Results tagged “Archibald Library” from RCNow

A wrap-up of Big Read activities:

Tomorrow -- The kickoff event and Hispanic Heritage Month festival starts 7 p.m. at the Biane Library.

Oct. 2 -- Edward James Olmos will give a keynote speech at 7 p.m. at the Cultural Center Celebration Hall Lewis Family Playhouse. The actor, director and producer will give a speech entitled "We're All in the Same Gang." Free tickets are available at the Biane and Archibald libraries starting Monday.

Oct. 14 -- A screening of "Stand and Deliver" is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Lewis Family Playhouse.

Information: (909) 477-2720

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Bless Me, Ultima" will soon be suggested reading for the city. Thanks to the aggressive grant writing efforts by the city's library officials, we have two books to read for the community reading initiative Big Read.

Rancho is the only city to be awarded two Big Read grants from the National Endowment for the Arts this year. They received double the money simply because they asked for it.

"No one has ever thought of applying for two, but we did," said Assistant Library Director Michelle Perera.





 

... that the library has three, count 'em, three blogs.

Children's Happenings lists various events for youth as well as links to science news and NPR stories on children's books.

Rancho Reads! is library related news for grown ups with information on book clubs and suggested readings.

The Green Vine is the earth-friendly blog administered by "Healthy Librarian." This one hasn't been updated in awhile though. Maybe "Healthy Librarian" has been busy with Earth Day.

Suggestion: An occasional "staff picks" entry to see what librarians and other staff members are reading. That should get book worms to start commenting.

Mayor Don Kurth was faster than the City Hall's press release creators when he broke the news on his Twitter feed that the library just received a $40,000 grant for the next Big Read. "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Maltese Falcon" were the books from the last two reading initiatives. I wonder which book we'll pour over this year.

Kurth's Twitter also talked about the unveiling of next season's lineup at the Lewis Family Playhouse. The schedule has not been officially released but I hear Judy Collins and The Pointer Sisters will lead the lineup.

Library Director Robert Karatsu announced the family fun night at tonight's City Council meeting and also spoke about the need for public libraries in a tough economy. Karatsu said if you've been reading newspapers recently, like the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal or the Sun, you might have read about the role libraries play in a rough economy.

Ouch! The Daily Bulletin ran a front page story today about this very topic.

It slipped his mind, I'm sure. Karatsu is a big supporter of the local paper and this blog. Plug us next time, Robert. 

The library's big fundraiser event starts Friday with performances by Rod Gilfry, Redlands YMCA Circus and many other local acts. Word is that City Manager Jack Lam has donated $500 for the City Council to make a fool ... I mean, to perform alongside the circus on Friday.

You can watch the show on Channel 3 or online here at these times:

Organizers for the Library Telethon are seeking schools, businesses and other organizations to participate in the team trivia challenge. You can either boast your trivia know-how or be laughed at before a television and Internet audience, all while promoting your club.

Entry fee is $200. If you're really jonesing for the grand prize trophy, you can pay $20 once per round and "Ask a Librarian," which I assume is like getting a lifeline.

Interested? Call a librarian at (909) 477-2720 ext. 5009 or 5031

The Library Telethon is March 13 to 15. The trivia challenge will be at 5 p.m. on March 14.  

The library is looking for volunteers to help deliver books to homebound residents for its house calls program. The program offers books and other library materials to homebound residents free of charge. If you have a few hours each week to spare and reliable transportation, you can apply by calling (909) 477-2720 ext. 5023 or download the application here.  

An article about the retirement of Library Director Deborah Clark, right, whose last day on the job is today, appeared in today's paper. Clark was hired 15 years ago to transform a county-run facility into the current system.

Clark really, really loves books, which is probably why she was so good at her job. She stays up until 1 a.m. reading and is bright and cheery the next day at 8 a.m. getting the community excited about reading.

"I'm one of those people ... if I'm standing in line, I'm reading a book," she said.

Councilwoman Diane Williams, pictured here, is another ardent book lover. When Mayor Don Kurth asked Williams to say a few words about Clark at the last City Council meeting, he introduced her as the "library lady."

Before Williams got on the council, she used to be on the other side of the dais touting library events and programs. She put out a library newsletter on her memory typewriter and made copies on her own dime.

"By doing all that, you come to be known as a library lady," Williams said. "It was not always said in a positive vein but now I take it with pride."

Starting next week, assistant library director Robert Karatsu will head the city's library department. Please don't call him library lady.

