Tech Tuesdays @ Crowell Library

Tuesday, February 5: Facebook Privacy
Tuesday, February 12: Video Calling
Tuesday, February 19: Uploading Photos on Facebook
Tuesday, March 5: Photo Editing with Picasa
7:00 p.m.

Tech Tuesdays return to Crowell Public Library beginning with Facebook Privacy on Tuesday, February 5th. Facebook is a wonderful way to keep in touch with family and friends. Yet, you may intend some of your musings to be seen only by certain particular people. In this half-hour lecture, learn how to manage the Facebook privacy options to control who can see your posts.
Remember when picture phones promised to bring video calling into every home? Well, that technology has arrived and it’s free! Come to this exploration of Skype and Google Hangout as a way to keep in live video touch with loved ones far away on Tuesday, February 12th.
One of the best things about Facebook is sharing pictures and videos with friends and family. On Tuesday, February 19, one can attend this overview on uploading photos to Facebook from a smart phone, dumb phone or camera.
Google’s Picasa is a free photo organizing and online sharing tool which boasts a powerful image editor. Take this tour of the features of this picture management software on Tuesday March 5th. Learn to crop your photos, darken red eyes and share your pictures online.
All programs begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Barth Community Room. Bring all your questions to this fun, judgment-free environment created by the knowledgable and e-savvy staff at Crowell Public Library.

Tea-One Tasting

Thursday February 7th, 7:00 p.m.

Begin your lunar new year celebration a little early and taste some fabulous teas from Taiwan while learning all about tea preparation. THOMAS SHU, the Ambassador of Taiwan Tea, will demonstrate tea basics in this hands-on workshop at Crowell Public Library Thursday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. Volunteers will be selected from the audience to prepare four different teas in six steps. Everyone will witness "The Agony of Leaves" live and in color, and learn to savor and appreciate teas like fine wines. Come and explore the aromas of an array of teas that can soothe or stimulate, but always tantalize your taste buds and elevate your well being.

Thomas Shu has presented tea workshops for almost every university in California and other institutions, such as Princeton, Duke and Harvard. He is a third-generation tea specialist from Taiwan, where his family has been conducting tea business for more than sixty years. He works with many major tea companies and importers from Asia, Europe, and the United States. In 2007, Mr. Shu received an honorary title, “Ambassador of Taiwan Tea,” from Taiwan Tea Manufacturers Association in recognizing his dedication and contributions for the industry. He is one of the founding members and board directors of American Premium Tea Institute, now known as Specialty Tea Institute.

Thomas Shu and his wife, Josephine Pan, are founders of Taiwan Tea Institute in Los Angeles, Taiwan Oolongs Study Tour, as well as hosts for Azusa Tea Club, a monthly tea meet up.

Start the new year off on a refreshing note!

Remembering Pearl Harbor and My Father

Monday January 28, 7:00 p.m.

Historian ROLF HASTRUP will share the story of his father, Herman, who was a witness to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Herman Hastrup helped build the Oakland Bay Bridge before going to work for the Navy at Mare Island Naval Base in 1938. He received a promotion to head of the hull section when he transferred to Pearl Harbor in June 1941. The family lived in a naval housing unit bordering the Harbor which provided a ringside view of the attack.

Herman went immediately into the shipyard to help prevent the ships from sinking, and the family was evacuated to Honolulu. He continued the work of salvaging the ships for many months, as well as the repair of ships damaged in the war. Rolf Hastrup’s talk will also cover what the Japanese did not accomplish at Pearl Harbor, the treatment of the Japanese Americans in Hawaii after the attack and the “missing Pearl Harbor file.”

Born in Oakland, Rolf Hastrup transferred from the University of Hawaii to Caltech as sophomore in 1950 and received his Bachelors, Masters, and Engineering degrees from Caltech. He joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1959 and worked on many of JPL's flight projects including the lunar Ranger and Surveyor missions, the Mars Mariner, Viking and Pathfinder missions, and the Jupiter Galileo mission.

You won’t want to miss this fascinating look at a pivotal moment in world history brought to you by the San Marino Historical Society and Crowell Public Library. These monthly lectures will continue through June.

