Planetary Scientists

Chloe Casdagli, age 8, is one of 15 children who completed the Mars Inside and Out program last week at the La Farge Branch Library. The program, which was designed by the Lunar and Planetary Institute in cooperation with NASA, was given once a week for 8 weeks this winter at La Farge. Chloe and the others recieved certificates recognizing them as planetary scientists. The children performed experiments that taught them about craters, channels, and volcanoes on Mars's surface and about the core, mantle, and crust inside the planet.



by GS @ LF

Photo of 3 Scientists by LW @ SS

Spring Book Sale

April 18 & 19

Main Library
145 Washington Ave.
505-955-6780

and

Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Dr.
505-955-2820

Friends Members Only:
Saturday: 10 am - 1 pm

Open to public:
Saturday: 1 pm - 4 pm
Sunday: 1 pm - 4 pm

Main Southwest Room: Quality Items individually priced
Main Community Room: Standard priced items
Southside Community Room: Standard priced items

Bag Day Sunday: Main Community Room & Southside: only $3.00 per bag!

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

All proceeds from the sale of these donated books are used to purchase new books for the Library.

Why I Love My Job

Okay, this is not the only reason I love my job. This is one of about a zillion reasons. But this week’s reason is: The Happy Ending.

In my last job, which was doing approximately what I do now in a different time zone, a book came across my desk that looked fascinating. After I cataloged it, I checked it out, and devoured it. I could not put this book down. It fascinated me and thrilled me. I read it on the train, while I ate, while I painted, while I walked my dog. I decided this was one of my new favorite authors and I couldn’t wait for his next book to come out.

So far, so good. But then, I left that job. Years passed. And suddenly, when I tried to remember the book to see if the author had written his next novel yet, my mind drew a blank. Title of the book? Gone. What was the book about? If I could remember that, I could perhaps pester a reference librarian, especially if I knew the color of the cover. (Just kidding. Librarians don’t actually like when you ask for “the white book”.) But no. I just knew it had to do with Jamaica, and possibly it had to do with preachers. But I was a little hazy on that last detail. And needless to say, I hadn’t written anything down. This was the most horrible thing that ever happened! (If you’re a book addict, you understand this feeling well.)

Fast forward through my despair to last week, when a book showed up on my desk for cataloging. The Book of Night Women. A fourteen-day checkout, with a shiny new cover, and the author’s name in memory-thrilling letters: Marlon James. Purely by accident, Mr. James’ second novel landed on my desk in much the same way his first one landed on my other desk. I immediately cataloged it, checked it out, and am almost done with it. It’s brilliant. I can’t put it down.

And the best part is, once I had his name, I was able to locate the title of that first book (of course I said to myself, how did I ever forget it?), John Crow’s Devil. I requested it for purchase for the Library, so any time now, I’ll get to dive back into it, and remember why I fell in love with this author in the first place. If I’ve piqued your curiosity, feel free to put holds on the titles – you’ll have to wait for me to finish, but I promise it’s not a long wait.

The only reason not to love my job? I have to stop reading in order to do it!

by AA @ Main

Summer Bandstand Selection

2009 Santa Fe Bandstand News
Selection Process for Performers Runs from March 15 - May 1

The City of Santa Fe has started to receive inquiries about the popular Santa Fe Bandstand free summer concert series. The City of Santa Fe and Outside In Productions are pleased to announce that beginning Monday, July 6 there will be free live music on the Community Stage at the Santa Fe Plaza. This free summer concert series happens every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 12 noon - 1:30 p.m. This seven-week long free music festival will run through Aug. 20 featuring some of the finest, Blues, Latin, Country, Rock, Reggae, R&B, Jazz, Bluegrass, Folk, Americana, Alternative, Native, and World Beat Music that New Mexico has to offer as well as national touring acts.

How can local musicians apply to perform on the Plaza?
Performers are encouraged to apply now to perform on the bandstand. The main consideration in the performer selection process is bands or individual artists who have the ability to really connect with the diverse cross-section of the people of Santa Fe and the audience of locals and tourists. The application deadline for bandstand performers is May 1.

