Search the SPL Catalog from Your Preferred Webpage

I just stumbled upon this little widget to embed a search box to the Library's catalog on your preferred web page. I use Facebook, Blogger and Google. Now, if I get a tip about a good book or dvd from a friend on Facebook, I can immediately search for it without having to leave Facebook. Try it out!



I embeded the code here within the blog post, but you can actually place it in your tool bar so that it shows up on all your pages. The widget comes with code for other applications too, so if you tweet or use a different blogging service, check out the link to see if there is one for your preferred online space.

Rincón Latino:Telenovela: El Refugio

A Pome

A Pome

When I was small I had a book
My mom would read, called Mother Goose.
She read and sang and clapped and rhymed.
I always begged, "Just one more time!"

Well, now I'm grown, with grown-up kids;
I read them Mother Goose a bunch!
Now it's YOUR turn: pack your best pomes
To read at Central tomorrow at lunch!

Brown-bag poetry-sharing begins at noon at Central Library tomorrow, Thursday, January 21, in the West Meeting Room on the first floor. Hope to see you there!

Rincón Latino: ¡Libros en Español!

,,El Símbolo Perdido" por Dan Brown

"¿Existe un secreto tan poderoso que, de salir a la luz, sea capaz de cambiar el mundo? El experto en simbología Robert Langdon es convocado inesperadamente por Peter Solomon, masón, filántropo y su antiguo mentor, para dar una conferencia en el Capitolio. Pero el secuestro de Peter y el hallazgo de una mano tatuada con cinco enigmáticos símbolos cambian drásticamente el curso de los acontecimientos. Atrapado entre las exigencias de una mente perturbada y la investigación oficial, Langdon se ve inmerso en un mundo clandestino de secretos masónicos, historia oculta y escenarios nunca antes vistos, que parecen arrastrarlo hacia una sencilla pero inconcebible verdad."

Teddy Pendergrass, 1950-2010

When I was a child I did not listen to traditional children’s music, meaning my mother didn’t lose her sanity and I learned that “real” music didn’t revolve around the wheels on the bus, giant yellow animals or purple dinosaurs. Most of the time I’d listen to the Staple Singers, The Pointer Sisters, Bob James, David Sanborn (you must buy their Double Vision album!) Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Kenny G, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, and a whole host of other artist, which, of course, included Teddy Pendergrass.

Pendergrass began singing at the age of 2, which makes everyone else look like slackers, now doesn't it? He was originally part of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Surely no one forget If You Don’t Know Me By Now. His career was altered drastically following a car accident in 1982 that paralyzed him from the waist down. This accident spurred him to create the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance, an organization that assists individuals with spinal cord injuries “to achieve their maximum potential in areas of education, employment, housing, productivity and overall independence.” He’d continue to perform, releasing new material into the late 1990s, and received a Grammy nomination in 1989 for his song "Joy," yet it was his early music that still resounds with people today. My favorite song of his happens to be Love TKO. Please take a moment to enjoy and remember Pendegrass's life.

Make it a Day ON, not at day off!

"If you want to be important- wonderful. If you want to be recognized- wonderful. If you want to be great- wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That is the new definition of greatness... it means that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve."

Martin Luther King Jr Day, observed this year on Monday, January 18th is a federal holiday, however, many are using the day to serve rather than relax. It is a day to "transform Dr. King, Jr's life and teachings into community service that helps solve social problems. Service that meets either a tangible need, or a need of the spirit, such as building a sense of cummunity or mutual responsibility."

This year, Central Library is hosting an afternoon of service on the Sunday prior to the day off. We have a few spots open to volunteers, but there are several opportunities out there where one can go to build a sense of community. Contact the City of Sacramento Volunteers Department or the Volunteer Center of Sacramento for more ideas of how you can help.

Rincón Latino: ¡Música en Español!

