Tuesday, December 18, 2007

JANUARY LIBRARY EVENTS





Afterschool Crafts
January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 at 3 pm
Gillis Library
629 West Dakota Avenue, Fresno (559) 225-0140




Connect with Classics
January 3 at 7 pm
Woodward Park
944 East Perrin Avenue, Fresno (559) 433-3135




Town Hall Book Discussion: An Education for
Our Times
January 8 at 7 pm
Politi Branch
5771 North First Street, Fresno (559) 431-6450




Friends of the Sunnyside Library Meeting
January 12 at 2 pm
Sunnyside Branch
5566 East Kings Canyon Road, Fresno (559) 255-6594




Billings Book Club: On the Wealth of Nations
January 13 at 2 pm
Clovis Branch
1155 Fifth Street, Clovis (559) 299-9531



Peer Tutoring
January 14-18 at 3:30 pm
Woodward Park
944 East Perrin Avenue, Fresno (559) 433-3135




Chess Anyone?
January 14 at 4 pm
Woodward Park
944 East Perrin Avenue, Fresno (559) 433-3135



Toddler Storytime
January 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31 at 10 am
Clovis Branch
1155 Fifth Street, Clovis (559) 299-9531



Preschool Storytime
January 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 at 11 am
Clovis Branch
1155 Fifth Street, Clovis (559) 299-9531



Wii 3 Gaming
January 15 at 5 pm
Sunnyside Branch
5566 East Kings Canyon Road, Fresno (559) 255-6594



Talk, Taste and Browse at the Sanger Library
January 15 at 2 pm
Sanger Branch Library



Lapsit
January 16, 23, 30 at 9:30 am
Clovis Branch
1155 Fifth Street, Clovis (559) 299-9531



Preschool Storytime
January 16, 23, 30 at 10:30 am
Kingsburg Branch
1399 Draper Street, Kingsburg (559) 897-3710




Mystery Book Club: The No. 1 Ladies’
Detective Agency
January 20 at 2:30 pm
Clovis Branch
1155 Fifth Street, Clovis (559) 299-9531



Manga and Anime Discussion Group
January 22 at 5 pm
Sunnyside Branch
5566 East Kings Canyon Road, Fresno (559) 255-6594



How to Start a Small Business
January 22 at 5:30 pm
Sunnyside Branch
5566 East Kings Canyon Road, Fresno(559) 255-6594




Author Jim Denney
January 22 at 7 pm
Sunnyside Branch
5566 East Kings Canyon Road, Fresno (559) 255-6594




Book Discussion: A Thousand Splendid Suns
January 24 at 6:30 pm
Kingsburg Branch
1399 Draper Street, Kingsburg (559) 897-3710



Gaming Day
January 26 at 12 pm
Woodward Park
944 East Perrin Avenue, Fresno (559) 433-3135




Antique Appraisal Clinic
January 26 at 1 pm
Clovis Branch
1155 Fifth Street, Clovis (559) 299-9531



Post Secret
January 29 at 5 pm
Sunnyside Branch
5566 East Kings Canyon Road, Fresno (559) 255-6594




Fresno in 1908
January 29 at 7 pm
Politi Branch
5771 North First Street, Fresno (559) 431-6450


ISSN 0732-2402
IMPULSE is a monthly staff newsletter published by the
Fresno County Public Library,
Roberta Barton
Editor


THE VOTES ARE IN!




After a month of voting, Fresno County has selected The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain as the featured novel for our next Big Read grant application.

Voting took place throughout the month of November at libraries, schools, colleges and community events as well as online.
More than 3,600 votes were cast. The second most popular title was Call of the Wild by Jack London, followed by Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451 as the third most popular book. Most of the books on the list of 18 approved titles received over 100 votes.

Programming will be held during the
2008-2009 school year.



FOWLER CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY

A new Fowler Branch Library is taking shape!
The concrete foundation has been poured and framing has begun.


2008 HOLIDAY CLOSURES

All Library branches will be closed in observance of the following holidays in 2008:

January 1 – New Year’s Day
January 21 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
February 18 – President’s Day
March 31 – Cesar Chavez Day
March 23 – Easter Sunday
May 26 – Memorial Day
July 4 – Independence Day
September 1 – Labor Day
November 11 – Veteran’s Day
November 27 & 28 – Thanksgiving
December 24 – close at 5 pm
December 25 – Christmas
December 31 – close at 5 pm
Specifi c branches will also be closed for the
following community events in 2008:
April 5 – Orange Cove for Blossom Festival
April 5 – Laton for Laton Rodeo
April 26 – Clovis Branch for Clovis Rodeo
May 3 – Orange Cove for Cinco de Mayo
May 3 – Riverdale for Spring Festival
September 13 – Kerman for Harvest
Festival (closed 10 am to 12:30 pm; open
12:30 pm to 3:30 pm)
September 27 – Caruthers for Caruthers Parade
October 11 (tentative) – Fowler for Fall Festival
October 11 – Reedley for Fall Fiesta
October 13 – All branches for Annual Library Meeting & Staff Training Day
October 25 – Selma for Band Festival Parade (closed 10 am to 2 pm; open from 12 pm to 5 pm)

November 2 – Central for Dinner in the Library

IDEAL TRAINING
Congratulations to our “Coach Kao,” who has been awarded a fellowship from the Great Valley Center for its 2008 IDEAL Training Team. IDEAL stands for the Institute for the Development of Emerging Area Leaders. The Great Valley Center is giving Bernice a full scholarship for her participation. Through a very competitive written application and interview process, she was selected as one of only 20 Fellows out of 55 finalists!
The training targets emerging leaders from underrepresented and rural communities by taking a unique, issue-based approach to fostering diverse and collaborative community leadership in the Central Valley. Bernice has declared very clearly that she represents the unemployed and underemployed, who need more focused training to build their future with their own hands.