Applicants should email mp3s, EPKs and web site links as well as high resolution photos and a one-line description of the musical genre. Also let us know where and when you are playing so we could have an opportunity to see you perform live.

Email to info@outsideinproductions.org

You may also send CDs, DVDs or a good, clean demo to:
Outside In
Santa Fe Bandstand
PO Box 5714
Santa Fe, NM 87502

If accepted Outside In Productions will contact you by May 15, 2009.

Contact:
Santa Fe Arts Commission: (505) 955-6707
Outside In: (505) 986-6054

The Ephemeral Nature of Nature

It's a tradition for the library blogger to enshrine the annual appearance of apricot blooms on the City Hall lawn on film. Super-extra points if the shots include the statue of St. Francis.

Alas, after fighting the wind, camera in hand, all the best blossoms were on the far side of the statue. St. Francis almost looks sad, because all the petals behind him have blown away.

Just a reminder of how quickly spring rushes by, and to not take anything for granted.

Right-click on each image to open in a new tab or window, and see the blossoms in all their ephemeral glory.

Earth Hour

On Saturday, March 28, 2009, 8:30 pm local time, cities and groups and individuals around the world are participating in Earth Hour. For one hour, the lights will go out, highlighting issues of climate change and the need for solutions.

Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia. In two years it has grown to encompass such well-known landmarks and tourist spots as the Las Vegas Strip, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Eiffel Tower.

The Earth Hour website has a great FAQ. You can also simply turn out the lights tomorrow night at 8:30 and enjoy the night sky.

Odes and Origami

Children's Program

Make an Origami Book and Write a Poem
A two-part workshop for ages 9-12.

La Farge Library
1730 Llano Street
Wednesdays,
April 8th and 15th
3:30 to 4:30

Presented by book artists
Jean Stratton and Alex Fisher –

Please call 955-4863 to register.
Sponsored by the Santa Fe Book Arts Group.

International Children’s Book Day

Thursday, April 2nd
2:00 – 5:30 pm
Main Library Children's Room
145 Washington Ave.

Come make pop-up and paper books to celebrate International Children’s Book Day!
All ages are welcome.
Come by anytime between 2 and 5:30 pm and you can make a book tailored to your age (and parent's ability).

Signs of Spring in Santa Fe

Ah, spring in the ancient city. Birds singing, blossoms blooming, chance of snowfall and...Pezman?

While checking out the burgeoning flora in the lovely Sena Plaza, we spied this gentleman outside Todos Santos. Catching some shade in the old hacienda, he definitely deserved his own photo shoot.

photos by RG @ Main

The Road from La Cueva

Author reading by Sheila Ortego
2008 New Mexico Book Award winner

Thursday, April 9, 2009
7:00-8:30 pm
Main Library Community Room

The Road from La Cueva:
Ana Howland is at a crisis point. As a constrained yet passionate woman, she finds few outlets for her desires in her role as mother and wife. She is subsumed by a controlling husband, but is craving her own fulfillment. Her frustrations find outlets through a friendship with an eccentric neighbor and an affair with a man who respects her and nurtures her spirit and independence. Through hardship and grim determination, she learns to look with her own eyes, to feel with her own heart. She discovers a deep well of resilience and compassion, with room for growth and freedom. Her story is one of a leap of faith, away from despair and toward life at its fullest. Despite all odds, she navigates herself, through small but profound changes, into new ways of living, of relating to her friends, her daughter, herself.

Sheila Ortego is president of Santa Fe Community College. Born in New Orleans and of Acadian ancestry, Dr. Ortego received her doctorate in American Studies at the University of New Mexico, and since has taught Southwest Literature, Women's Literature, and Women's Studies at several colleges and universities. Her poetry has been published by the "Santa Fe Literary Review," and she has recently been admitted to the "Live Poets Society" in Santa Fe.

This program is free and open to the public.

Feed the Birds

Visitors to the Main Library on Saturday, March 21, were greeted with a surprise. A flock of ceramic birds had descended on the sidewalk on Washington Avenue for the day, inviting comment, contemplation, and at times, confusion.