 

 

The City Council bid a tearful farewell to Library Director Deborah Clark, who is retiring on Dec. 26. Clark became director 15 years ago when the city took control of the library from the county.

"It was a dream job," Clark said.

Robert Karatsu, current assistant library director, will be the new director. Michelle Perera, current library services manager, will be the new assistant library director. 

                                                                       A screening of the documentary "Who Was Dashiell Hammett?" will be held at 7 p.m. Friday with a Q & A featuring Julie Rivett, granddaughter of Dashiell Hammett, at the Archibald Library. Tickets are free and can be picked up at either library.

 

 

Dashiell Hammett penned "The Maltese Falcon," the focus of this year's Big Read initiative. Other future movie screenings will include the film version of "The Maltese Falcon" at the Archibald Library on Saturday at 2 p.m. and on the big screen at Lewis Family Playhouse on Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. "North By Northwest" will be screened on Oct. 20 at the Biane Library starting 6:30 p.m.

See the calendar for other Big and Little Read events.

"The Maltese Falcon" seemed an unusual choice for this year's Big Read because of its mature content. The detective novel has elements of love, death and a whole lot of Bacardi drinking -- very different from "To Kill a Mockingbird" of last year.

That's where The Little Read comes in. The children will have their own events to attend surrounding the book "The Malted Falcon," a spoof of Dashiell Hammett's novel.

A screening of "Harriet the Spy" will take place tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Archibald Library and on Oct. 18 at the Biane Library. Bruce Hale, author of "The Malted Falcon" will also make an appearance at the library and at Grapeland Elementary.

See the calendar of events for a complete listing or give the library a call for more information at (909) 477-2720.

If you haven't visited the Archibald Library since its remodel, tomorrow might be a good time to bring the children. Buster Balloon will make an appearance at 7 p.m. at the Archibald Library's children's department. Free tickets are now available at both libraries.

Information: (909) 477-2720 ext. 5025

It's nice to see the spotlight on the Archibald Library when it opened its doors this morning after a summer long remodeling effort. The Biane Library is inviting, but it's the Archibald Library that has the central location and the quaint ambiance. You never have to turn on your blinker and wait for somebody to leave their parking spot at the Archibald Library. Not even today. My colleague Thomas Cordova shot this pic along with many others in our photo gallery.

Coffee, muffins and dignitaries started the morning off. Mayor Don Kurth talked about reading "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" when he was younger, Councilman Rex Gutierrez talked about fighting his brother for the Mark Twain books and Councilwoman Diane Williams, or the "library lady" as the mayor called her, talked about how far we've come from the county library located at Lyons Center East more than 15 years ago.

The city leaders are a loquacious bunch. Gutierrez, a USC alumni, took advantage of the podium and said the library is where you can find out about USC's victory later today. He also touted the library's adult literacy program, a class that "our friends at Ohio State, who don't know how to read can take."

Councilman Sam Spagnolo, hoping to bring the topic back to the library, said, "I"m going to stick to the script. I'm not going to ad lib like Rex did."

I wish the young bookworms at the library were as talkative as these council members. I tried to interview some of them for Sunday's article but almost everybody I talked to was really shy. Perhaps they were too excited to check out the new amenities than talk to this reporter.

The library is opened until 5 p.m. today, when the USC game starts. It's opened from 1 to 5 p.m. tomorrow.

   

 

When I first heard that the Archibald Library was getting a face lift, I thought it'd just be a little Botox around the laugh lines. After a visit today, I realized it's more like reconstructive surgery.

 

The remodeling project, which started in June will wrap up this month with a grand opening at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 13. Library employees Melissa Myers, left, and Irene Weiss are seen in this pic putting back some of the books that were moved while the library got new carpeting and furniture. There will be more computers for adults and children and a new space for computer classes on the first floor.

 

The thing I'm most excited about are the two lit columns that will be filled with water and bubbles to be stationed in the children's area. They were still covered with protective wrap today but in my imagination, they look like colorful lava lamps twice my height.

 

Robert Karatsu, the assistant library director who has been keeping a remodeling blog, told me that the borrowing didn't slow down this summer just because the Archibald Library was closed. He said about 85 percent of the patrons went over to the Biane Library, which was opened seven days a week, during this transition.

 

The city opened a satellite library at Central School thinking that bookworms might not want to drive out to Victoria Gardens. I thought that was odd. The city is not that big, and even if you live on the west side of town, the Biane Library shouldn't be that out of the way. I've gone to check out items at the Biane Library and I live in Pomona.