Community Outreach Services: The World Music & Dance Festival

"Wow!! ... I didn't know that the library had a bookmobile!" or "When I was a little girl, we used to wait week after week for our bookmobile to visit us!" was another remark that many made as they made their way into Sacramento Public Library's one of three bookmobiles that regularly make visits to some of Sacramento County's more remote areas and assisted -care facilities.

One of bookmobiles is called the "Wonderwagon" many of you who regularly visit the blog have seen it spotlighted before making cameo appearances at many of SPL's outreach events. This time it made its presence known at the "Sacramento World Music & Dance Festival" held at the historic Old Sacramento riverfront adjacent to the old train depot. The event brought musicians and dancers from some of Sacramento's rich cultural communities stretching as far away as Viet Nam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Spain, Poland, the Ukraine and Ghana to name a few.

A hearty thanks goes out to those volunteers who dedicate themselves to enriching Sacramento's local cultures and for showing what Sacramento Public Library is doing to promote cultural awareness, education and peaceful cooperation.

RINCON LATINO : FESTIVAL PAN ASIáTICO

Ayer el Festival Pan Asiático ( Pacific Rim Festival ) se celebró en la localidad histórica de Old Sacramento luciendo las diversas culturas asiáticas en Sacramento. En 1993, el difunto empresario Frank Fat estableció esta organización para que sirviera como una coalición comunitaria brillando lo mejor y lo más destacante de las comunidades asiáticas de la región. En los últimos 20 años, la comunidad ha crecido astronómicamente con la inclusión de las culturasHmong, Camboyana, Laosiana, Filipina y Polinesia.

Muchos no lo saben pero la cultura polinesia también es representado en la cultura iberoamericana con respecto a la Isla de Pascua la cual es una provincia ultramar de Chile.

Desgraciadamente para los aborígenes de la isla , el ímpetu a asimilarse a la cultura predominante chilena es tan arrasante que la cultura y la identidad se va desapareciéndose todavía más y más. También, la cultura filipina tiene ciertos rasgos hispanos porque también fue colonia española y fue representada por muchos miembros de la comunidad vendiendo curiosidades, platillos típicos y prendas de vestir.

En fin, el Festival era muy divertido para los integrantes como nosotros y para los visitantes atraídos por la simple curiosidad o por un interés económico.

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!

COMMUNITY OUTREACH : FESTIVAL DE LA FAMILA

The 17th Annual Festival de la Famila is just around the corner ... like Sunday April 27th around the corner !! This is an event that you don't want to leave out of your Spring weekend calendar, one that will leave lasting memories as there will be numbers performers from throughout Latin America and even locally from the Sacramento region. Performers will include Salsa group "Tortilla Soup," Brazilian Capoeira dance troupe "Agua do Beber," Spain's "Flamenco Puro," and host of other performers. Also, come and visit the numerous vendor booths representing various Sacramento area civic and business groups such as the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Health Education Council and , of course, the Sacramento Public Library! Our friendly staff will be there to instruct attendees on the benefits of being a member of the Sacramento Public Library and to showcase the new services and ever-growing collections including SPl's exciting Spanish Collection.

Join us for a wonderful day celebrating California's and Sacramento's wonderful and rich Latino heritage April 27th at Sacramento's Cal Expo.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH : YEAH BABY!

Sacramento Public Library's' Community Outreach Services was once again out in full force in support of the Yeah Baby Family Expo along with hundreds of other groups featuring the latest baby products such as clothing , toys, nutrition and reading. The event sponsored by Clear Channel spanned the entire weekend enabling SPL's Community Outreach volunteers to reach a wide one - on -one audience.

Some of the events that covered the weekend were a "Beautiful Baby Contest," a "Children's Reading Area," a "Petting Zoo, " a "Diaper Derby," and several seminars covering topics such as Health & Nutrition, Safety, Early Childhood Education and the Importance of Reading to your Child.

Events such as these help our community grow and strengthen the lives of Sacramento's future. Thanks to all who participated and to those who support Sacramento Public Library's commitment to education and leadership.

SPL OUTREACH: THE SEVENTH ANNUAL TARGET CHILDREN'S BOOK CELEBRATION.

The Sacramento Public Library's Community Outreach Services was once again out in full force at the 7th Annual Target Children's Book Celebration held at Fairytale Town in Sacramento's beautiful William Land Park. The event was held on September 29/30 from 10 am to 4pm where hundreds of families attended numerous stage performances with likes of Francie Dillon , children's storyteller Michael Katz , Ke Buena 97.9 DJ's Lili and Ricardo Reyes ( Spanish - Language Storytime ) and renowned author Laura Numeroff.

Other attendees were KVIE's own "Ready to Learn" kids mobile, Friends of the Sacramento Public Library, and SPL's own Wonder Wagon. Volunteers made many children ( and their parents ) very happy encouraging them to sign up for their very first library card! Community Outreach Volunteers also informed the public about the
benefits of reading to children, reading frequently and about the power of imagination!
It's my participation in events like these ( aside from the other things that I do with library! ) that make me proud to work for Sacramento Public Library and Community Outreach Events. Please feel free to visit my Flickr site and see more photographs taken at the Children's Book Celebration!

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!