Little Shop sneak peek flyer

Go to Art Walk at the Modesto Library and see the work of featured artist Suzanne Staud. While you’re there, check out the interior of the Little Shop–and help us celebrate the evening by being one of our first customers!

Busy summer…since my last post, we’ve been busy transforming an office in the Modesto Library into a cool retail space under the direction of artist Suzanne Staud. It’s just about there! Still need a few shelving units, but that’s all in the works…if you’re interested in volunteering in the store, please drop me a line.

Modesto-based poet Gillian Wegener (The Opposite of Clairvoyance, Sixteen Rivers, 2008) is launching the Third Tuesday Poetry Series at the Barking Dog Grill in downtown Modesto.

The first reading to kick off the series, on June 16, features award-winning poet Lynne Knight, whose most recent title, Again, was published by Sixteen Rivers Press earlier this year. Knight’s work appeared in Best American Poetry 2000, and her awards include a Theodore Roethke Award from Poetry Northwest and an NEA grant. She lives in Berkeley.

The June 16 reading will be followed by a celebratory open mic–bring your own poem plus a poem by someone else who has inspired you along the way.

The Third Tuesday Poetry Series starts at 6:30 pm. For more information, contact Gillian Wegener.

tillie lewis water tower in Modesto

National Library Week – First celebrated in 1958, National Library Week is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. Thank you Stanislaus County Library for doing such a great job in our communities! Hear the cool PSA.

Upcoming Event: Poetry workshop with Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, sponsored by Friends of the Modesto Library, Center for the Book, and Poets & Writers Inc.; refreshments provided by Golden 1 Credit Union.

Free and open to the public! Saturday April 18, 2009 at 1 pm in the Modesto Library auditorium. See you there!

Exciting News: Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors has approved Friends-run gift stores inside the library buildings! If you’re interested in helping get this great new project off the ground, contact us: info@modestolibraryfriends.org.

Shining Star Awards: Congratulations to Anne Britton, winner of the Shining Star Award in the “Friends” category, for all her hard work in setting up and organizing Scholastic Book Sales to benefit the Friends of the Modesto Library (and ultimately, the Modesto Library). She also volunteers in the Children’s Dept. at Modesto every Tuesday, and you can find her volunteering at the Empire Branch too! Thanks, Anne,  for all you do to promote literacy in our region.

Volunteers are invited to recognize Anne and the other Shining Star Award recipient, volunteer Anita Hay of the Waterford Library, at a special volunteer luncheon at the Salida Library on April 18 at noon.  Awards presented by the Stanislaus County Library Foundation.

Activated Storytellers

Be sure to catch the Activated Storytellers at the Modesto Library on April 11 at noon, sponsored by the Friends of the Modesto Library through its Peti Taylor Memorial Program fund.

If you’ve never seen the Activated Storytellers, you simply must. The Goza family carries on a unique tradition of the family troupe, living on the road, going from town to town…and interpreting folk legends and fairy tales for their young audiences in a fun, modern way.

At the Modesto Library downstairs auditorium. Tickets available in children’s dept. on day of show from 11 am on. Call 209-558-7801 for information.

Friends of the Modesto Library invites you to attend its annual membership meeting on Wednesday March 4, 2009 at 7 pm in the Modesto Library.

Help us welcome our guest Joan Bowen Cardoza, longtime Modesto resident and author of the popular Friends and Memories collections featuring recipes from local folks you may know of. The best parts of the collections are the stories that accompany each recipe!

Cardoza will talk to the Friends about how she compiled the recipes, published the books, and her work with the Cardoza Foundation. More Friends and More Memories, the latest collection, will be offered for sale at the event. Proceeds from sales will benefit the Cardoza Foundation, which supports nonprofits in the Modesto area.

A business meeting to elect news board members for 2009-2010 will follow the talk (see slate of candidates). This event is FREE and open to the public. Membership forms will be available at the event for those who wish to join FOML.

What if your city had a Peace and Justice Commission which had the power to approve or deny contacts and vendor purchases based on whether the vendor signed a nuclear-free disclosure form? Well, the City of Berkeley does have such a commission, designed to help Berkeley comply with its Nuclear-Free Berkeley Act and Oppressive State Ordinance.

So here’s the problem: the Berkeley Public Library, which uses a Checkpoint self-checkout system (utilizing RFID, or radio-frequency identification), needs to sign a maintenance contract for the system. However, Checkpoint has outsourced its maintenance to 3M, so the city would be contracting with 3M.

However, 3M has refused to sign the City of Berkeley’s standard forms for contractors. The forms state that contractors do not, and will not for the life of the contract, do “work for nuclear weapons.” Problem time!

The Peace and Justice Commission will not grant a waiver for 3M, although it has granted waivers to other vendors, primarily those working with UC Berkeley. Interestingly, P&J is suggesting the library convert to a bar code system to deal with the issue, thereby completely abandoning the RFID system. The library director is saying that the other option is to purchase an entirely new RFID system, one that offers interoperability with other tags, equipment, and maintenance (and thus vendors). But that would be too expensive.

What a conundrum. This situation brings up so many questions, foremost of which is did anyone at BPL perform an analysis before the large RFID expenditure? Why is staff not on board with the RFID project? (There was a large group of staff and Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) present at the P&J’s waiver-granting meeting who opposed any waiver, and who also promoted the bar code solution.) Shouldn’t interoperability be a consideration when choosing new library equipment and technology? The trend in library automation is certainly in that direction.

I can see both sides of the issue. Berkeley has a commitment to enacting its progressive ideals, and I get that. Still–what a drag to manage a library in the City of Berkeley.

The Stanislaus County Library has released its annual report (pdf) for 2007-2008. Highlights include reports on a number of children’s programs, information about Foundation Center grant resources, and the great photos and quotes from library customers.

Hey y’all, Ryan’s Tree is finally up in the Children’s Department at the Modesto Library–and it’s simply stunning. You have to see it! Created in honor of Ryan Dickerson, a young library user who passed away at age 18, the tree is an enduring symbol of the magic of reading and the joy of imagination. What a great addition to our library!

There will be a dedication ceremony on December 30 (stay tuned for time).

Thank you to the Dickerson Family who pledged a significant amount to complete the project, and thanks for the community for meeting the Dickerson’s matching donation challenge to get this project completed.

Our delightful raffle table for Hand Born

Many thanks to Hand Born organizers Elizabeth Zapien-Plata, Julie Edwards, and Tawny Holt for their wonderfulness. Also special thanks to Gillian Wegener, who worked the table with me for many, many hours and who tolerated my delirious ramblings.