Spare the Air

The Bay Area Air District has issued a Winter Spare the Air Alert for Tuesday, November 25, 2008, which bans wood burning both indoors and outdoors through noon tomorrow.

Air quality in the Bay Area is forecast to be unhealthy. It is illegal for Bay Area residents and businesses to burn wood or manufactured firelogs in fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, and outdoor fire-pits. This wood-burning ban will be in effect for Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southern Sonoma and southwestern Solano Counties.

You will receive an AirAlert email each day that a Winter Spare the Air Alert is in effect.

Winter air pollution is mainly caused by small particle pollution or particulate matter (PM) from wood smoke. Smoke from wood-burning fires is linked to illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis and lung disease, and is especially harmful for children and the elderly.

For more information about the wood burning rule, or to check before you burn, visit www.sparetheair.org or call 1-877-4-NO-BURN.

There is NO free transit program during the winter Spare the Air season.

To see the current air quality forecast, visit www.sparetheair.org

Thank you for doing your part to Spare the Air!

This AirAlert is provided by your Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

ESL Conversation Club will take a break

The ESL Conversation Club at Almaden Library will be taking a break, from December 24th-January 14th. We will meet again on January 21st. At our last meeting before the holiday (December 17th), we will have a potluck. Bring a dish to share, and celebrate with us! All ESL learners are welcome.

ESL Book Club reads A Christmas Carol

The ESL Book Club will be discussing one of the most famous Christmas classics of all time, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, on Thursday, December 18th, 1-2 p.m. in the Program Room. The writing is challenging, but the book is very short, less than ½" thick! Also, you probably know the story already, which will make it even more enjoyable. You may want to read the book, and then watch one of the many versions of the movie. Two fun versions are The Muppet Christmas Carol (starring the Muppets!), or Scrooged, which is set in the 1980’s and stars comedian Bill Murray. Also, on Wednesday, December 3rd, at 4 p.m., the Traveling Lantern Production company will be performing A Christmas Carol in the Community Room of the Almaden Branch Library and Community Center. That event is open to the entire family!

Almaden Book Buddies--Tuesday, December 2nd, 1:30

The Almaden Book Buddies will discuss one of Bill Bryson's funniest travelogues, In a Sunburned Country, which is about traveling through Australia. One of the most memorable chapters is dedicated to all of the things that are lethal in that great country! Bill Bryson manages to deliver a lot of laughs while also sharing the beauty of the landscape. Join us to discuss his work in the Program Room of the Almaden Library on Tuesday, December 2nd, at 1:30.

Baby Sign Language--Learn to "Talk" to your Baby

This event takes place at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library 150 E. San Fernando St., in the Children’s Room, 1st Floor, on Sunday, November 16th, 3:30-5:00 p.m. Call (408) 808-2183 for more information.
Learn to "talk" to your baby with teacher William P. White. (Babies are most welcome, though not required.) If your baby is napping or cranky, it is perfectly fine to come without your baby because we are teaching you, the parents, baby sign language. This workshop introduces basic baby signs that are based on American Sign Language (ASL) and is designed for parents with hearing babies who range in age from birth to 18 months old. You will learn about the latest research and all the tricks on how to teach your baby to sign. Fun activities and songs will show you how easy it can be to integrate simple signs into your everyday.

Interested in genealogy?

Saturday, November 15, 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Computer Lab 125, 1st Floor, King Library
Genealogy on the Internet
This class will introduce you to websites and databases to allow you to fill out those family tree limbs! Prerequisite: Must have basic computer skills. Hosted by General Collections.
Co-sponsored by Friends of the King Library. For more information, call (408) 808-2397.

Get out and vote!

Today is Election Day, and there are a lot of hot issues on the ballot for San Jose, and for the state of California, in addition to voting for the next president of the United States. To learn more about the issues, or to find out where your polling place is, visit smartvoter.org.

Vote for Books Election Party--November 5th

Come and celebrate the books with the top votes from voteforbooks.com and our in-house ballots. Make your vote count and enjoy Election cake. For ages 6-14.This event takes place in the Program Room Wednesday, November 5th, 4:30-5:00 p.m.

Moon Struck - View the Moon with the San Jose Astronomical Association

There will be a fun moon related craft program starting Thursday, November 6th at 4:45 p.m. and ending at 5:10 p.m. This craft project is geared for school age children and will be held in the library's program room. At 5:15 p.m. there will be a fun puppet program held in the Children's area and at 5:45 we'll break for an opportunity to check out additional stargazing books and materials. When the library closes at 6:00 p.m. (weather permitting) we'll have the opportunity to observe the night sky courtesy of the San Jose Astronomical Association. Chief astronomer, Jim Van Nuland commented "we'll have lots of good stuff to show -- a nice quarter moon, bright Jupiter, faint Uranus, the Ring Nebula, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, colorful double star Albireo in Cygnus, probably a galaxy or two if the air is clear enough." This should be a great event for the entire family.This event takes place in the Program Room, Children's Area and Outside of the Library.

Water For Elephants Discussion--Tuesday, Nov 4th 1:30-2:30

Join the Almaden Book Buddies in discussing Sara Gruen's beautiful and thrilling book, Water for Elephants. "Life is good for Jacob Jankowski. He's about to graduate from veterinary school and about to gain the girl of his dreams. Then his parents are killed in a car crash, leaving him in the middle of the Great Depression with no home, no family, and no career. Almost by accident, Jacob joins the circus. There he falls in love with the beautiful performer Marlena, who is married to the circus' psychotic animal trainer. He also meets the other love of his life, Rosie the elephant. This lushly romantic novel travels back in forth in time between Jacob's present day in a nursing home and his adventures in the surprisingly harsh world of 1930s circuses." All readers are invited to attend.

