RINCON LATINO: RESENA LITERARIA

"CHINA: EL IIMPERIO DE LAS MENTIRAS" ES EL SEGUNDO DEL AUTOR FRANCES GUY SORMAN QUE VISLUMBRA LA AGONIZANTE REALIDAD DE LA CHINA ACTUAL! ESTE LIBRO ES EL FRUTO FINAL DE UN ANO ( EL ANO DEL GALLO ,2005 ) VIVIDO ENTRE SUBLEVACIONES RELIGIOSAS, REBELIONES DE OBREROS, PROTESTAS ECOLOGIASTAS Y ROCES ENTRE EL AUTOR Y LAS AUTORIDADES.

ESTE LIBRO DESTACA ENTRE UNA REALIDAD IMAGINADA DE TURISTAS Y SINOFILOS; Y OTRA BASANDOSE EN UNA PLENA REALIDAD REPLETA DE VERDADES DOLOROSAS. POR EL MOMENTO, HAY DOS EJEMPLARES DONADOS POR UN CLIENTE BONDADOSO MUY AL TANTO A LA ACTUALIDAD POLITICA Y PSICOLOGICA. DONACIONES COMO ESTA SON UN DESTELLO CULTURAL DE NUESTRA COLECCION!

The Carmen Miranda Film Festival: A Recap

"Look at me and tell me if I don't have Brazil in every curve of my body."
-Carmen Miranda

Did you know that it wasn't until two years before her death in 1955 that Carmen Miranda was granted a Brazilian passport? Did you also know she once hosted 200 Brazilian sailors at her Beverly Hills estate, and that she was insistent that wherever she went, her band had to follow? Colorful, irrepressable, incomparable, Miranda's story was told at the Central Library Wednesday night August 22 to a packed house of 75 patrons.

The discussion was led by Fred Dobb, professor of education at San Francisco State University and expert in Latin cinema. Dovetailing his charming lecture were several clips, each representing a distinct stage in Carmen's entertainment career. In attendance were representatives from area groups, promoting Latin culture.

Dobb's presentation marked the latest installment in the Central Library's continuing series on contemporary Latin culture and cinema. Stay tuned for upcoming shows, both by checking GrandCENTRAL and looking at the Sacramento Public Library's Library Newsletter.

Introducing Le book

Have a Laugh!

THE HISTORY OF JAZZ AT CENTRAL LIBRARY!

Part of Sacramento Public Library's 150 year anniversary, Central Library is presenting "Looking at Jazz: America's Art Form," a two-month musical tribute to what is universally recognized as America's greatest musical contribution. The series will showcase local talent week after week highlighting different jazz styles such as Swing Jazz and Latin Jazz. All programs are free to the public and are sure to be the talk of the town throughout the next few weeks! So come and enjoy the celebrate not only one of Sacramento's oldest public institutions but also one of America's most treasured art forms.


In addition, Sacramento Public Library also features a beautiful jazz documentary entitled: "A Great Day in Harlem." This documentary is featured on the library's digital Overdrive site under the "Browse Video" box under "Documentaries." Check it out and relive history!

COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES: WHOLE FOODS MARKET " BACK TO SCHOOL " EVENT.

Well, Outreach Volunteers were at it again! Just can't stay out the that beautiful limelight! On August 11,volunteers Lisa Christensen and Jose Esparza (not pictured) were at the Whole Foods Market Back to School event library promoting services to the public. The library was accompanied by other Sacramento area youth service providers such as the Sacramento YMCA, People Reaching Out, North Area Teen Center, Child Protection Education of America .Outreach volunteers spoke to the public about the libraries many youth services such as Live Homework Help and the highly - popular SPL Teens program. The response from the public was great with much interest focusing on online services . And much praise was directed at SPL's Youth Services department located at Central Library in downtown Sacramento. As the Digital Age continues, we have seen computer usage at SPL's 27 libraries increase, and our customerscontinued interest and demand for more online services increase tenfold.

Another service not traditionally associated with Community Outreach is SPL's downloadable eBooks and eVideos Overdrive site. Here parents can download books and video to aid in the education of their children.

SPL's Community Outreach Services are constantly doing something in the community, so check us out and enjoy what the Sacramento Public Library is doing to make Sacramento's quality of life that much better!

Book Review: Where They Lay: Searching for America's Lost Soldiers

Where They Lay: Searching for America's Lost Soldiers, Earl Swift, Houghton Mifflin, 2003.

