Columbus Day Library Closures

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be closed on Monday, October 8 in observance of     Columbus Day.

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

Main Library will be open regular hours, 1-5 pm, on Sunday, October 7.

New Year's Holiday Closings

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will close at 1:00 pm on Saturday, December 31.

We will also be closed on Sunday, January 1 and Monday, January 2 for the New Year's Holiday.

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

May everyone have a healthy and happy holiday!

Photo by AA @Main

Christmas Holiday Closings

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will close at 1:00 pm on Saturday, December 24.

We will also be closed on Sunday, December 25 and Monday, December 26 for the Christmas Holiday.

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

May everyone have a healthy and happy holiday!

Photo by AA @Main

Giving from the Heart

The Friends of the Library Joins the
SECOND ANNUAL
SANTA FE ALTERNATIVE GIFT MARKET
WHICH OFFERS OPTIONS THAT KEEP ON GIVING
Friday- Sunday,
December 16-18
De Vargas Center

Shoppers will enjoy free Java Joes coffee, hot cider and holiday-baked goods while choosing gifts that benefit those in need at the second annual Santa Fe Alternative Gift Market. The Market begins with a grand opening celebration Friday, December 16, at 5:00 p.m., chaired by Ali MacGraw. The Market will be open Saturday & Sunday, December 17 and 18, at the DeVargas Center in Santa Fe. Weekend hours are Saturday, December 17, 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 18, Noon-5:00 p.m.

Participants can select tax-deductible gifts that provide urgently needed assistance to local and international organizations providing medical help, books for libraries, shelter and food, working to reduce illiteracy, and assisting homeless veterans, among other things.

Santa Fe non-profits taking part include the Friends of the Library, InterFaith Community Center, La Familia Medical Center and Esperanza Shelter for Battered Women and New Mexico Veterans Helping Homeless Veterans.

Gift-givers can choose from more than 60 different items. The choice is enormous. Gifts range from providing flu shots to Santa Fe children from La Familia Medical Center, books for the Santa Fe Public Library, to legal representation for a girl rescued from sexual slavery in Asia; from sending a bicycle to rural health workers in Zambia, to underwriting one night’s stay in Santa Fe’s Interfaith Shelter, or providing entrepreneurial training to one Egyptian trying to start a business.

Highlights this year will be story times for children, as librarians and volunteers from the Santa Fe Public Library take turns reading holiday favorites, plus musical performances by local musicians.

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.

by PCH @Main

Free Parking!

Parking Division Offering Holiday Incentives

First Two Hours Free Over Three Weekends; 20% Off of CashKey Reloads

The city’s Parking Division is helping shoppers ease their holiday stress by offering the first two hours of parking free at three city-owned garages and the Water St. parking lot, over three weekends: December 10 and 11; December 17 and 18; and December 24 and 25. Interim Parking Division Director Sevastian Gurule said, “The Parking Division plays an important role in the downtown area as it contributes to public safety and the success of downtown businesses. Our pervious parking promotions have been successful, and it just makes the holiday shopping experience a little nicer; to be able to park for free for a couple of hours in a secure covered garage located in the heart of our beautiful city.” The first-two-hours-free holiday parking promotion is valid at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center parking garage, 119 S. Federal Place; the Sandoval parking garage, 216 E. San Francisco St.; the Railyard parking garage, 503 Camino de la Familia; and the lot on Water St., 102 E. Water St.

Shoppers who want to park for two hours at a meter on those three weekends will find the meters hooded—courtesy of the Downtown Merchants Association and the city’s Parking Division. In an effort to ensure that all customers have an opportunity to partake in this holiday promotion, patrons are asked to adhere to the two-hour time limit.

For the gift that keeps on giving, the Parking Division is offering a 20% discount on all CashKey reloads beginning Monday, December 5 through Friday, December 30 except for December 8 and 9, when the office will be closed for staff training on the new Parking Management System. Reload the keys at the Parking Division office in the main post office, 120 S. Federal Place, third floor, Suite 321, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

For more information, contact the Parking Division administrative office at 505-955-6581.

Interlibrary Loan Holiday Hiatus

Interlibrary Loans will be temporarily suspended starting Wednesday, December 14, 2011. No requests, either in person or via email, will be accepted after Tuesday, December 13, 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.