Fall Book Sale, November 1st, 9am-3pm

Bargain hunters you won't want to miss this! The Almaden Branch Library is having its Fall Book Sale. This hugely popular event is sponsored by the Friends of the Almaden Library and will be staged in the large community room next to the library's entrance. There will be a large selection of gently used and sometimes new books covering a wide range of topics and interests. Entertainment videos, DVDs, CDs and cassettes will also be available for purchase. There will be a special "Bag of Books" sale from 2 to 3 p.m. All proceeds benefit Almaden Branch Library programs and services. If you love books, you won't want to miss this event. For more information, please call (408) 808-3040.

Harvest Festival--Saturday, October 25th, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

You are invited to participate in our 2nd annual Harvest Festival! It is sponsored by the Almaden Community Center and Library. Our festival will include a pumpkin patch, haunted house, silent auction, plant sales, arts activities, and interesting vendor booths.

ESL Book Club reads The Face on the Milk Carton

"Fifteen-year-old Janie Johnson's life is turned upside down when she notices the picture of a missing girl on the back of a milk carton. A girl named Jennie Spring, with red hair much like her own, was kidnapped twelve years ago. Janie wonders if she could be this face on the milk carton when other questions about her own past begin to arise. Why has she never seen her own birth certificate? Are her parents not really her parents?" Join the ESL Book Club in discussing The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney. To borrow a copy of the book, and to get a reading guide, please call or visit the Almaden Library Information Desk. All teen and adult ESL learners are invited to attend. This event takes place Thursday, October 16th, 1-2 p.m. in the Program Room.

Partners in Reading Adult Literacy Volunteer Tutor Training

Wednesday, October 1, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM, 1st Floor, King Library
Imagine that you could not read a bus schedule or interpret the directions on a medicine bottle. Please consider becoming a volunteer tutor for the adult literacy program, Partners in Reading, at the San José Public Library. The experience is rewarding and exciting. You will be working with an English-speaking adult who is 18 years or older. One-on-one tutoring will take place within branches of the San José Public Library and other public sites in San José.
Qualifications:
18 years of age or older
High school diploma or GED
Read or write at the 12th grade level or above
Attend 14 hours of tutor training
Patience
Flexibility
Cultural sensitivity
Sense of humor
Two hours tutoring per week for a minimum of six months (twice a week is best)
Enthusiasm!
The next Tutor Orientation will be on Wednesday, October 1. Tutor Training will take place on Saturday, October 4, and Saturday, October 11. All sessions are required and participants must register in advance. Please call (408) 808-2361 if you have any questions. Registration required.

Banned Books Week--Celebrating the Freedom to Read

Celebrate Banned Books Week by visiting your local library and checking out a book that has been banned. At Almaden, we have some banned books on display, and ready to be checked out. At the King Library, on Saturday, October 4th, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM in Rooms 225/229 on the 2nd Floor, Dr. Jim Schmidt will speak on Intellectual Freedom and Amy Sonnie will speak on her challenged book, Revolutionary Voices. Everyone is welcome to attend. The King Library will also have games as well as people reading passages from their favorite banned or challenged books. This event is sponsored by ALASC and LISSTEN. For additional information, contact Heather Devine (408) 536-6046. Banned Books Week this year falls from September 27th to October 4th.

Constitution Story Time, Wednesday, September 17th

We are pleased to offer a special "Constitution Story Time" geared for the whole family. Our special guests are from the Daughters of the American Revolution and they will help explain to the children the history and importance of the U.S. Constitution. There will also be a fun craft project for the children.This event takes place in the Program Room on Wednesday, September 17th, 6:30-7:15 p.m.

Tuesday, September 16th, 6:30-7:30

Travel back in time to the truth behind the legends of when the Persian Empire invaded the Greek city-states and read Persian Fire: the First World Empire and the Battle for the West by Tom Holland. Publishers Weekly says that "Holland doesn't impose a modern sensibility on the ancient civilizations he describes, and he delves into the background histories of both sides with equally fascinating detail. Though matters of Greek history like the brutal social structure of the Spartans are well known, the story of the Persian empire—like the usurper Darius's claim that every royal personage he assassinated was actually an imposter—should be fresh and surprising to many readers, while Holland's graceful, modern voice will captivate those intimidated by Herodotus." Join us for our discussion in the Program Room of the Almaden Library over tea and cookies.

ESL Book Club reads The Joy Luck Club

Join the ESL Book Club at 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 18th to discuss Amy Tan's famous and beloved work, The Joy Luck Club. This book focuses on the stories of four different Chinese-American women and their daughters. "With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery" (Amazon). All teen and adult ESL learners are invited to attend.

Spare the Air!

Tomorrow, Wednesday August 27, is a Spare the Air Day in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution are forecast to be unhealthy tomorrow. Hot temperatures and light winds will combine to produce poor air quality for the Bay Area.
To help prevent smog tomorrow, please:
- Drive less
- Telecommute -- work from home instead of driving to work
- Take public transit, walk or bike - visit 511.org for transit info
- Carpool or vanpool with friends or co-workers
- Refuel on the way home in the evening and don't top off
Public transit is NOT free tomorrow.
To plan your commute online, visit 511.org.
To monitor current air quality conditions, visit www.sparetheair.org
This AirAlert is provided by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Thank you for doing your part to Spare the Air!

Author Art Rodriguez: Reading and Book Signing

Wednesday, August 27, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
King Library, 150 E San Fernando, San Jose
Rooms 225/229, 2nd Floor
Art Rodriguez, author of East Side Dreams; Forgotten Memories; The Monkey Box; and Those Oldies but Goodies, will read from his books and discuss his life and work. Book sale and signing will follow. Light refreshments will be served. For information, call (408) 808-2397.