Finals Week: Cram at Crowell Library!

Coffee and Cramming @ Crowell!
Thursday, May 31st from 3pm-7pm &
Monday, June 4th from 1pm-7pm

– Aughh! Finals are here already?! Don’t stress out -- high school students are invited to Crowell Library’s Coffee & Cramming student only group study zone (otherwise known as the library’s Barth Community Room) on Thursday, May 31st from 3pm-7pm & Monday, June 4th from 1pm-7pm.

Enjoy snacks and iced coffee while hitting the books. All brainiacs in attendance will be eligible to win a Vroman’s gift card.

Crowell Public Library: where you can get your exam cram on!

The Pacific Electric Railway: Then & Now

Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 7:00 p.m. — Relive that wonderful era when you could take a street car from Santa Monica to Pasadena and beyond when authors Michael Patris and Steve Crise present a slide show of images from their new book, Pacific Electric Railway (Then & Now). Loaded with photos from Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society’s archives, Pacific Electric Railway shows the far-reaching “Red Car” transportation system started by San Marino’s Henry Huntington in 1901. The authors will also share photos from today’s Southern California landscape that the railway helped define, such as the green parkways of Huntington Drive and Sierra Madre Boulevard. The Pacific Electric Railway originally provided reliable transportation across more than 1,000 miles of track. Postwar society's affair with the automobile led to the loss of an infrastructure that could have formed the basis for an enviable modern light-rail system, one that current society would be happy to utilize. Pacific Electric Railway Then & Now sold out its first printing in five weeks and is well on its way to a multiple printings. Steve and Michael both serve on the board of the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society as well as the Mount Lowe Preservation Society and were born and raised in Southern California. They have plans for future book projects based on Southern California railroads. Join them for a fascinating look at an amazing transportation system discarded for “progress.”

China: From the 1950s to Today Photo Exhibition

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- one day only -— Organized by China Photo Services of Xinhua News Agency and Chinese Culture Development Center, China: From the 1950s to Today Photo Exhibition will be held at Crowell Public Library on Wednesday, April 18, one day only, in the Barth Community Room and surrounding areas of the library. The exhibition will also be held April 16 (12:30 pm to 4:00 pm) at UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library. Both exhibitions are free to the public. The Chinese Culture Development Center has invited Ms. Xiaobo Chen, chief editor of the Photographic News Department of Xinhua News Agency, and Mr. Yu Liu, director of the International Photos Newsroom of the Photographic News Department of Xinhua News Agency, to make a special presentation on this wonderful photo exhibition. “China: From the 1950s to Today” Photo Exhibition includes 130 pictures, documenting the changing lives of ordinary Chinese people in the last six decades. Selected from Xinhua News Agency’s huge photo archive, this series is not only an incredible photo collection, but has extraordinary historical value. Many photos are very rare and have just become available to the public for the first time. The co-organizers of this exhibit are UCLA East Asian Library, UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, UCLA Confucius Institute, as well as Crowell Public Library. This exhibition will move to East Coast and be displayed at Asian Cultural Center NY on April 21, 2012. Founded in 1995, Chinese Culture Development Center is an Alhambra-based cultural institution that promotes Chinese cultures and education in Southern California, organizing and sponsoring programs in the local community that help to deepen understanding between American and Chinese public. For more information, please visit www.ccdcus.com.

Hunger Games Challenge!

April 17, 2012 @ 3:30pm--Barth Community Room FREE!
For Young Adults grades 6-12

Hunger Games: You’ve read the book and seen the movie; now put yourself to the test. Crowell Public Library presents it’s first annual Hunger Games Challenge on April 17th at 3:30pm in the Barth Community Room. The Hunger Games challenge is free and open to all young adults grades 6-12.

You’ve been chosen to represent your district, and you’ll be put to the test. Enter the arena and show your mettle in the face of nearly insurmountable odds. Find out your Hunger Games name, take an epic trivia challenge, and test your chances of survival in the Cornucopia and physical challenge. It’s not all a matter of life and death— you’ll also showcase your cupcake decorating skills (channeling Peeta, the baker’s son)! How will you fare? Find out in an afternoon where grit and wit may finish ahead of pure brawn. Survivor(s) of the Hunger Games Challenge will take home their own copy of Hunger Games!