We will not be accepting requests while we are on hiatus, either in person or by email. If you have any questions, you can email Interlibrary Loan at interlibraryloan@santafelibrary.org or call 955-6780.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

"Holly in Winter" photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Holiday Music with Andy Mason

Andy Mason will perform fascinating Christmas History and Trivia through music. It’s an opportunity for the whole family to sing along to their Holiday Favorites and get in the mood to celebrate the Season.

Thursday, December 8
La Farge Library
3:30 - 4:30 pm

Friday, December 9
Main Library
3:30 - 4:30 pm

Saturday, December 10
Southside Library
10:30 - 11:30 am

This free program is open to the public.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair

Saturday, December 3
9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center
1121 Alto St.

Call 955-4715 for more information.

Holiday Paper Jewelry Craft

Monday, December 12
Main Library
3:30 - 4:30 pm

Tuesday, December 13
Southside Library
3:30 - 4:30 pm

Thursday, December 15
La Farge Library
3:30 - 4:30 pm

Children ages 6-12 will enjoy making custom decorated paper brooches, charms, rings, or hanging mobiles and window ornaments for yourself or as a gift this holiday season.

All materials are provided for this free craft. Registration is required. Call your branch to register two weeks before the program.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

Recycle Holiday Lights

As you and your family decorate your home this year, you may need to get rid of broken or unwanted holiday lights. Now, you can recycle these lights for free! Rather than tossing them in the trash, these lights can be stripped for their valuable metals and recycled, keeping them out of the landfill.

All types of string lights are accepted, including icicles and LEDs. The bulbs can be left on the string. Drop them off for no charge at any of the following locations:

Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station (BuRRT) – 2600 Buckman Road, Santa Fe

Capital Scrap Metal Inc – 1162 Cooks Lane, Santa Fe. Capital Scrap will pay $0.80 per pound.

City of Santa Fe, Environmental Services Division – 1142 Siler Road, Santa Fe

County Transfer Stations – All transfer stations are accepting lights.

For more information on what can be recycled and where to take it, please visit http://www.santaferecycling.org/

Santa Claus and the Annual Toy Drive

Friday and Saturday,
November 25 & 26
10 am to 4 pm

The Santa Fe Fire Department will be kicking off its Annual Charity Holiday Toy Drive with photo opportunities of Santa on the Plaza. Stay for the annual tree lighting on Friday which begins with songs by the Girl Scouts at 3:30 pm. The tree will be lighted at 6 pm. There will be refreshments and entertainment throughout the event.

Parents can bring cameras and take a picture of their children (or themselves) with Santa on the SFPD 1934 La France Fire Engine. There is no cost to take the picture—but a donation to the toy drive is encouraged.

New unwrapped toys can be donated to:
Fire Station 5 at 1130 Siler Road
Pak Mail at 369 Montezuma Street
Queen’s Ransom in De Vargas Mall (Anyone who donates a toy at Queen’s Ransom will receive 15% off their purchase)

All toys and donations will be given to Esperanza Women’s Shelter, Villa Therese Catholic Clinic and Team Builders. Monetary donations will be used to buy gift cards in $10 increments to give to the older kids who are a bit too old for toys.

Last year, through fundraising and contributions, $2000 was collected and approximately 500 toys were given away.

Thank you, Santa Fe, for your generosity!

Santa Claus icon not the actual Santa Claus, and is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Holiday Sale

Main Library
145 Washington Ave.

One Day Only!
Saturday, December 3
10 am to 4 pm

Open to the Public
No memberships required for any hours of this sale.

Quality books only, all individually priced.
Good for gifts or to add to personal library.

For more information, call 955-2839.

All sales sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.
Funds raised by the Friends are dedicated to purchasing new books for the Library.

The Thanksgiving Table Tradition

Thanksgiving wasn't Thanksgiving at our house until our mother carefully lifted down the glass fruit compote from the high shelf in the dining room, gently washed it and placed it on the sideboard, waiting to be filled. The compote was clear, pressed glass with faces of three Greek muses on the cover. It was nothing fancy, but it had been a wedding gift to our grandmother in the 1800s. It is perfect, not a chip or a crack, which is a miracle in itself as the compote has travelled with our family for over 125 years, and has resided in many states.

