Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle in mourning

A national TV show on Sunday mornings always has an In Memoriam segment. Everyone from celebrities to scientists to authors are featured. I’ll be watching this Sunday for a mention of Alexander Anderson Jr. He was the creator of “Rocky and His Friends” featuring Rocky and Bullwinkle, a staple cartoon of my childhood.

Who could not enjoy the antics of the Rocky and Bullwinkle duo or Dudley Do-Right and of course, Boris and Natasha. They were irreverant and political in many of their adventures. Once when NBC was going to censor part of their show, Rocky and Bullwinkle put together a Thanksgiving dinner which got past the censors. They roasted a peacock for Thanksgiving dinner; nothing controversial there. Of course it was too late when the NBC brass realized that they were roasting THE NBC peacock.

You can catch many of the programs on Youtube. Don’t miss them.

by PCH @Main

Tinwork Craft

with award-winning Tin Artist Richard Gabriel

This special art workshop is geared to children ages 7-12. All supplies will be provided. Registration is required. Please call the branch you wish to attend.


Main Library
Wednesday, November 3
4:00 - 5:00 pm
955-6783

Southside Library
Tuesday, November 9
3:30 - 4:30 pm
955-2828

La Farge Library
Wednesday, November 10
4:00 - 5:00 pm
955-4863

New Mexico has been known for its quality punched tin art work for nearly two centuries. The art is believed to have been brought up from old Mexico in the early 1800’s. Since then, New Mexico artists have created their own styles. Mr. Gabriel, who lives in the Sandia mountains, is one of the artists working in the style of the early tin workers.

Please call your library's Children's Room for more information.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

Photo of Richard Gabriel's Tin Star from New Mexico Creates.

Clothing & Blanket Drive

for Kewa Pueblo


The City of Santa Fe is sponsoring a clothing drive for Kewa Pueblo, formerly Santo Domingo Pueblo. Many traditional homes were lost due to a hail storm on October 2. The Community Services Department / Carlos Ortega Teen Center is requesting that you clean your closets and donate any unwanted clothing items.

Over 70 people have lost all their clothes due to mold issues. All sizes and styles will be appreciated. Blankets and towels are also especially needed. The teens are coordinating the collection and distribution to the Pueblo. Please drop off your donation at the Carlos Ortega Teen Center at 737 Agua Fria after 12:00 p.m. weekdays until November 11.

If you have any questions, please call (505) 955-6568.

THANK YOU!

Sugar Skull Decorating Craft

for Día de los Muertos

Main Library
145 Washington Street
Monday, November 1st
4:00-5:00 p.m.

No registration is necessary and families are invited to take part. All supplies will be provided.

This traditional craft is a part of celebrations featured in Mexico and by Mexican Americans throughout the United States. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

Image courtesy of Nathaniel C. Sheetz.

Lifelong Learning

Without throwing double-digit dates around, it's been awhile since I've had to deal with a required reading list for a class. To me, that's a good thing. I'm surrounded by books all day, every day, and it's an occupational hazard to have so much to read and so little time.

When several Slate writers posted their own recommended summer reading list for first-year college students, I thought I'd go through and order anything that the library doesn't have, and perhaps pick up a book or two along the way. After all, this list is directly geared towards young people at this overwhelming junction in their lives, not someone already advanced in a career and fairly entrenched in reading habits. Alas, in the three pages of short reviews, I found only a few books to order, but many, many more to read. The titles range from Matthew Crawford's Shop Class as Soulcraft to Zadie Smith's White Teeth. It's a blend of fiction and non-fiction, humorous and brutal. While I'd like to dive into at least five from the list, the one that jumped in my hand first is McSorley's Wonderful Saloon by Joseph Mitchell.

While I'm still quite pleased that my college years and recommended reading lists are far behind me, I'm thrilled that the next time I'm in doubt about what to read, I've got a nice list of suggestions waiting for me. Even better, without being half-way through a semester course load, I've got all year or decade to get through them all. What about you? What book would you require a new college student to read?

Free Concert on the Plaza

In Honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month


Plaza Bandstand
Saturday, October 23
Starts at Noon
Ends at 10:00 pm

Some of Santa Fe’s favorites will perform including Baile Español, the Albert Martinez Band, RubixZu, Grupo Herencia, Chicano Groove, Grupo Simpatico and Sol Fire.

National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean and Central and South America. National Hispanic Heritage Month started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was expanded to National Hispanic Heritage Month in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan.

Computer Workshops at Main

Beginning November 9, 2010

Main Library
Community Room
145 Washington Ave.