I've not seen a single episode of television's CSI (Crime Scene Investigation), but I'd guess that if one took the show out of its sexy LA and/or Miami confines and mixed in a Texas-sized mud pie, poisonous reptile, unbearable humidity, and a million or so fire ants, you might come close to understanding the worldwide quest of the U.S. Military's Central Identification Laboratory (CILHI), an organization tasked to find and identify the nation's lost soldiers. Telling the tale is Earl Swift, a Virginia journalist, who journied to Laos in 2001 to surveil the group and their hunt for a crew of missing Army aviators, whose helicopter went down near the Vietnam/Laos border in 1971.

The engine of Swift's story is human interest. In not much time, you know the crew. From the spitshined complexion of the chopper commander to the muscle car-loving door gunner, the author brings you into their quirky, homey, chain-smoking world. Then he rips them from you; Their steel machine crashes and they are gone. But, at this point, you're in, part of the search team, walking just behind Swift down some dusty Degar hunting trail, and you'll accept even the slightest form of proof: a helmet, a manufacturing i.d., bullet casing.

At the beginning of the account, Swift asks us if it's worth it: spending $100 million a year to find our fallen sons and fathers. By the time the collective fate of Jack Barker, Johnny Chub, Johnny Dugan (see photo above) and Will Dillender is decided, you have your answer.

Book Review: Disgrace

reviewed by V. K. Ehrenreich

Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee

The hero of Disgrace is a real “b_ _ _ _ _ _.” The Booker Prize winner, J. M. Coetzee provides us with a portrait of the new Afrikaner who is forced to interact with blacks on an equal often humiliating basis. The balance of power is in flux in the new South Africa. What galls Communications Professor David Lurie is the knowledge that a black man (actually 3 blacks) can rape his daughter and get away with it. What escapes Lurie is the similarity between his alleged rape of his young female student and the violent act of the black youths.

The dynamics of the rapes differ in the “how”. On a rainy day in Cape Town, Lurie invites his young student into his house. Under the spell of Eros, the professor partakes of his dessert from a limp, passive student. When the girl’s boyfriend threatens Lurie and tells the girl’s prominent family, the prof loses his job and seeks refuge in his disgrace at his lesbian daughter’s Eastern Cape flower farm/ dog kennel. On a Wednesday morning, three black youths ask to use Lucy’s phone; once inside they lock Lurie in the loo (bathroom) and partake of Lucy’s desserts. Under the spell of hatred, the three blacks plunge their violent disturbing revenge for centuries of abuse into the limp, passive Lucy. Is passion out of lust more acceptable than passion out of hatred?

Lurie nearly manages to redeem himself in his determination to protect his daughter from the “bywoner” (tenant farmer) Petrus. Having knowledge of the planned rape/theft and the rapists, one of whom is his nephew, Petrus is eager to annex Lucy’s property to his small farm. Although not overtly stated, Petrus believes the land belongs to the blacks and he is reclaiming what belonged to his people before the invasion of the whites. Again the dynamics are in the “how”. Petrus is very polite with his long pipe and smile but his deeds are those of the greedy white man. Symbolically, the lives of the two races are inextricably linked in the child Lucy now carries. While seeking to dissuade Lucy from accepting Petrus’ offer of protection and marriage, Lurie is helpless to protect his daughter in the new South Africa. The only explanation/redemption for Lurie’s initial act of disgrace lies in his belief that, “Every woman I have been close to has taught me something about myself (p 70).” Lucy complains to her egocentric father that everything is about “you”. She is right on.

Coetzee, J. M., Disgrace, 1999, New York:Viking.

Veronica Ehrenreich holds a MFA in Film and a MLIS. She taught Film Studies at California State University, Sacramento, and is an on-call librarian at Sacramento Public Library and California State University, Sacramento.

J. M. Coetzee has won several literary awards for his fiction and non-fiction works. Coetzee is the only writer to have won the Booker Award twice.

LINK + STARTING SOON AT SPL!

Link + is a new service scheduled to start at Sacramento Public Library on August 13, 2007. This exciting new service will enable Sacramento Public Library customers to search and borrow books from over 30 libraries throughout California and Nevada. Our customers will be able to choose from over 9 million titles from partnership libraries with a simple click of new "LINK +" button soon to appear on Sacramento Public Library website. Items will usually be ready for pickup within 5 days, and the check out period will be for 21 days. Only one 2-week renewal period will be allowed. And a standard $115.00 replacement fee will be assigned for all lost or damaged items. We're happy to provide this service to not only our customers but also to our partnership libraries who will also greatly benefit from this new venture!

TENES UNA PREGUNTA? LLAMENOS POR FAVOR!

LLAME EL 264-2920! ESTA EL LA BIBLIOTECA DE LA CALLE OCHO?