No matter how tight money was, mother always found enough money to purchase fruit for the footed fruit compote. She managed to do this during the Depression--even if it was just one piece of each kind of fruit. It was tradition; it was always placed in the center of the Thanksgiving dinner table.

When we were little, my sister and I would polish apples for the bowl, but only mother would place the fruit and arrange it. Apples, bananas, grapes and tangerines were the staples. Each piece was placed as if it were a gem or fragile glass ball. Once it was filled and placed on the lace covered table cloth, no one was allowed to touch it until dinner was over.

When our mother passed away, the compote went to my older sister in the family "lottery." Each year, it was the centerpiece of her Thanksgiving dinner, always with the same kinds of fruit and the same care at filling the bowl, but it was done by my niece in the last few years.

Last year I received a package marked "fragile" in so many places I was surprised that our address could be found for the delivery. There in a flimsy, half broken box filled with foam peanuts was the compote. The attached note from my niece read, "I know you love this bowl and I just cannot move it with me again. Will you take care of it for me?" Somehow it had again survived a 1,500 mile trip in one piece.

This year in Santa Fe, the bowl has already been washed and put on the side board waiting to be filled. I know what I need to purchase—bananas, apples, grapes and tangerines. Friends who come to dinner now know why it has a special place. It is nothing special, but it means home to me. It has lived through over 125 family Christmases. May it survive 100 more.

by PCH @Main

Thanksgiving Closings

For the Thanksgiving Holiday, all Library Branches will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 24 and 25.

The Libraries will resume normal hours on Saturday, November 26.

Main Library
145 Washington Ave.
505-955-6780
Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm
Sunday: 1 - 5 pm

La Farge Library
1730 Llano St.
505-955-4860
Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm
Closed Sunday

Southside Library
6599 Jaguar Dr.
505-955-2810
Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm
Closed Sunday

Photo courtesy of NWTF

Spooky Poetry Made Easy

If you're inspired to wax rhapsodic about this dark and dying season but don't know where to start, try the Goth-O-Matic Poetry Generator ™! Using drop-down menus, you can easily craft verse with themes such as The Supernatural Violence & Horror Darkly Gothic Poem or the Black Abyss of Righteous Hatred Darkly Gothic Poem. In fact, there are so many choices, that you could probably keep yourself busy "writing" bad gothic poetry until next All Hallows Eve!

So fire up your laptop, fire up your black candles, and create images that would make Anne Rice shiver...

...like this one:



Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go warm my chilly soul...

Columbus Day Library Closures

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be closed on Monday, October 10 in observance of Columbus Day.

All libraries will be open regular hours, 10 am - 6 pm, on Saturday, October 8.

Main Library will be open regular hours, 1-5 pm, on Sunday, October 9.

Labor Day and Fiestas Closings

All Branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be closed on Monday, September 5 for Labor Day.

All libraries will be open regular hours, 10 am - 6 pm, on Saturday, September 3.

The Main Library will be open regular hours, 1 pm - 5 pm, on Sunday, September 4.

The Santa Fe Public Library will have the following hours for Fiestas:

Thursday, September 8:
All libraries Closed at 6:00 pm

Friday, September 9:
All libraries Closed at 1:00 pm

Saturday, September 10:
Main Library Closed
La Farge and Southside Open: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sunday, September 11:
All libraries Closed.

¡Qué Viva La Fiesta!

Library Easter Closings

The Main Library will be closed on Sunday, April 24th for Easter.

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be open normal hours, 10 am - 6 pm on Saturday, April 23rd. Also, Main Library will resume regular hours on Monday, April 25th.

In years past, the Santa Fe Public Library has closed early on Good Friday. This year all branches of the Library will be open our regular hours, 10 am - 6 pm, on Friday, April 22nd.

For more information, check out our Hours and Locations page and our 2011 Holiday Closings page.

We're open tomorrow!

All branches of the Santa Fe Public Library will be open for regular hours on Monday, February 21, for Presidents Day. Come in to catch up on reading, pick up some DVDs, or do your taxes!

OK, so that last one probably isn't something to get psyched about. Come on in anyway!

Main Library
10 am - 9 pm
955-6780

La Farge Library
10 am - 9 pm
955-4862

Southside Library
10 am - 8 pm
955-2820

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