Each free workshop is limited to ten adults, aged 18 and over.

Registration is recommended and will start on October 25.
Call 955-6781 or register in person at the Main Reference Desk.

Tuesday Mornings
10:15 - 11:45 a.m.

November 9:
Basic Internet Searching -
An introduction to web site navigation, using a browser, web addresses, and links, and searching the internet.

November 16 :
Basic Internet E-mail -
Set up a free e-mail account on the internet, send and receive messages, attach documents, and set up contact lists.

November 23:
Basic Internet Searching -
An introduction to web site navigation, using a browser, web addresses, and links, and searching the internet.

November 30:
Basic Internet E-mail -
Set up a free e-mail account on the internet, send and receive messages, attach documents, and set up contact lists.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

18th Annual Book Sale

Laboratory of Anthropology Library

Saturday & Sunday
Oct 23 & 24
10 am - 4 pm
Museum Hill
1708 Camino Lejo

Saturday
10 am - 1 pm: $20 Entrance fee
1 pm - 4 pm: $5 Entrance fee

Sunday
10 am - 1 pm: $2 Entrance fee
1 pm - 4 pm: Free Entrance

The Laboratory of Anthropology Library has had an amazing number and variety of donors this year. Many estates from well known or even renowned scholars, retiring scholars, people moving and downsizing (including book editors offering brand new condition quality books) have been received. Many of the books this year are in Near Fine to As New gift quality condition.

Subject representation this year is very broad. Although there is particular strength in Southwestern materials, Native American (particularly Navajo), archaeology and anthropology materials, there is also a significant amount of Native American Art, contemporary art, history, literature, biography, golf, and much, much more. Listings can be found on the Laboratory of Anthropology Library's Abebooks.com store.

Named Collections received in 2010 are:

Bertha P. Dutton (remaining estate with many obscure or scarce volumes)
Caroline Bower Olin Estate (Navajo scholar)
Nancy Fox (retired curator of the Museum of Indian Arts + Culture)
Stewart Peckham (retired former Director of the Laboratory of Anthropology)
George Ewing (retired former Director of the Laboratory of Anthropology and the Museum of New Mexico)
Contemporary Native American Art collector (Albuquerque)

For more information, visit the Book Sale Website.

Pipe Cleaner Skeletons

Main Library
Tuesday, October 26
3:30 - 4:30 pm
955-6783

Southside Library
Tuesday, October 26
3:30 - 4:30 pm
955-2828

La Farge Library
Thursday, October 28
3:30 - 4:30 pm
955-4863

Join in the fun of creating a pipe cleaner skeleton at the libraries! Make a skeleton and decorate your room for Halloween.

No registration is required. Open to all ages.

Please call your library's Children's Room for more information.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

Celebration of the Book

12th Annual Celebration of the Book
Free displays of books-as-art plus hands-on activities

Thursday, October 21 - Sunday, October 24
10 am to 4 pm
New Mexico History Museum
John Gaw Meem Room and the Learning Center
110 Washington Ave.


The 12th annual Celebration of the Book features shining examples of the book-arts craft and offers free, hands-on workshops to create your own. In the hands of an artist, books become more than sheets of paper between two covers. Pages pop up. Weavings appear. Albuquerque artist Marilyn Stablein reimagines packages of sewing notions into pages for her work, Inflation:A Biased View.

Co-sponsored by the Press at the Palace of the Governors and the Santa Fe Book Arts Group, the event is free with museum admission. Children 16 and under are free; NM residents are free on Sundays.

The hands-on workshops will be offered only on Thursday and Friday, when masters of the book-arts craft will share their skills with school groups and anyone else who’d like to participate. Have your name written by a calligrapher, learn simple book structures, write poetry or engineer a pop-up card.

On Thursday, Santa Fe Poet Laureate Joan Logghe will be working with kids on poetry from 10 am to 2 pm. For all workshops, morning sessions are from 10 am to noon, and afternoon sessions are from noon to about 2:15 pm. Registration is not required for these free workshops, and participants will be able to rotate through the different activities.

For more on the Santa Fe Book Arts Group, go to their website, or contact Ava Fullerton at (505) 982-2846 or Jean Stratton at (505) 989-7577. For more on the Press at the Palace of the Governors, contact Tom Leech at (505) 476-5096.

Image above: Eldorado Skies: Shades of Blue by artist Jessica Wesolek. Archival ink on canvas, wood. 8 x 36 inches. 2010. A high-resolution version of this image can be downloaded.