A CENTURY OF READING
On Monday, November 5, Talking Book Librarian Wendy Eisenberg went to Bel Haven Care Center in Fresno for a very special errand.
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress (NLS), of which our Talking Book Library for the Blind (TBLB) is a subregional library, has a special program called The 102 Club to honor active Talking Book readers across the country who are 100 years of age or older. Each Talking Book library can make its own presentations or programs to honor these centenarian patrons, and NLS provides special recognition items to be presented to the patrons.
One of TBLB’s patrons, Roy Nelson, is 102 years old and resides at Bel Haven. Wendy presented him with a certificate and letter (both signed by Frank Kurt Cylke, the head of NLS) and a gold pin, to officially induct him as our first Fresno County member of The 102 Club. Mr. Nelson’s son, Bruce, helped arrange the presentation and was present for the honors. Fresno Bee reporter Margaret Slaby interviewed Mr. Nelson for an article and photo that were featured in the City Life section on November 28. Mr. Nelson is a very active Talking Book reader, having transferred here a couple of years ago from the Los Angeles area. He loves his books, especially history, classics, biographies and westerns. He usually has about 10 green Books on Tape containers on his chairside table at any one time, and he really enjoys reading them. The total number of Talking Books he’s had so far, including the books he read in Los Angeles, is well over 900! In addition to reading, Mr. Nelson plays the piano at Bel Haven every Friday for the other residents, who come flocking down the halls to the music room when they hear him start playing. He is very proud of his large family, and in talking to him, one can tell that his faith and his sense of humor are very important to him. (He pointed to the family tree picture on his wall and said, “See that family tree over there? I’m the SAP!”) It was great to meet this wonderful man in person and to honor him for being happy, active and still an avid reader at 102 years old! The TBLB has about 12 centenarian patrons, and Mr. Nelson is one of the most active readers of them all.

Social Networking Sites from B. Kao
Social Networking sites like www.myspace.com, www.youtube.com, and www.facebook.com are popular and exciting, but they can also be quite dangerous if you abuse them. Some sites may enhance your job searching ventures. However, beware of giving out too much unnecessary personal information, which can easily sabotage, rather than help, your chance of being a new hire. For an example, you don’t want any of your Halloween party photos from www.youtube.com to land on a Human Resource Manager’s computer screen.
Remember to Google yourself once in awhile. Do some regular updating of your professional profi le, and make sure that “business is business.” There is no second
guessing when only the best candidate gets the job offer. New job search sites for job seekers worth a try are: www.careerjet.com and www.jobfox.com. Jobfox offers free powerful tools to complete your job fit profile, upload your resume and help you land your dream job almost too good to be true!). Try it yourself and draw your own conclusion.


AUBERRY NEWS
Gingerbread Fun
Auberry Branch Library kicked off the holiday season right after Thanksgiving with its annual family Gingerbread House activity. Craftspeople of all ages crammed into the available space to construct 75 houses. Many thanks to all the staff and volunteers who made this event possible; it took weeks of preparation to be ready for
the big evening.

Chess Program
The Auberry Branch Library chess program continues to draw players of all ages, from
preschool through senior citizens. Every week, 8-12 chess players crowd around the
tables to challenge each other.



UNITED GIVERS RESULTS
Thanks to all who participated in the United Givers Campaign this year. The Library had 24 donors who contributed a total of $2,665. There will be many community agencies that will benefit from the generosity of our staff. Very nice (and
new) magnetic Library bookmarks will be sent out to all donors right away. Just in time for your holiday reading!

WELCOME NEW STAFF
New to the Maintenance Department are Michael Almendarez and Stephen Barton.
Michael was working in the Department’s December 2007 IMPULSE Page 6
Gardening division and is now a full time employee. Stephen is a new temporary
staff member. Please be sure to give Michael and Stephen a warm welcome to
the Library.

POLITI FRIENDS BOOKSALE
The Friends of the Politi Branch Library held their second booksale on October 27
and raised a signifi cant amount of funds for their branch. This dynamic group has
not only focused on fundraising but has also been walking their neighborhoods to recruit members and tell them about the Politi branch. The group has almost reached their fi rst goal of 100 members, and they have only been in existence
since May!
This group is playing a major role in the Politi Centennial celebration, which will kick off in January 2008. In preparation for the Centennial, the group is already working on a project to donate complete sets of Politi books to area schools. Watch for more great things from this group! A big thank you to the Politi Friends for all they are doing for the Library.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

December 3, 2007

Library events and happenings on December 3, 2007. Please comment on any program you have attended or if you have suggestions for other programs. Thank you.





December 03, 2007
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Medicare is Changing: What's New for 2008
Toni Mares Cortez of the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program will give information on what changes to expect for Medicare in the coming year.
Senior Resource Center
2025 E. Dakota Avenue, Fresno, CA 93726. Phone: (559) 453 - 6767


(Classes)

December 03, 2007
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Internet Básico (en Español)
Fundamentos del Internet. Aprenda cómo señalar y hacer clic sobre los navegadores en el Internet y navegar el World Wide Web. Prerrequisito: Saber usar el ratón. Registracion requerida 488-1898.
Central Library
2420 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA 93721. (559) 488-3195




December 03, 2007
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Internet Básico (en Español)
Fundamentos del Internet. Aprenda cómo señalar y hacer clic sobre los navegadores en el Internet y navegar el World Wide Web. Prerrequisito: Saber usar el ratón. Registracion requerida 488-1898.
Central Library
2420 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA 93721. (559) 488-3195