Birds in the Park is a touring project by artist Christy Hengst, "which involves the temporary installation of thirty to sixty porcelain birdlike forms on the ground". At a distance, they look like a flock of white doves pecking and resting. Up close, you can see the newsprint and images adorning the birds. Ms. Hengst has already conducted the installation at local spots like the Tune-Up Café, and more places around town will be decked out in the aviary throughout the spring.

Leave the birdseed at home, but not your curiosity.

New New Mexico Papers

Our Gale Databases have expanded their InfoTrac Custom Newspapers module to include more New Mexico newspapers, including The Santa Fe New Mexican, Taos News and Los Alamos Monitor. The New Mexican has indexed and full-text articles from Jan. 1, 2000 to yesterday.

You can use all of our databases in the library from the catalog terminals, and most of the databases from outside the library if you have your library card handy. As always, if you have any trouble accessing the databases, you can stop in to see your local reference librarian, or call us at:

Main: 955-6781
La Farge: 955-4862
Southside: 955-2820

Biosphere 2

A Talk by John Allen
Pioneer of biosphere science, philosopher, poet and inventor of the Biosphere 2 project

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
6:30 – 7:45 p.m.

Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Drive
505-955-2820

Free to the public, for ages 12 and up.

Meet the inventor of Biosphere 2, John Allen, who will sign copies of his new memoir Me and the Biospheres. The evening will include a slide show of the work that went into design and building the Biosphere 2 project in Arizona, as well as other projects he started in sustainable forestry, grassland management, and exploration of Planet Ocean. The ecotechnic pioneer will answer questions about global ecology and how we can confront the environmental challenges we face today.

Once Upon a Time

There is a volunteer at Southside Children’s who reminds us of the Story of the Elves and the Shoemaker. She comes in three days a week; works a few hours shelving the books, and leaves, often without talking with Library Staff or Patrons, but there is no doubt she’s been there and left her gift of shelving all our library books. We hope that she knows how much we appreciate her.

There is also our army of volunteers to help us with Children’s Programs. These angels arrive early every Wednesday for Preschool Story Time and get busy without having to be told what to do. They help set up our craft tables. They greet and sign in the children. They assist with the books, puppets, and flannel board stories. They count the participants. They help kids put together their crafts. And then they clean up! They do the work of ten muscle men! And they seem to remember all the kids’ names!

The same angels also help us with other programs. We do programs that involve games, crafts, and refreshments all at the same time. From behind the scenes, as I’m sure you could imagine, things do get messy. But you should see this team clean up! They spring into action like a well-oiled machine, each part contributing to the whole, and Whiz! Bang! The job is done like magic!

Why do they do it? They love the kids. And they say they want to give back for all the times others have helped them. For our part, we are truly grateful for the generous gifts of kindness, help and support from all our volunteers. We really don’t know what we would do without them.

The End

Picture by TT and Story by TT and LW @ Southside

Heart of the Library Award

The Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library unveiled a new award at their Annual Meeting on February 8. The Heart of the Library award recognizes volunteers who have gone the extra mile in support of the Friends and the Santa Fe Public Library.

The Friends Co-President, Susanna Orzech, presented the first annual award to Pilar Faulkner, Lisa Bemis and Andrea Gross, citing their leadership in serving as the Friends’ Legislative Committee since 2002. Orzech pointed out that, “This team of volunteers raised Legislative funds for the new Southside Branch Library. Without their dedication, no branch would have been constructed.” Opening in 2007, the new Southside Branch of the Santa Fe Public Library serves not only the southwest quadrant, but the entire City and County.

The Legislative Committee continued its successful efforts in raising funds for the La Farge Branch of the Santa Fe Public Library in 2006 and 2007.

Orzech noted, “The commitment and dedication of this team of volunteers has made a difference in the lives of everyone in Santa Fe.”