None for the Road

If you're between the ages of 18 and 24 and getting a New Mexico driver's license for the first time, you need to take a DWI Awareness Class. This involves purchasing a course workbook from the UNM Continuing Education site, as well as watching the video, None for the Road. The video is 57 minutes long, and every branch has copies on DVD and VHS, and in English and Spanish. If a circulating copy is available, you can watch it at your leisure at home, or use one of the library's one-hour computers to view it. Also, you can watch the video online.

Unfortunately, because of the library's "No Food" rule, you won't be able to sit back with popcorn while you view it.

For more information about the None for the Road program, check out the website or call 1-877-663-7465. For more information about getting a New Mexico driver's license, check out the Motor Vehicle Division site.

Kewa Pueblo Needs Nonperishable Goods

From the Santa Fe New Mexican:

The people of Kewa Pueblo south of Cochiti are in need of nonperishable food and personal care items after a hailstorm last week damaged their homes and prompted mold growth. Many have been evacuated from their homes and are staying with relatives, friends or in emergency shelters.

Donors can drop off nonperishable items — canned goods, rice, beans, baby food, bottled juices, water, etc., plus paper plates and cups — at The New Mexican offices at 202 E. Marcy Street from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays only, until Oct. 22. New, unopened personal-care items such as toothbrushes, shampoo, toothpaste, cosmetics, diapers, soap and more are also needed. Contributors are asked not to leave items in front of the newspaper building after hours.

The New Mexican will deliver the goods to the Kewa Pueblo Community Center for distribution by pueblo officials to families.


Also:

Volunteer: If you would like to volunteer to help rebuild, move families or have a home for a displaced family to stay in, call 505-465-2214 ext. 252.

Donate: Monetary donations are being accepted at any Wells Fargo bank; specify donation to the Kewa Relief Fund. Kewa Pueblo is also in need of donations of cleaning and roofing supplies, tarps, protective face masks, latex and work gloves, nonperishable food, diapers, formula, new clothing, linens and blankets. Drop off items at the Kewa Pueblo Community Center.

Artists at Work

A Festival of Awareness

for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day

Friday, October 15
Reception open to the public:
3 pm - 6 pm

The creation of an outdoor mural at El Patio Cafe and Cloud Cliff Bakery on Second & Lena Streets.

Also, Free & Anonymous Rapid HIV Testing

featuring:
DJ 13Pieces
Harambe Movement B Boys
Muralists John Santos & Guadalupe Vargas

Presented by Southwest CARE Center or call 989-8200.

2010 GO Bond B

This November 2, something very important to libraries will be on the ballot. With municipal budgets shrinking, it's more important than ever to provide support for public, school, tribal, and academic libraries here in New Mexico. The 2010 GO Bond B will fund the purchase of books and other resources at libraries across the state.

Just think, on an average day in 2009, New Mexico’s public libraries served 25,400. The Santa Fe Public Library had 947,299 visitors last year. We've checked in and out 10% more items than last year, put aside 33% more holds for you, and our programming for children and adults is more popular than ever. Also, for many school libraries, this may be the only funding they'll have for books and other library materials.

This year's bond issue is requesting $7 million for New Mexico's public, school, tribal, and academic libraries. This money is not for buildings or personnel. It amounts to $0.42 per $100,000.00 valuation on homes. In order for any libraries to receive this funding, Bond B must pass statewide. For details, see the post "2010 Libraries GO Bond Request" on the Bonds for Libraries website.

Secretary of State Debate

For those of you who missed the September 29th debate between NM Secretary of State Mary Herrera and challenger Dianna Duran, and also missed the subsequent broadcasts on KSFR, 101.1-FM radio, and Comcast cable Channel 16, KSFR has the debate archived and available via streaming audio.

Each segment is about 30 minutes.

Click here for Part 1.

Click here for Part 2.

Many thanks to KSFR News for providing this information!

Santa Fe Sunrise

They say that while summer in Santa Fe is for our visitors, the autumn is for locals. The crisp air can't get away from the scent of roasting green chile, the aspens on the mountainside are a delight, and the sky is a constant soothing spectacle.

One of our staff members took this photo at sunrise on August 12 at about 6:07 am. While that's still technically "summer", it's definitely a herald of the lovely rises and sets that are just for us.



Photo by JP @SS

Spelling Bee Results

The long-awaited 7th Annual Adult Spelling Bee held on Sunday, October 3 at Main Library was a success! There were 35 contestants puzzling their way through 40 words, including such crowd favorites as stevedore and syzygy. It raised $855 for the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library and garnered a front-page article in Monday's New Mexican.