Hunger Games events are subject to change, as the Gamemakers want to keep the tributes on their toes. The Hunger Games challenge is sponsored by the Friends of the Crowell Public Library.

“Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!”—Effie Trinket

TAIPEI 101

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 6:30 p.m. — Growing island nations can only build outwardly for so long before they must consider the up option. Taiwan, the Republic of China, is one of the most dangerous spots on the planet for skyscrapers as it is rocked by multiple earthquakes each month, and is vulnerable to the vicious winds of typhoons. The challenge to combine height with protection from natural disasters resulted in the building Taipei 101. In the Xinyi District of Taipei, C.Y. Lee & Partners set out to design not only the world's tallest skyscraper, but one with the safety provisions gleaned from the World Trade Center disaster. And as construction began, competing countries were also vying to complete their own tallest buildings in the world, so the pressure to succeed came from many sides. In 2011, Taipei 101 was presented the highest award in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system and became the tallest and largest green building in the world. The tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since its opening. The documentary TAIPEI 101 (台北101 / 臺北101) chronicles this story in 50 minutes and is narrated in English. The Executive Director was Andrew Waterworth, and Matthew Tomaszewski, its director. Free popcorn will be available while it lasts. Crowell Library thanks the Taiwanese United Fund (TUF), a non-profit organization dedicated to culture and performing arts, and Dr. Jerry C. Liu for bringing Taipei 101 to library patrons.

Sherlockian author Graham Moore

Thursday, April 19, 2012 7:00 p.m. – The One Book, One City celebration for 2012 will culminate with a special appearance by GRAHAM MOORE, author of The Sherlockian, his debut novel and a New York Times bestseller sold in 16 countries and translated into 13 languages. A mystery about the life of Arthur Conan Doyle and the modern Sherlock Holmes obsessives who devote their lives to the secrets in his books, it was called “sublime,” “clever” and “delightful” by the New York Times, and “savvy” and “entertaining” by the LA Times. Graham Moore is a novelist and screenwriter. He first learned to love mysteries as an eight year-old when he and his mother would pass a copy of Agatha Christie’s A Murder in Three Acts back and forth, reading to each other. From there, his love of mysteries grew even stronger, culminating in his own contribution to the world of Sherlockiana. Moore has served as a staff writer for a season on the ABC Family sitcom 10 Things I Hate About You, and recently sold a script about the life of legendary scientist Alan Turing to Warner Brothers. He was born in Chicago, received a B.A. in Religious History from Columbia University, and currently lives in Los Angeles. During the past two months patrons have read the book, seen the movies and learned some very entertaining and informative facts about the world of Sherlock Holmes at Crowell Public Library. Now everyone can meet the inspiration behind these programs.

Special Screening: Forks Over Knives

Medical Mondays @ Crowell Library presents a special screening of the film FORKS OVER KNIVES Monday, April 16, 2012, 6:00 p.m. — FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The film traces the personal journeys of Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a nutritional scientist from Cornell University, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a former top surgeon at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic. Inspired by remarkable discoveries in their young careers, these men conducted several groundbreaking studies. Their separate research led them to the same startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented—and in many cases reversed—by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. In addition, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes, and are taught by their doctors to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments. “I loved it and I need all of you to see.”-- Dr. Mehmet Oz, The Dr. Oz Show “Richly Inspiring” – Los Angeles Times “A film that can save your life” – Roger Ebert After the film there will be a panel discussion that will include Registered Dietitian Victoria Pacheco who works in the Community Outreach Department at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia. She provides nutritional counseling for clients with gestational diabetes, cardiac disease, cancer and weight management issues. Victoria graduated from Cal State Los Angeles and has both her Bachelors and Masters Degree in Nutrition. Victoria has just published a nutrition textbook and is on the faculty at Pasadena City College and Cal State Los Angeles. Learn what you can do right now to improve your health!