California of the Past: We Need You to Tell Your Story

With StoryCorps rolling its way out of town, the Sacramento Public Library is picking up where the folks from National Public Radio left off. The Library's project, California of the Past, seeks to have members of the public tell their stories. About an event? ; a person? ; a special place? Yes. Yes. And, yes. We want you to impart your Sacramento experiences. In doing so, you'll contribute to your library's effort to record and safeguard the historical memory of our great community.

Storytellers will have their tale digitally recorded at the Central Library. Then, we'll can add pictures and music to your words. Before you know it, you've created a masterpiece. Area residents, students, and scholars will be able to view your recorded story in the Sacramento Room's historical archives at the Central Library.

Starting May 1, you can submit a digital story application by calling 264-2920 or online at http://www.saclibrary.org/ and clicking California of the Past.

Take a look at these examples of SPL produced digital stories:

Sacramento Has Gone to the Dogs: http://blip.tv/file/638867

Clark Ashton Smith: Poetry from the Shadows: http://blip.tv/file/638854

Hearts of the Sacramento Valley: Sacramento's Fallen During the First World War: http://blip.tv/file/619329

Talking Hillary and Barack with an Expert...

Experts are often found at the Central Library and one in the area of government and the media was just recently in our midst.

Tuesday evening in the Central Library's Sacramento Room, CSUS Government Professor Kimberly Nalder, brought some needed focus to the the current runoff for the Democratic nomination for President and what it's told us about the state of women and minorities as political candidates.

How do these candidates portray themselves in accordance with how they think we want them to look? Nalder broached the idea that domestic issues like Healthcare and Education have - traditionally - been perceived to be the province of the female politician, whereas, males have long been viewed as more alligned to issues of foreign policy and the economy. Accordingly, Hillary Clinton's quest for validation as a civilian leader of the American military has prompted her to find advocacy from many of the nation's military leaders, as shown by Nalder in the following advertisement:



Also, how much of an effect has "response bias" had on polling results throughout the nomination process? In other words, are survey takers giving answers to reflect the way they feel society wants them answer? In the New Hampshire primary, Barack Obama's pre-vote polling numbers were quite favorable; however, by election evening, Hillary Clinton had won the state. The same happened to Clinton in the Iowa Caucuses.

These issues were discussed in detail. Keep your eyes peeled for Nalder. She may be moderating an upcoming debate between Sacramento mayoral candidates Heather Fargo and Kevin Johnson.

RINCON LATINO : ESCLAVAS DEL SEXO

Muchos de nosotros la conocemos como la profesión más antigua del mundo ó como la profesión sórdida. Desde la aparición de la palabra escrita y por todos los rincones del mundo la prostitución ha acompañado a la raza humana como una plaga. Y a pesar de las más recientes avances tecnológicos y de tantas notas escritas denunciando su existencia, la prostitución sigue arrasando ese tejido frágil el cual las familias se fundan. España es uno de esos países el cual es destino principal para muchas niñas y mujeres buscando a mejorar sus vidas pero cayendo ciegamente en manos de traficantes de carne humana.Muchas son provenientes de las Américas como Colombia, Cuba, la Argentina y la República Dominicana ; otras son de Rusia, Ucrania y Romania. Para prepararse para su primer cliente muchas son sometidas a drogas como la heroína y la coca supuestamente para darles "ánimo" ante una experiencia ciertamente traumatizante. Las que sobreviven permanecen en este tráfico ilícito encadenadas a no solamente a un "proxeneta" sino también a la drogadicción. Un amo mucho más intolerante que su homólogo de carne y hueso. Desde luego, en España ha surgido varios grupos para ayudar en cualquier modo a las víctimas de trata como las aparecen en este informe de la red de televisión " la sexta."

COMMUNITY OUTREACH :2008 FESTIVAL DE LA FAMILIA

The 17th annual Festival de la Familia took place today at Sacramento's Cal Expo fairgrounds and it was an event to attend!