A THREE-IN-ONE BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Happy 5th Birthday, Crowell Public Library
Happy 4th Birthday, Crain Art Gallery
Happy 100th Birthday, San Marino

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 1-4 pm

The Crowell Public Library Board of Trustees, Friends of Crowell Library, the City of San Marino and the Staff of the Library invite one and all to a very special birthday celebration on Saturday, January 26, 2013 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Not only is the City of San Marino celebrating its Centennial (and selling special merchandise), the library will be five years old on this day and the Crain Art Gallery will be four.

There will a plethora of local authors throughout the library selling their work, including Elizabeth Pomeroy, Hava Ben-Zvi, Lian Dolan, Andrew D. Bernstein, Jim W. Gallo, Irene McDermott and Cliff Shiepe. There will be light refreshments as well as birthday cake for all to partake. The Huntington Middle School String Quartet will perform for your listening pleasure and a new exhibit will be unveiled in the Crain Art Gallery: Images of San Marino. Participating artists will be on hand to meet and greet one and all as well as local dignitaries and representatives. A dizzying array of activities at every turn!

The winners of the Foundation’s Bookmark Contest will be announced as well as the 2013 One Book, One City selection. And, the fabulous ANNIE BANANNIE will offer comedy, storytelling and amazing balloon artistry! Audience volunteers will help Annie tell fabulous stories with lots of surprises along the way so bring the whole family to celebrate the City and the Library!

Rose Pruning Workshop

Saturday, January 19th, 9:00 a.m.

Former City Parks Division Manager, RON SERVEN is now with San Marino’s Planning Department, but his expertise with roses is still visible throughout the city, particularly at Lacy Park. Ron has conducted this workshop at Crowell Library on a yearly basis for many years and many rose-lovers have benefited and attended repeat performances.

Ron will demonstrate optimum rose pruning techniques and answer questions from the audience, such as what to do in cold weather, and dealing with other special conditions such as irregular rainfall. Those who attend will be ready to go out into their own yards the very same day to get the job done. Ron will give everyone a better sense of how Mother Nature works. You’ll soon be spending some enjoyable time in your home garden, armed with the knowledge to keep it thriving and beautiful.

This workshop is free and reservations are not required, but if you have questions, please call the library (626) 300-0777, extension 579.

Rain Gardens

Crowell Public Library Celebrates Water Week
Wednesday, January 16: 7:00 p.m.
learn all about RAIN GARDENS

This free one hour workshop on rain gardens is recommended for those interested in environmental issues pertaining to water conservation and pollution prevention as well as those who enjoy gardening and having a beautiful home landscape! Rain gardens are shallow, planted depressions designed to collect and absorb rainwater runoff from roofs, sidewalks, and other impermeable surfaces. Rain Gardens are perfect for Southern California as they help both to conserve rain water through infiltration and prevent storm water pollution through the natural cleaning of runoff as it is filtered through the soil.

Representatives from Generation Water will describe what a rain garden is, what benefits they bring, and how they can be incorporated into your yard. Generation Water is an award-winning, social enterprise that uses innovative approaches to reduce water usage. The five year-old organization currently operates as a social entrepreneurial organization focusing on the environment, saving water, restoring sustainable landscapes as well as training and placing young adults into career paths.

Come join us and learn how to help San Marino become a greener city!

Water Week @ Crowell: TAPPED

Monday, January 14: 6:30 p.m.
a screening of the award-winning documentary TAPPED

Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Director Stephanie Soechtig’s feature documentary is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water. From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car? and I.O.U.S.A., Tapped is a film that examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on health, climate change, pollution and reliance on oil. It is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity, our water.

As Tapped puts forth, any time you drink bottled water, you may be putting your health at risk, as well as contributing to one of the most massive environmental waste nightmares of all time. There is a simple, safe, green solution to this dilemma. According to Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst: the Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water “…your tap water is as safe as or safer than your bottled water.” Nonetheless, Americans buy 29 billion single-serve bottles of water every year. And only around a quarter of those bottles get recycled.

After the screening, there will be a panel of representatives from our local water districts to discuss issues raised in the film and answer questions from the audience.

There will be light refreshments and a raffle, so wear your lucky socks!