Monday, April 25, 2005

TV-Turn Off Week - It's A Wrap

Since Monday April 25th, the San Marino Public Library, along with thousands of schools, libraries and community groups, has been celebrating "TV Turn-Off Week". This nationwide effort is designed to encourage millions of Americans to turn off their TV sets for seven days--and turn on life. Children were encouraged to stop by the public library and pick up their complimentary TV-free activity guide and a bookmark.

If you haven't started your TV-free week, remember it is never too late to put down that remote control and read, be more physically active, converse, think, create and do. TV-free week ends on a high note on Saturday, April 30th at 2:00 p.m., when storyteller Paul Tracy will be at the San Marino Public Library performing his comical romp, "I Found It in a Book". Don't miss out on this event that will to be loads of fun for the entire family.

Free "Information Social" for Parents

Parents of school age children are cordially invited to the San Marino Public Library for a free "Information Social". Parents will be able to learn about upcoming programs, valuable resources available at the public library and how they can play an important role their child's library experiences. Reservations are recommended, and available times are Thursday, May 12th at either 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., and Tuesday, May 17th at 3:30 p.m. Please call 626-300-0777 to reserve your space today. Refreshments will be served.

Over 100 New Compact Discs @ the Library

Not willing to pay $16.99 for a CD you haven't heard? Not sure how this downloading music from the Internet and burning your own CD process works? Come to the Public Library and "check-out" all the new music we've added to the collection. If you've never borrowed a CD before, they are located near the newspaper and magazine section, and the loan period is three weeks. You can try a new artist or listen to a Broadway show in the comfort of your own home or car for FREE.

Since the beginning of this year, the library has added more than a hundred new CDs in various categories. If you're a Classical music fan, the library has works by all the major composers, as well as most operas, symphonies, concertos, overtures, and sonatas. If you're planning a road trip or spring party with small children, the library has sing-along AND dance-along CDs by Barney the dinosaur, Mickey Mouse and friends, the Wiggles, and other award winning children's musicians.

If you are a child of the 60's, the library's new Rock section is for you. Besides contemporary rock artists such as U2, the Beastie Boys, and Bruce Springsteen, we have purchased anthologies by the Beatles, the Eagles, the Doors, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Pink Floyd. These artists are shelved under MR, which is the Rock and R&B section. In that same section, we have also added R&B artists such as Alicia Keys, Usher, Ray Charles, and Kanye West.

If you like softer popular music, we now have the greatest hits of Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett, Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Henry Mancini, and Rosemary Clooney. Most of these CDs have been digitally remastered and actually sound better than those old vinyl 45's.They are shelved under MA, along with contemporary popular artists such as Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Eva Cassidy, and Celine Dion.

To check availability of these CDs, you can try one of three ways: One: ask a reference librarian to help you. Two: simply browse the CD section next to the magazines. Or three: find the list of "New Books" on the library's webpage, click on "Compact Discs," then click on each individual CD for availability. If you would like to suggest artists/CDs for us to purchase, simply drop a note in the suggestion box at the reference desk.

National Poetry Month

The Library currently has a poetry display for National Poetry Month. All of the contents of the display are available for checkout. In the display, you will find the works of venerable poets, such as Carl Sandburg and Langston Hughes. More recent poets, such as Adrienne Rich, Mark Strand, Seamus Heaney, and Czeslaw Milosz can also be found. Children's poetry, including Bruce Lansky's If Pigs Could Fly and fine collections, such as Garrison Keilor's Good Poems are included as well. There are also books on how to interpret poetry, and even write your own poems.

A special treat you may not be aware of in the Library's collection is the set of videocassettes from major writers, reading their works and talking about their writing. Along with some of the names above, Richard Wilbur, Mark Doty, Robert Creeley, and Allen Ginsberg are included in this set, which features fiction authors as well. Poetry is generally a bit more demanding than prose, and hearing the poet's own words can help bring the words alive.