"TELIS" ES LA VOZ DE LA BIBLIORTECA DE SACRAMENTO, Y RECIBE LLAMADAS PARA TODA LAS 27 SUCURSALES Y LA GERENCIA EN GENERAL. ESTE SERVICIO ESTA UBICADO DENTRO DEL EDIFICIO DE CENTRAL LIBRARY Y SUS HORAS DE OPERACION SON LAS MISMAS DE CUALQUIERA SUCURSAL ABIERTA.

TENES TAL LIBRO?

DONDE SE ENCUENTRA LA SUCURSAL MAS CERCANA?

TENES ALGO ACERCA DE LA ANTIGUA ASTRONOMIA PERSA?

REFERENCIA TELEFONICA ES UNO DE NUESTROS SERVICIOS MAS OCULTOS SUMINISTRADOS POR NUESTROS BIBLIOTECARIOS. NUESTROS BIBLIOTECARIOS TRABAJAN ESTA FACETA POR LO MENOS DE UN TURNO CADA DIA Y CONTESTAN UN SINNUMERO DE PRESUNTAS CORRIENDO UN GIGANTESCO RANGO! ELLOS UTILIZAN UNA COLECCION ENCIMA DE 400 TOMOS , REVISTAS Y DIARIOS SELECCIONADOS ESPECIFICAMENTE PARA ESTE SERVICIO.

TENES FORMULARIOS DE RECAUDACION?
CUANTOS LUNARES TIENE TAL BICHO?
CUANDO SE REUNE LA PROXIMA CLASE DE COMPUTACION?

EN JULIO, ALREDEDOR DE 5,375 LLAMADAS FUERON CONTESTADAS POR TELEFONO! DE AQUELLAS, 5,303 (99%) FUERON CONTESTADAS AL MOMENTO; SOLAMENTE 72 PREGUNTAS (1%) FUERON DIRIGIDAS A OTRO BIBLIOTECARIO.

A QUIEN REPORTO INCIDENTES DE FRAUDE BANCARIO?
NOMBRE Y DIRECCION DE MI REPRESENTANTE DE CONGRESO?
LA RESPUESTA DE 42 CRUCE?

NO DUDEN QUE TENGAMOS LA RESPUESTA!
LLAME AL 916-264-2920
HORAS DE OPERACION Y MAS INFORMACION

Who Ya Gonna Call? What D'you Wanna Know?

Call 2-6-4-2-9-2-0!

Is this the library at [you name the street]?

TELIS is the voice of the library in Sacramento, and handles calls for all 27 branches and library administration. It is located in its own little library inside the Central Library building, and is open all hours that any branch is open. Calls to TELIS during service hours are always answered by a librarian.

Do you have this book?
Where's the nearest library?
Do you have anything about ancient Persian astronomy?

Telephone reference is one of the hidden services provided by Central Library staff. Reference librarians put in at least one shift per day answering callers' questions about everything under the sun! They use a collection of about 400 books, magazines, and newspapers specially selected for the telephone reference service.

Do you have tax forms?
How many spots are on a ladybug?
When is the next computer class?

In July, over 5,375 callers got their questions answered by phone. Of those, 5,303 (99%) were answered on the spot; only 72 questions (1%) had to be referred to the reference desk for further work.

Who do I call to report bank fraud?
What's the name and address of my congressional representative?
What's the answer to 42 ACROSS?

Chances are, we can answer your questions, too!
Call 916-264-2920
Service hours and additional information

A Finer Focus: Bridges of Sacramento County

In the wake of last Wednesday's tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis, questions abound over the reliability and prevelance of Truss-style bridges throughout the country. At this time, 75,000 or 13.1 percent of the nation's bridges, are designated as "structurally deficient," a status given to the I-35W Bridge as far back as 1990. California ranks seventh out of the nation's 50 states with the most bridges showing structural problems at 13 percent, while Oklahoma is first on the list with 26.8 percent of its bridges standing "deficient."*

How many Truss bridges does Sacramento have? The Fair Oaks Bridge is a Truss bridge, as is the "I" Street Bridge (see photo). According to the Sacramento Bee*, however, Sacramento County's only questionable spans are two, and neither is a Truss bridge: "1923 'bascule' bridge that opens for ship traffic on Highway 160 over the Sacramento River, and a 1949 'lift' bridge that also opens to ship traffic on Highway 160 over Three Mile Slough." Their inspection comes as part of a national alert and will be supervised by Caltrans.

*"'Deficient' but unfixed 1990 probe saw flaw; Caltrans checking similar spans Immediate inspections in California," by Carrie Peyton, et al. Sacramento Bee, August 3, 2007, section A1.

