CROWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY REOPENS ON FRIDAYS -- AT LAST! Starting January 3, 2014

After two and a half years, Crowell Public Library is thrilled to announce the San Marino City Council has voted to reinstate the Library’s hours on Fridays. Starting January 3, 2014, the Library will be open each and every Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Back in July of 2011, all San Marino City Departments were asked to make budget cuts and the Library responded with the Friday closure. But a recent community survey revealed that having the Library reopen on Fridays was a top priority for the citizens of San Marino. Since the City’s economic outlook has improved, the citizens got their wish.

San Marinans know Crowell Library is the place to come for books in many forms and languages (Chinese, Japanese and Spanish), for movies, music and programs of all descriptions, for young and old and everyone in between. It’s a friendly place to learn about technology, to get a passport, to have a test proctored, to have a meeting, to learn a new language, to exercise your brain and to view the work of local artists. They know the Friends of the Library’s Book Shoppe offers a great place to start your holiday shopping, and the Book Shoppe hours will be expanding with the Library’s. The Friends are always accepting volunteers!

Even though the Library was closed on Fridays, it kept the electronic “fires” burning on its website http://www.crowellpubliclibrary.org/ where anyone could and still can search for books, CDs and DVDs and library cardholders can put their selections on hold. Library cards are always free to one and all at Crowell Library. By clicking on the “Online Reference resources” link on the home page, cardholders can access a multitude of databases including Value Line, Scholarships, Fellowships & Loans, Tuition Funding Sources, Rocket Languages, NoveList, Testing & Education Prep and as well as magazine and newspaper articles. The Library’s home page also lists the many upcoming programs for adults, teens and children as well as procedures for getting a test proctored, getting a passport or renting a meeting room.

On Friday, January 3rd from 10:00a to 12:00 noon, please come to Crowell Library for a “First Friday” coffee reception and help welcome a very happy new year!

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1890 Huntington Drive, San Marino, CA 91108-2595 ● Phone: (626) 300-0777 ● Fax: (626) 300-0121
www.CrowellPublicLibrary.org

Little Dramas and Untold Tales in the Writing of San Marino History

Monday November 25, 7:00 p.m.

San Gabriel Valley residents far and wide will learn many fascinating facts about their community when the San Marino Historical Society presents ELIZABETH POMEROY, author of San Marino: A Centennial History on Monday, November 25th at Crowell Public Library. After months of research, many thickets of information were carefully pared into the award-winning centennial tome, but who and what was left behind in the final shaping? What voices went unheard and characters unmet? Come find out as we look for back-stories and little gems of San Marino history.

Ms. Pomeroy spoke at the library last September and outlined her story of researching and writing San Marino: A Centennial History which, since then, has sold thousands of copies and received state and national awards. Members of the Centennial Book Committee generated thousands of pages of research which Elizabeth was able to distill down into a wonderfully readable history of San Marino. What we do not know is what she left out. Please join us to hear her tell the tales.

San Marino: A Centennial History traces the history of the first century of the city through words and images. The reader will follow the transition from the area's rich agricultural ranches to the establishment of San Marino as a city. Copies of the book will also be available for purchase just in time for holiday gift-giving.

Elizabeth Pomeroy, a California native, graduated from Stanford University and holds a Ph.D. in English from UCLA. She served on the staff of the Huntington Library for ten years, and has taught English at Pasadena City College for a decade, and at UCLA, UC Irvine, and California State University Los Angeles. She has contributed a weekly column on historic places entitled “Lost and Found,” for the Pasadena Star-News and San abriel Valley Tribune. In the year 2000 she established Many Moons Press, which publishes books on Southern California history and nature.

For information on the San Marino Historical Society call (626) 304-9375 or email smhistorical@earthlink.net

Looking for Life on Mars… and other places

On Monday, November 18th at 7pm, Crowell Library will be honored to present Professor MAX COLEMAN, Senior Research Scientist from NASA/Cal Tech with a lecture on how the agency is searching for life on other planets. It is likely that the Earth's surface was habitable shortly after its formation just over 4.5 billion years ago. Microbial life dominated the Earth until just over half a billion years ago and signs of microbial activity are the prime targets of exploration for life on Mars. Amazingly, exhaled “breath” of microorganisms is one of the best signs of life, preserved in minerals and recognized by its composition. Until samples can be return to Earth, instruments must fly to Mars for analysis. Examples will be shown of how laboratory analytical instruments are miniaturized spectacularly (by factors of a thousand) and adapted for flight to Mars. Professor Coleman’s presentation will involve practical demonstrations as well as audiovisual material.