The day was hot ( 88 degrees Fahrenheit ) and so was the food, culture, dance, music and the company that Sacramento Public Library staff kept as people from all walks and persuasions approach our booth to inquire about e -book and digital collections. Storytime en Español and about the usual times and locations that our customers are always interested in. Library applications were also on the rise as new library cards were issued to new customers. It's not uncommon that many library customers regularly visit any of our 27 library branches, yet they do not possess library cards. It's at these events that many of them approach our booths and finally make the jump to being card-carrying library users. This phenomenon is pretty common with many public libraries and it's what librarians, library para-professionals and administrators attempt to rectify. We want all of Sacramento's citizens to have and use a Sacramento Public Library card.

Many who haven't done an event such as the Festival, think that all we do is pass out bookmarks and bring smiles to kid's faces. Not that that's bad, but there's definitely work that must be done!

The day ended early in the evening and all of us were flushed with pride at the great work that we had done. Kudos to all those who put in their time and to Community Outreach Services.

The Cuban and Puerto Rican communities were out in full force at the Festival de la Familia. Good to see!

RINCON LATINO : EL ALIMENTO DE LOS DIOSES

¿Sabían ustedes que la palabra chocolate es una palabra náhuatl? La palabra se refiere al grano del cacao, el cual se produce el delectoso y famoso chocolate. Hoy día, la palabra trae imágenes deliciosas como las exquisitas golosinas ó un imágen del ubicuo brebaje del mismo nombre. Cuando los conquistadores españoles llegaron a tierras americanas se encontraron con el majestuoso bebida de los dioses aztecas.

En su forma actual, el chocolate se elabora en distintas formas y en entonces el brebaje del chocolate era espumozo y agrio. Y la clase sacerdotal azteca solía gozar de la mágica bebida. Hoy el chocolate se encuentra en todas partes del mundo y es la confección favorita de gran parte de la población mundial.

El video abajo describe la importancia del chocolate para la cultura azteca y después para las clases privilegiadas españolas. ¡Gozánlo como el chocolate!

RINCON LATINO : ¡LITERATURA AL INODORO!

La empresa española Emprendedores ha desempeñado un nuevo producto: literatura en papel higiénico. BBC Mundo se enteró del nuevo producto poco después que la compañía develara el producto en su propio sitio de Internet. La empresa se creó a finales de 1998 y se destacó con juguetes para niños sin que tuviese una sola tienda ó en promover productos de la marcas más grandes del mundo.

La idea de imprentar fragmentos de las obras literarias más grandes del mundo hispanohablante (El Romancero Gitano de Federico García Lorca y La Fuente Ovejuna de López de Vega) , y también de fragmentos de obras teatrales, novelas recientes y hasta versos bíblicos (versos coránicos son estrictamente prohibidos). Según el presidente de la empresa Raúl Camarero, "Surge aquí un conflicto interesante: limpiarse el trasero con una obra de arte o el dilema moral que esto representa".

Potty Training 101

It would be too simple for a child to have an “accident” while nestled between 200-thread count sheets and the Dora the Explorer / Spongebob Squarepants comforter you can’t wait to throw away. But no one is ever that fortunate. So people are usually faced with two scenarios. Scenario One involves a public incident on the playground of a fast food restaurant which causes the whole area to be quarantined while other parents give you the Darth Vader stare-of-death for ruining their fine dining experience. (And you really did ruin their day; in this current housing market, the playground at McDonald’s is about as close to a trip to Disneyland as many kids are getting this year.) Scenario Two is far worse. Your little angel picks a morning to sneak into your bed, snuggles between your down comforter and 600-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets while somehow managing to get atop your designer beaded throw pillow. Somewhere between the third load of laundry and a trip to the drycleaner you get to wondering a) why you don’t have a maid and b) why you haven’t fully potty trained your child yet. While you weren’t going for the potty-train-your-child-before-the-umbilical-cord-falls-off program , neither do you want your child announcing on a commercial how it’s okay to wet the bed until you’re 12 because their product is good for “children” up to 125+ pounds. What to do? Check out our toilet training section. Not only do we carry books for parents showing them the steps, you can also borrow picture books for children explaining the whole process. Need a video? We have those too. So don’t put up with ruined chenille throws and tossing your throw pillows in the dumpster. Get your potty training information today.