven days a week on a day to honor mothers.

Kelly Floor of Grafton celebrates her mother in law.

This is one table where the old jokes just don't apply.

I get along wonderfully with my mother in law.

I am extremely lucky.

Kelly's daughter Kelly shares those sentiments about her grandmother and her mom.

She's funny.

She takes me shopping and she takes me to most of my soccer games and she's nice.

Soccer moms are really not that far removed from those days of nearly a century past.

I think it's the most wonderful job in the world to be a mother.

If I if I could be remembered for anything at all, I would like to be remembered for being a good mother.

Are you having a good time?

Linda Shriver greets guests as secretary of the Shrine board of directors.

She's one of many who strive to keep the memory of that first Mother's Day alive.

Preserving the the structure and the history is a way to honor all mothers, not just your own or yourself.

A monument to Mother's Day stands in the Jarvis family plot, and Blue Mont Cemetery overlooking Grafton.

The women, Marie and Anna, are buried in Philadelphia, where they lived out their lives.

West Virginia is home four miles south of Grafton, and the little town of Webster is the home where Anne Marie Jarvis gave birth to all 12 of her children.

Only four of them outlived her.

The old farmhouse had fallen into a state of disrepair, to put it mildly.

Plaster was off the walls.

The frame of the house was there, and it had a good roof on it, and that is the life of the building.

So we were lucky to have that.

Tom Dadisman and his future wife Olive, undertook the daunting task of restoring the building as a museum.

My wife and I decide we admit we weren't married yet, but we said, if we can do this, we'll get married.

And so my wife made me hope to that.

The marriage held and so did the building with the help of volunteers.

It's open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from April till October.

It was a labor of love, and once you see that house inside, it just is warm and very warm and pleasing and it takes you right back to the 1800s.

Anne Marie Jarvis and her husband Granville moved here from Grafton to raise children in 1864, just three years earlier.

The house had served as temporary headquarters for General George McClellan, the commander of Union troops in the early stages of the Civil War.

This photograph of the general was taken in this very room, where his writing desk and field glasses remain on display.

When the war ended, Anna Marie made a fervent plea for hostilities to cease, and so she get up, gave up the speech that was so moving, about the empty chair in every corner of every home.

The daughter who grew up in this house later became disenchanted with the commercialization of Mother's Day, contrasting it with the plight of poverty stricken men and women during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Anna said I didn't form Mother's Day for this.

She said all the big flower companies and all the big wallpaper companies are making a fortune.

And so she went to all and she said, please, let's take this money from the day that I started about my mother and let's put it back in their pockets where they can live a decent life.

No one knows really how it happens.

But she was put in the Marshall Square Sanatorium in Pennsylvania, and there's where she passed away.

Despite her disappointment, Anna Jarvis set in motion a special day that is celebrated around the world, especially at tea time in Grafton, West Virginia, with a happy Mother's Day wish from the place where it all began.

I'm Dave Crawley for OnQ.

Anna Jarvis, who started Mother's Day in honor of her mother, never had any children.

There is a special Mother's Day service at the Mother's Day Shrine in Grafton.

This Sunday, beginning at noon.

Now, before we go this evening, we want to remind you about some of the great local programing you'll only see here on WQED over the weekend.

Tomorrow night, Chris Moore gets things started with OffQ.

He'll be joined by regular panelists Fred Honsberger, Allen Cox, Ruth Ann Dailey, and this week's special guest, Professor Eric Devin from Pitt.

Friday night at 9:00, look for Black Horizons.

And then Saturday at 5:30 in the afternoon, Eleanor Cino hosts live quests.

And then Saturday night at 10:30 Stay connected and catch another episode of Dav and Dave's excellent adventures.

And thank you for watching for all of us here at OnQ.

I'm Stacey Smith.

Have a great night.