Max Coleman's training combined chemistry, geology and isotope geochemistry at London and Leeds Universities, but he found that he needed to encompass microbiology too when studying sedimentary rocks. He has applied multidisciplinary fundamental scientific research to elicit solutions to practical problems in petroleum exploration and production, environmental pollution, radioactive waste storage and forensic science. He now uses the same approaches to search for life on other planets. For ten years he ran a national isotope analysis facility at the British Geological Survey. In 2003, Professor Coleman was enticed to join the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Caltech, and became Director of the Center for Life Detection and Leader of the Astrobiology Research Group.
Light refreshments will be served. Please join us for this free program, courtesy of our friends at NASA/Cal Tech.
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ONE FABULOUS BOOK SALE 20% off everything

Saturday, November 16th
10:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Bargains will abound in the Book Shoppe at Crowell Public Library when the Friends of the Library present their bi-annual book sale on Saturday, November 16th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Now is the perfect time to gobble up the fiber by the bagful. And all proceeds go to the library. Without the Friends, Crowell Library would have few children’s books or children’s programs. There would be no teen programs and Crowell’s new concert series with the San Marino Music Center would be just a dream… life without Friends would truly be pitiful and boring!

The Friends’ Book Shoppe at Crowell is famous for its high quality, gently used history titles, cookbooks (some beautiful new French cookbooks just in), travel, business, children’s and all kinds of fiction in an amazing array of formats: hardbacks, paperbacks, coffee table books, CDs, DVDs and more!

Get a jump on your holiday shopping while giving to a great cause. The Friends are waiting to help one and all find the perfect gift for everyone on every list.

LA Opera Talk: Mozart’s The Magic Flute

Sunday, November 17, 2:00 p.m.

Packed with familiar melodies, stage magic and fantastical creatures, The Magic Flute has enchanted young and old alike for over two centuries. Mixing high comedy and serious drama, Mozart’s final operatic masterpiece extols the virtues of love, reason and human kinship. At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, an impressive cast of world-class young singers, under the masterful baton of James Conlon, will transport audiences into an enchanted world where good battles evil and light vanquishes darkness. A charming fairy tale that hints at deeper mysteries, The Magic Flute is a triumphant celebration of true love conquering all. It was first performed September 30, 1791, in Vienna.
A community educator from LA Opera will have even more fascinating facts and musical excerpts on Sunday, November 17 at 2:00 p.m. in the Library’s Barth Community Room. The program is free and open to all opera aficionados and first timers. Opera is not just magnificent music, dance and theater with astounding sets on a beautiful stage; opera can sweep you away to foreign lands, take you back in time, dazzle you with pageantry and bring history to life. It is literature, social studies, cultural diversity, multiple languages and most of all, it is exciting! Come explore the world of opera which has something for everyone.
Mark this date on the social calendar as Crowell Library welcomes LA Opera’s 2013/2014 season on a high note. Light refreshments will be served.

Hidden Founders of San Marino

Monday, October 28, 7:00 p.m.

While most San Marino residents are familiar with the historic names of Patton and Huntington, there were other families living in the area before San Marino became a chartered city. Come hear stories of some of those lesser known individuals who made up the 500 citizens of San Marino: Edward J.C. Kewen, George Stoneman, James deBarth Shorb to name a few. See photographs from the era, and perhaps learn a little bit more about this centenarian city.

This program will feature JENNIFER ALLAN GOLDMAN, the Institutional Archivist and a Curator of Manuscripts at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. She is responsible for the Huntington Institutional Archives, as well as all manuscript collections related to Henry Huntington, his family and his business interests. In addition, Jennifer oversees collections in transportation, modern Southern California corporations, and 20th century American history.

This program is free and open to the public. It will take place in the Library’s Barth Community Room. Seating is limited and attendance to these monthly programs has been to capacity so please arrive early.

Relax and Feel Better with Hypnosis

Monday, October 21, 7 p.m.

The Mayo Clinic writes that hypnosis, “can be effective in helping people cope with pain, stress and anxiety. It may also be effective as part of a comprehensive program for quitting smoking or losing weight.” Hypnosis has been used to treat low self esteem and help with relaxation. “It’s not clear how hypnosis works. However, it appears to affect how your brain communicates with your body through nerve impulses, hormones and body chemicals such as neuropeptides. Hypnotherapists say that hypnosis creates a state of deep relaxation and quiets the mind. When you’re hypnotized, you can concentrate intensely on a specific thought, memory, feeling or sensation while blocking out distractions. You’re more open than usual to suggestions, and this can be used to improve your health and well-being.”*

Hypnotherapy has the potential to help relieve the symptoms of a wide variety of illnesses and conditions. It can be used independently or along with other treatments. Daniel Handel, a physician at the National Institutes of Health and director of the Palliative and Hospice Medicine Fellowship, describes hypnosis as feeling similar to reading a good book or watching a movie that causes you to lose track of time. “You are in an altered state of consciousness,” he says. “You are deeply absorbed but responsive to suggestions.”**
Learn more about hypnosis and enjoy a mind-relaxing hypnotic induction with Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist JANELL CARL-JORDA. Janell studied at the California Academy of the Healing Arts. She led the very successful Laughter Yoga workshop at Crowell Library in 2011. This intriguing introduction to hypnotherapy is free and light refreshments will be served.

*http://www.gohypnotherapy.com/hypnosis-information/hypnosis-articles-essays-on-hypnotherapy-written-by-hypnotherapists/mayo-clinic-staff-on-hypnosis/

** http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/health/the-health-benefits-of-hypnosis/
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For more information, visit our website www.CrowellPublicLibrary.org