Journeyman Documentary

Santa Fe Premiere
of
Journeyman: a Documentary

Warehouse 21 Blackbox Theater
1614 Paseo de Peralta
Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m
$8 suggested donation

Journeyman explores what male adolescents need, how they struggle, and especially their need for guidance from older men. Leaving these needs unfulfilled accounts for overcrowded prisons, increasing gang violence, a decline in school performance among boys, and drug and alcohol abuse. Created by filmmakers Charlie Borden and Kevin Obsatz, Journeyman explores hidden experiences of Rites of Passage, mentoring, and male culture in America.

The proceeds from the suggested donation will go to support the first Rites of Passage Adventure Weekend in New Mexico for 18 teenage New Mexico boys, which is being organized by the nonprofit Boys to Men New Mexico. Following the documentary, there will be a panel discussion with Paul Golding, Editor of Santa Fe Boys, Stefan Hermann, Executive Director of Boys to Men Central California Coast, and other experts on the status of Boys in today’s society and the impact of rites of passage and mentoring.

For additional information on Journeyman or Boys to Men New Mexico, please contact David River at (505) 216-9752 or contact@btmnm.org.

Batallón de San Patricio

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Instead of green beer and pinching and Riverdance, I'd like to tell you all about the Batallón de San Patricio, or St. Patrick's Batallion. In the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, some US soldiers were disgruntled about all sorts of things: low pay, poor living conditions, religious and ethnic discrimination, harsh army discipline. Other soldiers didn't see the reason for fighting against the people on the other side, and were disturbed by army atrocities.

The San Patricio Battalion had its humble beginnings with a couple of soldiers swimming across the Rio Grande to Mexico on March 30, 1846. Desertions from the US Army became more common over the next few nights. While the majority of the swimmers were Irish Catholics, they also included African-American slaves of the US officers, Native Americans, German and Polish immigrants, and other Catholic or foreign-born soldiers. Once on the side of Mexico, they formed the Saint Patrick's Batallion, also known as Los Colorados for all the redheads and sunburns in the company. They were commanded by John Riley, who had been a lieutenant on the American side.

From a US perspective, the San Patricios were turncoats. About half of the batallion was executed by the US after the war was over. On the Mexican side, however, the valor of the Irish soldiers has created a long-lasting bond between the two cultures. So if you've felt strange celebrating St. Patrick's Day in New Mexico, just keep in mind that you're continuing a long and enduring friendship.

Photo of San Patricio plaque courtesy of Mexico Trucker. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

The Creative Ice Age Brain

Thursday, March 26
7:00-8:30 pm
Main Library Community Room

The Creative Ice Age Brain: Cave Art in the Light of Neuroscience
Book discussion by Barbara Olins Alpert

A haunting mystery surrounds the magnificent Ice Age art that is found mainly in the caves of Western Europe. In this substantial new study, scholar Barbara Alpert approaches this art using information from psychology and discoveries in neuroscience. Techniques such as computerized tomography (CT) scans and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have demonstrated an enormous amount about the working of the brain. By examining the oldest-known human-made images in the light of this new information, Alpert reveals many of the impulses that underlie their creation. In a detailed comparison of Ice Age images with similar examples found throughout art history, Alpert argues that the approach of these earliest artists was not unique, but forms part of a continuum linking the distant past with the present. She shows how the art is based on a visual language found worldwide--one that appears to be universal for our species.

This program is free and open to the public.

Books and Babies Spring Session

The Books and Babies program has scheduled its Spring Session.
This is for babies 6-24 months old and their caregivers.

Thursdays at the Southside Library
April 2 - May 7
1 to 1:30 p.m.

Wednesdays at La Farge Library
April 1 - May 6
10:30 to 11:00 am

Your child will enjoy books, songs, and finger games from the comfort of your lap.

This is a free program sponsored by a grant from the Brindle Foundation.

To register and for more information call
Southside Children's, 955-2828
La Farge Children's, 955-4863

99 Bottles of Root Beer on the Wall

Remember those long hours in a car, singing every song you thought you knew the words to? Now you can have a quiet drive listening to a good book. Check out our audio CDs and cassettes in all the Children's and Adult Media departments. For the little ones, there are books with cassettes for reading along and for some ideas of good YA titles, see our special exhibit upstairs at Main.