This year's winners are:
1st (37 of 40 words) - Margaret Caffey-Moquin
2nd (36 words) - Virginia Gaines
3rd (33 words) - Morgan Farley

And the word list is here [PDF].

Many thanks to Qforma for organizing and sponsoring the Spelling Bee, many thanks to the contestants for putting their spelling prowess on the line, and even more thanks to the Friends and other volunteers who made it happen.

Now crack open those dictionaries and get ready for next year!

This Year's Prize

This year's winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature is Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. At the risk of betraying the Librarian's Code of Impartiality, I must say that he's one of my favorite writers, and this inspires, well, reminds me to read more of his prolific works.

Interested in reading the new Nobel Laureate but don't know where to begin? The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta is a good introduction, or The War at the End of the World is one that will stay with you for years. We also have many of his books in both English and Spanish, so you'll be able to savor the writing without the nuisance of translation.

Let us know: which are your recommended Vargas Llosa books?


Photograph by: Pierre-Philippe Marcou, AFP/Getty Images

Columbus Day Library Closures

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be closed on Monday, October 11 in observance of Columbus Day.

All libraries will be open regular hours, 10 am - 6 pm, on Saturday, October 10.

Main Library will be open regular hours, 1-5 pm, on Sunday, October 11.

“Joan and the Giant Pencil”

A program for children 6 – 10 years of age and their families

Tuesday, October 19
4:00 pm
Southside Branch Library
6599 Jaguar Drive
955-2828

Santa Fe Poet Laureate Joan Logghe and musician Jeremy Bleich offer a poetry performance with a selection of twenty poems from cultures around the world, each accompanied by original music. After the performance, children and their adults will be invited to write a poem.

This free program is sponsored by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission. The City of Santa Fe’s Poet Laureate Program is supported by generous donors and through an endowment fund at the Santa Fe Community Foundation. For further information, please contact the Arts Commission at 955-6707.

State of the City Address

Join the Mayor and City Councilors for the 2010 State of the City address, on Thursday, October 7 at 6:00 p.m. in The Forum at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design (formerly the College of Santa Fe). The theme of this year’s speech is “The 401st Year and Beyond”. Mayor David Coss will acknowledge recent accomplishments and discuss plans for the future of our fair city.

To attend this year's State of the City program, enter the SFUAD campus from St. Michaels Drive, take the first right, then take the first left to the parking lot. The FORUM is building northwest of the Fogelson Library. Parking is available in front of the Fogelson Library and at the Greer Garson Theater.

Main Book Sale Update

Main Library
145 Washington Ave.
October 9 & 10

Hours have changed slightly for the upcoming sale.
Please read below:

Friends Only Hours:
Saturday: 10 am - 12 pm

Memberships will be available at the door:
Individual: $10 / / Household: $15

Open to public:
Saturday: 12 pm - 4 pm
Sunday: 1 pm - 4 pm

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

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

Hardcover books - $1.00 ea.
Paperback books - $0.50 ea. or 3 for $1.00
Children's books - $0.25 ea.
DVDs, CDs and Audiobooks also available!

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.

Santa Fe: From the Beginning

A Presentation by City of Santa Fe Historian Jose Garcia

Thursday, October 14, 2010
7:00 pm
Main Library Community Room
145 Washington Ave.

More than a decade before Plymouth Colony was settled by the Mayflower Pilgrims, Santa Fe, New Mexico was established with a small cluster of European type dwellings. A number of cultures played key roles in Santa Fe's development: Native Americans who settled long before 1610, Hispanic, European and African Americans of diverse backgrounds. The influences from these groups have contributed to make Santa Fe one of the most diverse and culturally rich communities anywhere.

Now as it is commemorating its 400th Anniversary, Santa Fe has selected Jose Garcia as its first official City Historian. Join Mr. Garcia as he presents his own special approach to the telling of Santa Fe’s long and fascinating history.

As a Northern New Mexico historian and genealogist, Mr. Garcia has researched the history of New Mexico extensively. He is particularly well-versed in the history of Santa Fe from the colonial era to the present and has completed research in local archives as well as archives in Spain.

This event is free and open to the public.

October Library Exhibits

Main Library
Caricatures and Energy Art
Acrylics on Canvas
by Pamela Faye
&
In the Glass Cases:
Book Arts 1
Santa Fe Community College
Marilyn Chambers, Instructor

La Farge Library
Fabric Collages
by Alex Jacobs

Southside Library
Color and Black & White Photography
by Penny Martin

For more information, check our Art page.

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