Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends

Project Best at Work

twingrove — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:23:34 +0000

by Susan Baier

I have to say – I’ve always thought Project BEST was a great idea but I have a new appreciation for it after seeing it in action. It was kind of thrilling to watch people actually complete the food handler’s test and get the certification. You could tell they were relieved and proud. I was particularly moved by one participant. It was the first time she had ever touched a computer. I mean EVER. She thought the screen was a touch screen and had never used a mouse in her life. She wasn’t a senior citizen, either. Daniel (a tutor from Mission College) and I worked with her. By the end of the workshop, she had basic mouse skills (she could scroll!) and with guidance was able to log-in to the course. I’m telling you – it was a HUGE moment.

Thanks to all those involved in Project Best for your hard work. What you are doing impacts lives in a profound way.

Project Best is partially sponsored by the Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends. Your donations at work!

Black History Month Book Talk: Ralph Richard Banks: Is Marriage for White People?

twingrove — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:41:08 +0000

Date: Monday, February 6, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Central Park Library Redwood Room
2635 Homestead Road
Santa Clara, California 95051

In celebration of Black History Month, Adult Services has invited Ralph Richard Banks, the Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, to discuss his new book, Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone. The book, described by the New York Times as “important,” by Publisher’s Weekly as “captivating,” and by Kirkus Review as “triumphant,” offers an informative yet engaging examination of the decline in marriage in American society, and especially among African Americans. Professor Banks will highlight the implication of the African American experience for people of all races, and also will talk about the extraordinary media attention the book has attracted.

To reserve a space at this free Black History Month book talk, stop by the Reference Desk or call 615-2900.

Mark it! Young Artists Create Library Bookmarks

twingrove — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:34:24 +0000

Congratulations to the winners of the Library’s bookmark contest! The Foundation & Friends’-sponsored contest encouraged students to design an original bookmark to promote National Library Card Sign Up Month. Winning designs were printed as bookmarks and distributed to the public. For more information, see http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2011/12/engage-young-artists-with-a-bookmark-contest/.

Library Awarded Project BEST Grant

twingrove — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:16:20 +0000

Congratulations to the Library on its receipt of a Project BEST (Basic Employment Skills Training) grant! The Library plans to use the funds to help job seekers improve their basic computer literacy skills and assist food handlers who need to take the mandatory training and assessment on food handling.

Librarian Mary Hanel says, “We are excited about Project BEST, our grant-funded project to meet these needs and help people needing assistance with the training and test for the California State required Food Handling card.”

The Foundation & Friends is supporting this effort by supplying the librarians with three laptops. The librarians will use the laptops to better serve those jobseekers who need one-on-one assistance either due to lack of computer literacy skills or lack of English skills.

Children’s Magazine Collection on Display

twingrove — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:25:13 +0000

Take a look at the new magazine racks in the Children’s area. They were funded by the Foundation & Friends to make room for a new quiet reading area.

New Arrivals: More Easy Readers Added to the Children’s Collection

twingrove — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:40:55 +0000

Did you know that easy readers are some of the most popular and “in demand” items in the children’s collection? The books are designed for preschool through second graders who are first starting to read independently. Parents appreciate the color-coded labeling system which indicates the reading level of the book. The labeling system helps them match the book to their child’s reading level. In response to the overwhelming demand for these books, the Foundation & Friends funded the addition of 300 easy readers! Thanks to our donors and customers who make these grants possible.

Easy Readers from the Children's Collection

Youth Services Posts 2011 Favorites

twingrove — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:48:47 +0000

Our very own Youth Services department created a list their favorite books of 2011 for children and teens. If you still have some last minute holiday shopping to do for kids, this list is a great gift guide. Don’t forget to check our bookstore in the Library lobby.

http://scclnews.blogspot.com/2011/12/staff-picks-best-books-of-2011-for.html

First Annual Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends Holiday Craft Faire

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:06:06 +0000

December 10th, 2011
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Central Park Library
2635 Homestead Rd.
Santa Clara, California

Heritage Home Tour is Here!

twingrove — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:31:07 +0000

This year’s Santa Clara Holiday Historic Home Tour is this weekend, Friday, December 2nd from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, December 3rd from Noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are still available for purchase at City Lights Espresso, 1171 Homestead Road, Santa Clara through Friday or at the Harris-Lass Museum, 1889 Market Street, Santa Clara on the days of the tour. Four private homes and the Harris-Lass Museum are on this year’s tour. One of the private homes is a beautiful Queen Anne Victorian built in the 1890s for the family of a Santa Clara blacksmith named James Parmer. The Harris-Lass House Museum, an 1865 Italianate Victorian, is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a public museum and each room of the house is decorated based on a verse from the book, Twas the Night Before Christmas. This event is a fun Santa Clara holiday tradition, now in its 33rd year, with proceeds benefitting local non-profits in Santa Clara (including the Library). For more details, see the Santa Clara Historic Home Tour website at: http://www.sc-hometour.com/.

Proceeds from this tour have, in the past, funded history and geneology materials and summer reading.

A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion – A Book Talk

twingrove — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:07:12 +0000

On Tuesday, December 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Central Park Library Cedar Room, Adult Services is presenting local author Ron Hansen, who will discuss writing and his new novel: A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion. The book is a fact-based fictionalized account of the famous torrid love affair that led to the 1927 murder of Albert Snyder and the subsequent scandal in New York City. Hansen, author of several popular historical novels, is the Gerard Manly Professor in the Arts and Humanities at Santa Clara University, where he teaches writing and literature. To reserve a space at this free book talk, made possible by the Foundation & Friends of Santa Clara City Library, please call the Reference Desk at 615-2900. Watch the library website: http://santaclaraca.gov or sign up for the City’s free e-Notify service to find out about other upcoming library programs and events.

Sponsored by the Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends