Serious Information

As you may know, it's the holidays. So we're feeling a little goofy, and you're probably not paying much attention anyway.

We're sometimes a bit behind the times when it comes to frivolity—it's all those Shushing Seminars we attend—but here's a fun picture from last year:


Don't get the joke? Check out this BoingBoing post.

Happy New Year!

Two-Part Internet Workshop

January 19 & 26

Main Library
Community Room
145 Washington Ave.

Take this two-part workshop to learn the basics about getting online.
This free workshop is limited to ten adults, aged 18 and over.

Participation in Part 1 is required for Part 2.
Registration is recommended and will start on January 5.
Call 955-6781 or register in person at the Main Reference Desk.

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

Part 1: January 19
Mouse, Links, and More! –
An introduction to using a mouse, clicking on links, filling out web forms, using search engines, and beginning web surfing.

Part 2: January 26
Get Your E-mail –
Set up a free e-mail account, send and receive messages, forward and reply to messages, delete messages, create folders, and Sign Out.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

New Year's Holiday Closings

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be closed from Friday, December 31 through Sunday, January 2 for the New Year's Holiday.

All branches will resume normal hours at 10:00 am on Monday, January 3.

May everyone have a healthy and happy holiday!

Photo by AA @Main

Happy Holidays!

A retired librarian sent on the following Christmas menu from the U.S.S. Santa Fe from 65 years ago. Not only does the food look pretty tasty, but it's interesting that cigars and cigarettes are listed after the desserts. How times have changed!




Courtesy of the Navy Department Library.

I ♥ Comics!

Yes, I admit it, I love comic books! Like many kids, I grew up on Archie comics, simple stories with bright colors, and in conjunction with picture books that's how I learned how to read. When I grew out of the Archies, all that was available were superhero comics. Now, while I loved the Wonder Woman TV show and the Super Friends cartoons, the comic books weren't quite to my taste. So, alas, I put the comic books aside in favor of "real books" such as novels, non-fiction, poetry, and of course, schoolwork.

Thankfully, a college friend introduced me to Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. With stories that dovetailed nicely with the mythology and literature classes I was taking, and breathtaking art that made the Archie comics look like doodles, I was immediately hooked. I was soon seeking out interesting, intelligent, and beautifully-styled comic books on a weekly basis. When I'd travel to another city, I'd load up on "graphic novels", an emerging literary form that was giving those flimsy funny books a more substantial binding and cover.

Many years later, comics and graphic novels that were once hard to find have now hit the mainstream. Hollywood regularly adapts some of my favorite tomes for the big screen with mixed results. K-12 teachers are using graphic novels in the classroom, both to assist struggling readers and to teach these beautifully crafted stories as literature. Advances in printing and publishing technology have surely helped, but I think we've also gone full circle: back to a golden age of books, when illuminated manuscripts demonstrated that information and tales can be presented beautifully.

While we may not be as knowledgeable as some of the folks at True Believers and other comics shops, we do have quite a collection of graphic novels for all ages and tastes. Many of our books, including manga and superhero series, are in an easy-to-browse section of the Young Adult collection. However, for some of the other titles, the Sandmans or Alan Moores or Grant Morrisons, we have them interfiled in the fiction collection. Browsing them is a little tricky, so here's a handy link to help you scan through all our graphic novels across the branches.

Whether you're in the DC and/or Marvel camp, or lean more towards Vertigo, Fantagraphics, Image, and other smaller presses, we've got some great books for you. And if you have any title suggestions, please let us know! We're always looking for the next comic book to change our worldview and entertain for a while.



Postscript: If you're interesting in writing comics but not sure where to start, this blog post has links to some great online tools.

Years of Service

Congratulations to all of our staff who received Longevity Awards from the City.

5 Years
Pat Armijo—Main
Theresa Dominick—Main
Vicky Salgado—Main

15 Years
Susie Sonflieth—La Farge / Southside
Edith Martinez—Community Services

That adds up to 30 years of Library staff time! (Plus 15 for our great Community Services Office Manager).

Mayor Coss and City Manager Robert Romero presented certificates to all the recipients of the Longevity Award.

By PCH @Main
Photo by CF @SS

CADDy Program

Yes, we all know it's the festive season. However, it's never a good season for drinking and driving. Keep the following information handy, and program the number into your phone:

The CADDy (Chauffer and Designated Driver) Program

The CADDy provides safe transportation via Capital City Cab to adults from your residence to any location or from any location to your residence within the Santa Fe City limits for a flat fee.

The service runs Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30 pm to 2:30 am. The cost is $5 for 1-2 people or $10 for 3 people or more.

CADDy will be operating on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24; Christmas, Dec. 25; and New Year's Eve, Dec. 31. The hours and rates will be the same on these holidays.

The cabs operate outside the city limits. However, the rider is responsible for the cost from the city limit to the rider’s destination.

For more information on this service, please call 995-9528.

Christmas Holiday Closings

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be closed from Friday, December 24 through Sunday, December 26 for the Christmas Holiday.

All branches will resume normal hours at 10:00 am on Monday, December 27.

May everyone have a healthy and happy holiday!

Photo by AA @Main

Ribbon Cutting Wrap-up

The popular Southside Branch Library celebrated its completion with a Plaza Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Saturday, December 11. Three years after Southside's opening in March 2007, the construction of the outdoor public space is a welcome addition to both the library and the Tierra Contenta neighborhood. We're looking forward to the green season, when wildflowers will be blooming and drought-resistant shrubs will be dotting the walkways.

We appreciate the special support of the Library and this event from:


Councilor Carmichael Dominguez
Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library
Jeff & Michelle Branch
Wells Fargo
Lockwood Construction
Art in Public Places
Planned Park Improvement Fund


Photo by C. Seavey

Hi-Tech Gizmos

Because librarians are just brilliant overall when it comes to just about everything, we often have people ask us for recommendations of all stripes. While I feel very comfortable recommending a George Orwell book to a like-minded reader, I'm hesitant, nay, skittish about giving advice about devices such as laptops, MP3 players, or E-book readers. For technology, I compare myself to a driving instructor. I can show you where the tools are to make them work, but I'm not the best person to tell you what to buy.

Since this question comes up quite often, there are a couple of places you can go for help. First, Consumer Reports is the gold standard for pretty much most purchases. Also, you can always ask a salesperson about what you intend to use the technology for, and he or she can tell you which makes and models have those features. But in my humble opinion, the best place to start is a website like CNET. They have well-arranged product and software reviews, as well as downloads of various software. In addition to editor's ratings, they also have a techy (read: geeky) readership that contributes their own reviews and ratings that are also valuable.

While there are other sites of this type out there, (and you should definitely consult a few more, and we encourage you to post which sites you like,) CNET is a great place to start, and can definitely help you narrow down what can be overwhelming choices. Most importantly, have fun with your new hi-tech toy!

Crafty Ladies

Every Wednesday morning, Bernice, Ethel, and Margy come to the children’s room at the Southside Branch and help us out with Preschool Story Time. The children love them. We love them. Helping out with Preschool is wonderful. But that’s not all these gifted ladies do. Often Margy will bring in bags of yarn. Bernice and Ethel will take that yarn and some of their own and turn out something fantastic – hats and blankets and booties, in all sorts of designs and colors. And what do they do with them? They donate them. These ladies have donated literally hundreds of hats to tiny heads in need. They donate to hospitals and shelters, to neighbors and friends. These crafty ladies are truly angels. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their time, love and generosity.


By PS @SS

Pyramid of Mind Nutrition

Information is Beautiful has posted a "rough" outline of the heirarchy of learning. Starting with Data at the bottom, and ascending ever upwards through Information, then Knowledge, with Wisdom at the pinnacle, these concepts are all too familiar to most library school graduates. It's what we were taught in order to help you, the patron, make sense of the deluge of facts and factoids out there and make it something meaningful and useful for you.

Fortunately for you, the world is not full of soporific nerdy librarians. For an easy analogy, think of the pyramid as baking. Data are the raw ingredients. Information is the recipe utilizing these ingredients. Knowledge is the process of baking, and the result, Wisdom, is you voraciously consuming and digesting the warm, tasty treats.

Bon appetit!



Thanks to a nerdy librarian at Santa Fe Community College for geeking out with me on this!

Book Mark Design Contest Winners

In celebration of the City of Santa Fe’s 400th Anniversary, the Santa Fe Public Library sponsored a Book Mark Design Contest for children. The contest was underwritten through the generosity of the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library. Over 200 children participated and created a bookmark using their unique vision of Santa Fe’s 400th anniversary. In the process these young artists learned of Santa Fe’s rich history and heritage. The 200 entries were submitted in five categories according to grade level.

The following children won in their category:

Preschool Category:
Isabella, age 3

Kindergarten Category:
Lola, age 5
School: Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences

Grades 1 & 2 Category:
Priscilla, Age 7
School: Home-Schooled

Grades 3 & 4 Category:
Kahlil, Age 8
School: E.J. Martinez

Grades 5 & 6 Category: TIE
Vanessa, age 11
School: Aspen Community Magnet School

Merced, age 12
School: Nava

Finally! The 2010 NM Book Awards!

The 2010 New Mexico Book Award winners have been announced! Also, this year's Friends of New Mexico Books Awards go to Nasario García (Santa Fe), Demetria Martínez (Albuquerque), and Derek Buschman (Albuquerque), for their support of local New Mexico books. The full list of winners can be found on the New Mexico Book Co-op website.

Among the excellent publications are:


Children’s Picture Book
Bad News for Outlaws
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson & R. Gregory Christie


Anthropology/Archaeology/Science
Geology of Northern New Mexico’s Parks
by L. Greer Price


Anthology
The Essays
by Rudolfo Anaya


Arts Book
The Santa Fe House
by Margaret Moore Booker


Biography & Best of Show
Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power
by James McGrath Morris


Gay/Lesbian (GLBT) Book
My Invented Life
by Lauren Bjorkman


Novel – adventure or drama
The Ghost of Milagro Creek
by Melanie Sumner


Novel – historical fiction
The Sixth Surrender
by Hana Samek Norton


First Book
Dance of the Eggshells
by Carla Aragón & Kathy Dee Saville

&

Gila Country Legend: Life & Times of Quentin Hulse
by Nancy Coggeshall

No Free Lunch, but Free Parking!

No, this isn't a twist on Monopoly rules.

As part of the Santa Fe—Buy Into It! campaign, the City of Santa Fe is giving away two free hours of parking on two weekends, December 11 & 12 and December 18 & 19, at the following locations:

• Santa Fe Community Convention Center parking garage
  
• Sandoval Street parking garage
  
• Federal Place
  
• San Francisco St.
  
• Railyard parking garage
  
• Water Street parking lot.

Plus, all parking meters will be bagged on these two weekends for two-hour parking.

Also, from now through December 23 at 5 pm, CashKey owners can reload their keys and receive 20% off, instead of the usual 10% discount. Keys can be reloaded at the Parking Division office 120 S. Federal, Room 312 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. New keys are not being sold currently as the cost to manufacture them has risen.

Persons shopping at the Railyard or in the Guadalupe Business District who want to venture downtown or to Canyon Road can take the free Santa Fe Pick-Up shuttle that runs Monday through Saturday, every 15 minutes, depending upon traffic conditions. It boards on Montezuma north of the Santa Fe Depot and Rail Runner Express station.

Park, shop, eat, or sightsee courtesy of the Parking Division and the Downtown Merchants Association.

For many reasons to shop locally, check out Santa Fe - Buy Into It! page.

Stretch Your Bookshelves

I recently came across a blog by author Carleen Brice: White Readers Meet Black Authors. It's a great resource for reviews of (mostly) contemporary African-American writers' works, with an emphasis on women novelists. In addition to being a useful tool to enrich our fiction collection, Carleen's both critical and humorous voice is also fun to read. She even includes a not-to-be-missed Welcome White Folks Video!

In addition to book reviews, the blog tackles issues such as the bestselling novel The Help, about a black maid in the South, being written by a white author. As a black woman novelist herself, this blog also provides interesting insights into issues about writing and publishing. The copious links in the right-hand panel direct you to websites, articles, media outlets, and book sites galore. Also, December is National Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give it to Somebody Not Black Month, and this blog has a ton of recommendations to celebrate with.

So move beyond The Help, Oprah's Book Club, Toni Morrison, or Alice Walker, and pick up some recommendations from a black author.

Alternative Gift Market

Sending gifts of food, shelter, trees, gardens, medicines around the world since 1986.

Saturday, December 11
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Coronado Room
Santa Fe Convention Center
201 W. Marcy St.

What do you get for the person on your list who has everything? A good idea is a tax-deductible gift to a life-saving, environment-friendly charity. This Saturday, check out the Alternative Gift Market for a wide range of agencies to support, as well as door prizes, pastries, coffee, and hot cider.

Alternative Gifts International is a non-profit organization that inspires support for humanitarian and environmental causes. It offers donors the option to designate charitable gifts through carefully selected agencies in the name of their relatives, friends and associates.

For more information: email santafeAGM@gmail.com or visit the Alternative Gifts International site.

Interlibrary Loan Holiday Hiatus

Interlibrary Loans will be temporarily suspended between Monday, December 13, 2010 and Sunday, January 2, 2011.

No requests will be accepted after Sunday, December 12, 2010. The library will resume accepting requests on Monday, January 3, 2011.

The Interlibrary Loan Department takes a hiatus at the end of the year due to the closures of educational institutions from which we do much of our borrowing and lending. It also gives us time to clear our records and recover overdue items.

Interlibrary Loan requests need to be submitted in person. We will not be accepting requests while we are on hiatus, and we ask that you wait until January 3rd to bring them in.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

"Holly in Winter" photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Cuban Poet Pablo Armando Fernández

Reading tonight!

Friday, Dec. 3
6:00 pm
New Mexico History Museum Auditorium
113 Lincoln Avenue

“What makes me truly Cuban, is its history, the men and women who handed in their fortune in order to make Cuba a sovereign country. You will find this in poetry from Heredia to Guillén. To be part of that generation consolidates my being.”

Known in his country simply as "El Poeta," Pablo Armando Fernández has an enormous reputation and a distinguished career as a poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, editor and diplomat. His works have been translated into French, Italian, Polish and English. His 2001 work, Parables: Selected Poems, featured an introduction by Margaret Atwood. He received the Premio Nacional de Literatura in 1996 for lifetime accomplishment, and formerly served as the Cultural Counselor to the Cuban Embassy in London.

Attendees will receive a keepsake poem of Armando's specially printed by the Palace Press. Seating is limited to 200.

This free event is co-sponsored by the Lannan Foundation, Museum of New Mexico Foundation, and the Information Trust as a benefit for the Palace Press.

Southside Plaza Ribbon Cutting

Saturday, December 11
11:00 am
Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Drive

Join us for a special ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor David Coss and Councilor Carmichael Dominguez to celebrate the opening of the Southside Branch Library Plaza on Saturday, December 11 at 11:00 a.m., rain, snow or shine. The Plaza is the last step in completing the Southside Branch Library, which opened in 2007, located at 6599 Jaguar Drive.

The Southside Plaza includes wide brick sidewalks, trees, and shrubs. The Plaza was designed with the original Library plans by Isaac Benton of Integrated Design & Architecture and Harvey Monroe, Jr. of Terraplen. However at the time of construction, the City did not have the funds to complete the Plaza. Councilor Carmichael Dominguez spearheaded the Plaza project. Many of the trees for the site were donated by Jeff and Michelle Branch in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Santa Fe Community Foundation.

The ceremony includes unveiling a bronze statue by Linda Strong of “Children at Play” which has been installed on the Plaza.

Light refreshments will be served.
The Celebration is sponsored by the Friends of the Library, Lockwood Construction Company and Wells Fargo.

December Library Exhibits

Main Library
Abstract Impressions
Acrylics
by Nels Krakowski

La Farge Library
Art of Nambé Pueblo
by Cloud Eagle Studios

Southside Library
Magic Letters
Acrylic/oil paintings on unstretched canvas
by Eliza M. Schmid

For more information, check our Art page.

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