Bert's Burger Bowl

Several months ago, I watched the underground classic road movie: Two-Lane Blacktop. In addition to a neat scene on the Santa Fe Plaza, and drag-racing on an empty Airport Road, the local landmark Bert's Burger Bowl was featured.

This favorite fast-food restaurant has also made it into the Congressional Record. On Thursday, September 9, 2004, then-Representative Tom Udall made a speech in the House to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bert's. Citing the restaurant's unique motto of "Since 1954: One Location Worldwide", it is "one of the last independently owned drive-in restaurants". Udall lists highlights from their menu and celebrates their claim to fame: the invention of the green-chile cheeseburger.

Bert's will be on the Food Network on Monday, March 16 at 8:00 pm, with a reprise at 10:00 pm on March 20. Grab some burgers and fries and settle down to watch the show!

Thanks to RS for the research!

ARRA: and the links just keep on coming

We've set up a link on our home page to a collection of federal, state, and independent sites about different aspects of the Stimulus package, aka ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We're adding several new sites a week as we get the information, so be sure to check back often. If you come across a website that you think we should add, send it on to library@santafenm.gov with "ARRA Website" in the subject field.

The most recent site we've added is from the State of New Mexico, and it even has an option to submit a proposal for financing. Thanks to the SF Reporter blog SFReeper for the tip!

Open Call to Monoprinting Artists

The Community Gallery announces an open call to monoprinting artists in preparation for the upcoming exhibit: "THE MONOPRINT, Past and Present". All monoprints must be received in the Community Gallery (201 W. Marcy St.) NO LATER THAN 5 p.m., Saturday, April 4 2009. Community Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

All monoprint artists are requested to submit a SINGLE piece for consideration in the second exhibit celebrating the Monothon. All monoprints must not exceed 22" x 30" and should be delivered with rigid backing and wrapped in plastic for their protection. Any work received not meeting those parameters will not be considered for exhibition.

All submissions will be juried by an advisory committee and those chosen will be exhibited for sale in the Community Gallery during the dates of the exhibition. Those not chosen will be contacted to pick up their work. All work will be for sale and artists will receive 60% of all realized sales.

Contact Rod Lambert, Community Gallery Manager
Santa Fe Community Convention Center
201 W. Marcy (at the intersection of Marcy and Sheridan)
505.955.6705, rdlambert@santafenm.gov

Exhibition Schedule:

March 20 – April 24
Image and Process: A Historical Perspective of the College of Santa Fe Monothons, featuring the work of over 50 juried monoprints from the College of Santa Fe’s Monothon archive. Preview the exhibit from March 20 through March 26. Grand opening celebration and auction Friday, March 27, 5-7 p.m. in the Community Gallery.

April 27 – May 22
What Seeds Have Borne: Current Monoprints from Local Artists, a juried exhibition of new works, featuring the work of juried monoprints from artists and printers in New Mexico who are maintaining the tradition of the Monothon. Exhibition runs April 24th through May 22nd.

Did you plant your peas yet?

I put mine in March 9th, and I had to squat in a morning snowstorm to do it! (I’ll let you know how the harvest comes out.) Most of the nurseries and garden centers in Santa Fe will give the traditional date of March 17, Saint Patrick’s Day, for planting your peas. However, my friend Dahlia, who is a professional Organic Gardener said as early as March 10 is ok, especially in a spring as warm as this one. Peas like the cool and will not suffer from a frost. In my family we can never have enough peas, fresh from the garden. In fact, it is very rare that I can even get any inside to cook because most get eaten by the person standing at the fence picking. I strategically planted a big section right next to the fence in the backyard where my teenage son parks his bike. Clever, eh?

Unless someone’s been gardening a while on your property, soil amendments, like lots of compost, are a necessity. If you have had peas in that bed before, you can soak your seeds at least 12 hours and plant directly, but if it’s a new bed you should use innoculant, which helps peas and beans fix nitrogen in the soil. I drove all over town and finally found it at Agua Fria Nursery @ 1409 Agua Fria St. (sadly, no website).

Wait a week or two to put out your lettuce, spinach and beet and chard seeds. They can go near the peas, in the coolest spot in your garden. Remember the place where the snow lasted the longest? And the same day will be good for starting your cole transplants inside, 8 weeks before planting out. If you are in a big hurry for fresh local produce like I am, prep those beds, turn that compost, and hit the Farmer’s Market on Saturday from 9-1. Some of those lucky hardworking people have greenhouses!

Submitted by LW @ Southside
Photos by Isaac Wren

Sounds of the Red-winged Blackbird

A homesick New Mexican who's endured one too many Michigan winters is happy to report that Spring is finally in the air up north. In addition to being able to go for a stroll without worrying about frostbitten toes, she's enjoying a sound that is all too rare in winter: bird songs. While I've also noticed the increase of bird calls as we've had our own early spring, I haven't been as observant as she in distinguishing between one bird and another.

To her, the song of the red-winged blackbird is the herald of spring. Fortunately, my friend sent on a great website so we can hear what she's hearing 1,500 miles away. In order to find out which birds we might be hearing in the Santa Fe area, there's the New Mexico Birds site as well as several books on identification.

Unfortunately, even with audio clips and full-color photos, some of us are just plain bad at identification, but still relish the music of early spring. If anyone has some hints about what to look or listen for, please let us know!

The Ballad of Cookie and Coco

With all the foreclosures around the country, a recurrent topic in the media is homeless or abandoned pets. So when a dog-loving dog-having friend received an e-mail about two older dogs, Cookie and Coco, that needed a home quickly because their house was in foreclosure, she naturally forwarded it to everyone she knew. And everyone she knew forwarded it to everyone they knew, but with her contact information from work still in the e-mail. (Disclosure: I forwarded the e-mail to two of my colleagues, and they may have forwarded the e-mail widely.)

Somehow, in all the cutting and pasting and forwarding, it was assumed that she was the contact information for the needy dogs:

"Almost immediately, I got several emails asking if I knew who the owners were and how to contact them. . . But then the calls and emails started increasing. By the weekend, my voicemail box was filling up and I was being inundated with emails. The next week when I came into work, I was getting a call every 5 or 10 minutes regarding the dogs. It became apparent that the email had spread beyond New Mexico and I was getting calls from people in Texas, Arizona, even Idaho. . . My information was being posted on websites and newsletters and humane societies . . . and animal rescues all over the west began to chime in."

Local radio stations were airing announcements about the dogs that included her phone number. Fliers have popped up around town with the same information. The IT department at her work had to change her phone number, set up a special message about the dogs for the old number, and develop a filter for her e-mail so that any queries about the pups would go right to her junk folder.

As it turned out, the dogs are from California, and yes, they have found a home. However, it seems that my friend is not alone in having been inundated by requests for more information. While it's wonderful that so many thousands of people have Cookie's and Coco's best interests at heart, the ease of e-mail forwarding might prevent some good Samaritans from responding to similar pleas in the future.

Daylight Savings Reminder

Daylight Saving Time will begin this Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 am. If you're not sure which way the clock goes, remember the phrase:
Spring Forward, Fall Back.

That's right, this Sunday we will all "lose" an hour. So you might want to set your clocks one hour ahead before you go to sleep on Saturday night. Otherwise, at 2:00 am Sunday morning, set your clock to 3:00 am, and you're all set!

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

2009 Poster Competition

The City of Santa Fe Arts Commission announces a call for entries for the 2009 City Different Poster Competition. Santa Fe artists are invited to submit a two-dimensional work of art suitable to be featured as the City’s annual poster. All entries will be judged on artistic quality and their ability to effectively represent market and promote Santa Fe as a creative city. The winning artist will receive $1,000 and 250 posters. The City poster is a marketing tool for the City and the winning artist.

Entry forms can be picked up at 125 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 100, or downloaded from the Commission's website. The deadline for receipt of entry forms is Monday, April 13, 2009. Artworks must be delivered to City Council Chambers, 200 Lincoln Avenue, between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Friday, April 17, 2009 for the judging. Participating artists are invited to have their artworks exhibited in City Hall from April 17 – May 29.