Please refer to the list of sources below on the basics of bridge building and local bridge history:

Books:

Historic civil engineering landmarks of Sacramento and northeastern California / prepared by the History and Heritage Committee, Sacramento Section, American Society of Civil Engineers. [Sacramento, Calif.] The Society, [1976].

The bridges of Sacramento / by Bill and Beverly Webster. Sacramento : Sacramento County Office of Education, 1978.

Additional Subject Heading: Bridges Design and construction

Environmental Impact Reports:

Subject Heading: Bridges -- Environmental aspects -- California

Web Sites:

Truss Bridge Laboratory at the University of Florida:

http://www.ce.ufl.edu/activities/trusslab/trussndx.html

Truss Bridges Descriptions and Photos (Portland, OR) from Texas A&M University:

http://bellnetweb.brc.tamus.edu/res_grid/trussb/designs.htm

Sac History Online:

Railroad bridges--California--Sacramento

(http://www.sacramentohistory.org/search.php?topic=325)

Bridges--California--Sacramento County

(http://www.sacramentohistory.org/search.php?topic=84)

Bridges--California--Sacramento

(http://www.sacramentohistory.org/search.php?topic=83)

APOYE A SU BIBLIOTECA DONANDO LIBROS.

DURANTE EL MES DE AGOSTO NUESTROS AFANADOS PUEDEN APOYAR LA BIBLIOTECA ACUDIENDO CUALQUIER SUCURSAL DE LA CADENA LIBRERIAS BORDERS. EN CADA SUCURSAL SE ENCUENTRA NUESTRO LISTADO DE TITULOS DESEADOS, SIMPLEMENTE COMPRE ALGUNO DE LOS TITULOS CITADOS Y DONALOS A LA GERENCIA DE TAL SUCURSAL. CON LA VENTA DE CADA TITULO LA COLECCION NO SOLAMENTE SE BENEFICIARA SINO TAMBIEN UN 5% DE LA RECAUDACION AYUDARA A LA FUNDACION DE LA BIBLIOTECA DE SACRAMENTO. COMO SIEMPRE GRACIAS POR SU APOYO!

A Finer Focus: The Middle East, China and North Korea: An Executive Challenge For the Ages?

Speaking just days ago on the PBS talk program Charlie Rose, ex-Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke boldly claimed the next President's foreign policy agenda to be the most daunting in the country's history. Holbrooke, the architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, attributed his stance to the prospect of two on-going wars (Iraq and Afghanistan), (click here for titles by Holbrooke) the lingering question over Palestine and Israel, the specter of a rapidly growing and powerful China, the recalcitrance of Syria and Iran, and the factor of North Korea. While we're 18 months short of a new administration, it's hard to know who will be making decisions and what sort of engagement policy will be used. Based on your knowledge of what sort of foreign policy terrain Presidents Harry Truman, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, Woodrow Wilson, and L.B. Johnson have had to tread upon, is Holbrooke correct? There are clearly challenges to peace in today's world, and the following list of sources may help you broaden your knowledge base:

• Books:

Target Iran : the truth about the White House's plans for regime change, Scott Ritter, Nation Books, 2006.

Confronting Iran : the failure of American foreign policy and the next great crisis in the Middle East, Ali Ansari, Basic Books, 2006.

The Persian puzzle : the conflict between Iran and America, Kenneth M. Pollack, Random House, 2004.

Are we Rome? : the fall of an empire and the fate of America, Cullen Murphy, Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

Return to greatness : how America lost its sense of purpose and what it needs to do to recover it, Alan Wolfe, Princeton University Press, 2005.

Fiasco : the American military adventure in Iraq, Thomas E. Ricks, Penguin Press, 2006.

Inventing The Axis Of Evil : The Truth About North Korea, Iran, And Syria, Bruce Cumings, New Press, 2004.

• Web sites:

The Brookings Institute: http://www.brook.edu/

The Rand Corporation: http://www.rand.org/research_areas/international_affairs/

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: http://www.carnegieendowment.org/

Council for Foreign Relations: http://www.cfr.org/

Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org/

E-Resource: World Conflicts Today

World Conflicts Today. This new electronic resource gathers together current news and historical information on ten of the world's hotspots, such as Iraq, Darfur, Chechnya, Korean Peninsula, and the Basque Country. Unlike most free internet sites, these reports were developed independent of any narrow political agenda. The intent was to represent all the sides involved in the conflicts fairly. Minor updates are added about every four to six weeks, and substantive revisions are made as needed when the conflict situation changes.

The Library pays for this subscription so you can use it for free. If you have a library card, you may also use this resource at home, even when the library is closed. You can find it on the library's Database Page in the "Reference" and in the "Student Resources" sections. (http://www.saclibrarycatalog.org/screens/dbconnection.html)