Crocker-Kingsley art exhibit @ Central Library

On the heels of the Freedom's Sisters' display at the Central Library, comes the 75th Crocker-Kingsley : California's Biennial juried art exhibit. In conjunction with the Crocker Art Museum, currently undergoing expansion, we are excited to offer this amazing collection of paintings, sculpture, photography, printmaking and crafts – in a range of artistic styles from representational to abstract to conceptual. The first floor and second floor Galleria exhibit will be on display through Friday, February 6, during the Library's open hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, noon-5 p.m.

Digging Up Roots at Central Library

Genealogy – the study of one’s past – has become an avid pastime of many Americans. One of the easiest ways for a researcher to get their hands on extremely meaningful family information is to look at the obituaries or death notices of ancestors.

The Sacramento Public Library’s Central Branch holds runs of the Sacramento Bee back to 1857, the Sacramento Union from 1851 to 1994, the Sacramento Transcript, 1850-1851, and the Daily Democratic State Journal from 1852 to 1857.

Too busy to swing by Central and search the archives? No problem. Call us, snail mail us, e-mail us. Our reference staff takes the topic of genealogy very seriously – we boast one of the finest genealogy collections in Northern California, possess in-house indexes (Sacramento Bee Vital Statistics Index (1857-1905) and the California Information File) that you’ll find nowhere else, and welcome the opportunity to help you build your family tree.

Try us. Just give us a week and we can give you your roots.

Letter Mail: Sacramento Public Library, attn. Correspondence, 828 “I” Street, Sacramento, California 95814

E-Mail: askus@saclibrary.org

Phone: 916-264-2920

Free Financial E-Book! Will Self Destruct This Thursday!

For those who haven't been reading the newspapers the forecast for 2009 is...I guess the best word to describe what's going on is scary. Years ago I used to stare (longingly) at the full mall parking lots and wonder if anyone in Sacramento had a job. Today I'm wondering the same thing, only for different reasons. The local economy is bad. The truly frightening holiday bills are arriving in our mail boxes. Today the only way you can afford dinner and a movie is if you get a free ticket in exchange for donating a pint of blood and stay in their rest area for 30 minutes devouring Lorna Doone cookies and making mixed drinks out of all their juices. This may be completely fine to some people, but those donation buses are freakin cold! Plus I was too sick to donate last time. If only there was some type of plan to show us how to dig ourselves out of this mess...

Suze Ormans's 2009 Action Plan is available as a free download on Oprah Winfrey's website. However, unlike many items on our Overdrive catalog, it is not an always available book which can be downloaded at any time. The offer expires at 11:59 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 15. So hurry, hurry, hurry!

Sacramento History Photo of the Week: Issue No. 5

Washington Primary School, circa 1895. Located at Thirteenth and “G” streets, Washington School was built in 1869 at a cost $13,720 to replace two wooden structures felled by arson – less than two weeks after they were completed – and to meet the needs of the city’s burgeoning northern wards. Upon opening, it housed Intermediate No.3 and Primaries 5 and 8. Its architect, Seth Babson, pursued a style and brick shelling that matched the Union School on Seventh and "G" Streets. As the nineteenth century came to a close, the Washington School possessed a teacher-student ratio of 1 to 30. In 1922/23, the school’s name and occupants relocated to a newer and bigger building at Seventeenth and “E,” but its use – as a continuation school, training center for the Army Signal Corps and headquarters for the American Red Cross – continued well into the 20th-century.



This photo and many more like it can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

Behind the Scenes: Book Nook & Book Bulletins

This is the staff room on the 5th floor of the Central Library. The window is one of several that comprise an "art in public places" work called "Geometric Progression."

The books in the window are publishers' pre-publication galley proofs sent to our local newspaper to be reviewed, and passed along to the library. We can't add them to our collection, nor can they be sold by the Friends of the Library. I found the "Tale of Despereaux" amongst them last year, and discovered the recent works of two talented Jamaican authors, Andrea Levy and Lorna Goodison. Because they are not cataloged, I have picked up titles far outside the usual range of books I would normally choose, and have been challenged to read outside my comfort zone.

If you are also interested in discovering new reading interests without any financial outlay, try our Book Bulletins for adults and kids. Just click a topic and provide your e-mail address to receive a monthly announcement of recent titles in that area. There's a link on our web site - just click on the Book Bulletin graphic to see the list and sample the titles before subscribing. Titles on the lists are selected from our collection by Sacramento Public Library staff.

Sacramento History Photo(s) of the Week: Issue No. 4

917 “H” Street, circa 1890. The residence was built in 1882 by architects Seth Babson and James Seadler in the style of ‘Victorian Stick,’ characterized by rectangular shaping, wood siding, and a steep, gabled roof with overhanging eaves. Its first resident was city pioneer Llewellyn Williams. In 1891, it was sold to H.G. Smith for $30,000 in gold. Well after Smith’s departure, it was converted into a funeral home in 1907, and then acquired by the University Club in 1971. Today, it serves ably as a youth hostel. Sacramento Room.

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Halsey G. Smith, circa 1890. While the promise of the Gold Rush drew Smith to Sacramento from New York, it was business – most notably the Pioneer Milling Company at Front and “G” Streets – that brought him enormous wealth. His residence at 917 “H” Street offered not just a clear to his president’s post at the river front mill, but entry into Sacramento’s business aristocracy. Sacramento Room.

These photos and many more like them can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Sacramento Room which is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5, and Thursday 1 to 8.

2009 - What's In It For Me?

Many people take a few minutes during this season to review the accomplishments, the works-in-progress, the lessons learned during the past year, and to make their resolutions for the coming year. I read something recently - can't remember where - that suggested we make "Goals" instead of "Resolutions". Making a resolutions implies that you must keep it to be successful; not keeping it, therefore, means failure. Having a goal, on the other hand, implies progress toward same, and any progress can be counted as a success. All year long!

Central Library has also been reviewing accomplishments, works-in-progress and lessons learned, and is setting goals for the coming year. Some of the accomplishments:

• Creation of a microfilm reading area closer to the microfilm collection.


• Conversion of the former microfilm reading area into a Technology Lab.


• Expansion of the computer classes beyond the basics and into subject interests.


• Complete revision of the call routing system for the library's main phone number (916-264-2700.)

Some works-in-progress:

• Re-arrangement of the Central Express area on the first floor and tweaking loan rules so that more new titles are available for borrowers.


• Refreshing the book and federal documents collections by withdrawing materials clearly past their prime and moving some of the documents into the book collection. We hope this will make the documents collection more usable.


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  Now, which would you rather do: make a resolution or set a goal?