,,Arde el Cielo" de Maná

El 29 de abril de 2008 Maná saca un CD - DVD llamado Arde el cielo. Está grabado en vivo en su última gira mundial "Amar es combatir" que presenciaron más de 2 millones de personas en América y Europa. El grupo escogió para la grabación del álbum dos de sus cuatro actuaciones en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico en marzo de 2007.
El CD contiene 12 temas en directo y dos temas inéditos grabados en estudio. El primero de estos temas inéditos es "Si no te hubieras ido", una canción de Marco Antonio Solís ya versionada por otros artistas pero en la que Maná ha sabido poner su peculiar sello. El segundo tema inédito del CD es "Arde el Cielo" un tema compuesto y producido por Fher Olvera y Álex González. Ambos temas aspiran a ser Hits en 2008.
El DVD contiene 12 temas en directo que representan y repasan la historia de Maná, desde "Rayando el Sol" a "Labios compartidos", pasando por una roquera versión de la ranchera "El Rey" y canciones tan conocidas como "En el muelle de San Blas" o "Vivir sin Aire".
El grupo, en entrevistas a medios latinos, indica que cuando programaron la gira y vieron la repercusión que tenía fue cuando decidieron hacer este CD+DVD como regalo y recuerdo para todos sus seguidores.

Rincón Latino: ¡Libros en Español!

,,La Pasión Según Carmela" de Marcos Aguinis

,,La Pasión Según Carmela" narra con un realismo impresionante la historia de un médico argentino que se enamora de una médica cubana. Juntos viven en Cuba algunos de los años clave de la revolución de Castro. Poco antes del advenimiento de la democracia en la Argentina, él vuelve; ella, en cambio, queda en Cuba, libre, pero de alguna manera convertida en rehén.

Sometimes the library writes Its own books; In this case, about one of Sacramento's great neighborhoods: Meet Alkali Flat

The Images of America series from Arcadia Publishing has availed Americans, coast-to-coast, to the imagery and lore that makes our neighborhoods so great and so rich in history. Recently, the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library put pen to paper, publishing an ode to the oldest residential neighborhood in the city: Sacramento's Alkali Flat.

The Alkali rests near a busy downtown Sacramento and is bordered by the rail yard, river, and thoroughfares that helped form its identity over a century ago. Named for the crusted alkali deposits that were left by seasonal flooding, the neighborhood has, over time, attracted governors, legislators, artists, and pioneering physicians to take up residence in some of the most exquisitely crafted homes in the American West. Neighborhood lore includes the gradual conquest of the odiferous China Slough and Federal troops billeting there during 1894's Pullman Strike, while the haunting story of little May Woolsey and a tragic tale of crime are the stories spoken of today. Boasting mills, dairies, railroads, and media as well as schools, hospitals, multiethnic churches, and local businesses in its heyday, Alkali Flat's history is characterized by contrasts-old landmarks have fallen or adapted to other uses, but the future holds promise for one of Sacramento's most unique neighborhoods.

The Sacramento Room is happy to have produced its second book in three years (see also Historic Photos of Sacramento). The best part is that partial proceeds from the book will go back to the library. Copies will appear in bookstores and other businesses around the Alkali and the greater Sacramento area starting on January 11 of 2010, with a price of $21.99. Isn't it good to know that picking up a copy will not only expand your knowledge of this great city's history, but also put much needed funding into the hands of your public library.

Resolutions 2.010

Practically speaking, the most wonderful time of the year is not Christmas: it’s December 26-31. Christmas is over, the relatives have (thankfully) left, the after Christmas clearance bliss has begun , and New Years is right around the corner. New Year’s Day requires no planning whatsoever. You either go to some sort of religious ceremony which involves candle lighting (nothing says Happy New Year quite like accidentally setting something on fire!) or you buy alcohol and order pizza/Chinese food.

I prefer Chinese.

But somewhere around your 80th chicken pot sticker/12th slice of pizza, you remember something. Something nagging at the back of your brain…

It’s time for your resolutions.

Didn’t you say something about losing weight last year? And weren’t you supposed to stop smoking years ago when they made it practically illegal to smoke unless it was in your closet, and that was only if you owned your home outright?

How depressing.

For those of you who need a little push in the right direction, check out our display in Central Express. Need to get organized? (I’ve been told shoving everything into a sack and tossing it into a closet doesn’t count, but that's never stopped me from getting out the Glad bags.) Pick up a book on straightening up your house for good. Want to burn off some extra calories? Grab an exercise video. Or maybe you just need to pick up a good book because you swore you would read a book in 2010 that didn’t feature vampires.

Believe it or not, we do have such books on the shelf. So feel free to borrow a few.

Happy New Year!