Rose Pruning Workshop

Saturday, January 18th, 9:00-11:00 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.

Three Local Authors, One Special Evening!

Monday, January 13, 7:00 p.m.

Three local authors will discuss the writing process and read excerpts from their latest bestsellers, when Crowell Public Library presents, Three Local Authors, One Special Evening, on Monday, January 13 at 7:00 p.m. The evening will be an escape into fantasy, mystery and comedy…

DESIREE ZAMORANO's mystery, Human Cargo, is set mostly in Glendale and Altadena and stars a smart, Latina detective named Inez Leon. A skilled private investigator with a tortilla chip on her shoulder, Inez lives for truth, justice and the Mexican-American way. In Human Cargo, Inez gains access to Pasadena's Russian community in order to find a missing family. She uncovers a culture of underground nightclubs and virtual slavery, as well the high price of a passage into this country. A playwright, Pushcart Prize nominee, and novelist with a deep understanding of and affection for Pasadena and Los Angeles, Desiree Zamorano is also a fan of krav maga and vodka, but not at the same time. She lives in Altadena and teaches at Occidental College.
MARGARET FINNEGAN's The Goddess Lounge, set in Altadena and Los Angeles, is a hilarious story about a divorced mother coming to the edge. Margaret Finnegan's work has appeared in Salon, LA Times, FamilyFun and other publications. She lives with her husband, her two children and her dog, Scout, in South Pasadena, California. She is partial to all of them, but must admit that the dog gives her the least grief, for which she is grateful. Margaret teaches writing at Cal State LA.
PETREA BURCHARD’s Camelot & Vine, begins in Hollywood and continues in Dark Ages in Britain. It's about a failing Hollywood actress who loses everything, flies through a gap in time and saves King Arthur's life. Petrea Burchard studied writing and acting at the University of Illinois where she received with a Bachelors Degree in Rhetoric and a double minor in Theater and French. As an actress she has performed in the National Touring Company of Second City, a plethora of plays, television shows, feature films, commercials and voice over work. Her writing took off in 2004 when she began writing a column in NowCasting.com’s newsletter, ActorsInk.
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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
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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.