For more information, or to request an entry form, contact the Arts Commission at (505) 955-6707.

Photo: "If Clouds Could Dance" by Thea Witt was selected as the 2008-2009 poster.

The City of Santa Fe Arts Commission (SFAC), an agency within the municipal government of the City of Santa Fe, provides leadership by and for City government in supporting arts and cultural affairs. The SFAC also recommends programs and policies that develop, sustain and promote artistic excellence in the community. For more information contact the SFAC at 505-955-6707, email artscommission@santafenm.gov, or by fax 505-955-6671.

Who We Are

For a group of folks who have the world at their fingertips, library workers seem to be inordinately concerned with how the rest of the world sees them. There are websites and conferences and Facebook groups all about libraries and the Librarian Image. When we finally made it to Action Figure status, library workers were torn between those who felt we'd arrived, and those who thought that the incredible "shushing" action made it a throwback to outmoded stereotypes.

Fortunately there is lighter fare that library workers and library-lovers can indulge in. A favorite is the Unshelved comic strip. At times eerily replicating real-life workplace situations, it covers the trials and tribulations of Libraryland with humor. And more humor. There's also the Rex Libris graphic novel, featuring a librarian in an adventurer's role. Librarians are also popular characters in both children's and regular fiction. And don't forget librarians in movies. Get a bowl of popcorn and put your hair in a bun, and films like Desk Set and Party Girl can make you forget that your spice rack isn't in alphabetical order.

In the meantime, enjoy a sample from the Unshelved strip, and an informative film about librarians from 1947. Interestingly, the film is rather up-to-date, albeit computer-free.

Special Sale

March 14 - One Day Only
Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm

Main Library
145 Washington Ave.

No Members-Only Hours
Open to the Public
Specials Only

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

College of Santa Fe

As an alum and former employee of the College of Santa Fe, my heart is breaking over the tragedy of the College closing its doors this coming May. Of all the educational institutions I have been blessed (and not so blessed) to attend, CSF is the one closest to my heart for a variety of reasons too numerous to list here.

There is a glimmer of hope for a new incarnation of CSF, however. House Bill 577 is making its way through the Legislature right now. This Bill proposes a state takeover of the College, enabling it to survive, albeit in a very changed manner. As of today, the bill has passed the House and will be considered by the State Senate this week. If you are interested in the outcome of this Bill, please contact your Senators now and express your opinion.

CSF is a major contributor to Santa Fe, providing not only numerous jobs for faculty and staff but a well-rounded four year higher education with a variety of subjects for majoring (the film program is especially noteworthy). Neither St. John’s nor the Community College, Santa Fe’s other institutions of higher learning, offers this particular opportunity. The more education our citizens obtain, the better off we shall all be, and the more prosperous as a community.

Here is the Legislature’s website: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/. And CSF’s webpage for advocating on their behalf: http://www.csf.edu/advocate.

I can’t pretend to know what changes would be in store for the College if House Bill 577 is passed, or if it will in any way resemble the institution it has been till now. All I know is, the College of Santa Fe is a valuable resource for Santa Fe and its people, and it would be a shame I cannot even fathom to let it cease to exist.

by AA @ Main

March Library Exhibits

Main Library
The Art Quilt
by Art Quilters of Santa Fe
members of the
Northern New Mexico Quilt Guild

Southside Library
Ceremonial and Medicine Wheel Masks
Artwork of the First Nations
by David Janson

For more information, check our Art page.

For upcoming events, check our Calendar and Children's pages.

Special City of Santa Fe Election

March 10, 2009
Special Municipal Election

The City of Santa Fe will be having a special election on March 10.
Poll hours are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The following question shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City of Santa Fe at the special municipal election:

Shall the City of Santa Fe impose on purchasers an excise tax on the use by purchasers of transfer services to effectuate and facilitate the transfer of certain real property in the amount of one percent (1%) of the portion of the purchase price in excess of $750,000 to be used exclusively for affordable workforce housing?

For information and voting locations, check out the city's website, or call the City Clerk's Office at (505) 955-6520 or (505)955-6521.