Sacramento Area Authors

It wouldn't be hard to deduce that libraries in, say, California might have a fairly good collection of Californiana, and that Nevada libraries might have a similar collection about that state. But what happens if the connection to the location is more tenuous – not necessarily about the state; not necessarily set in the state, but written by someone who lives in the area? Enter the Sacramento Area Authors collection! Single copies of titles in this special collection reside in the Sacramento Room, where such works are actively collected, but additional copies of the works may be borrowed from Central Library and other branches in our library system.

Who are Sacramento Area Authors? What do they write? You might recognize these luminaries who lived in Sacramento County when their books were published: Sharon Davis (wife of former Governor Gray Davis), Herb Caen, Biba Caggiano, Joan Didion, and Ernesto Galarza. There are many other authors, both old and new, represented in the collection, with titles ranging from the sublime through the everyday to the fringe, such as Historic Photos of Sacramento, Last chance for justice, Midlife Bible: a woman's survival guide, and Deluxe transitive vampire.

To find and explore this collection of over 2000 titles, go to the library's catalog and click the Subject tab, and then type Sacramento area authors. Come and visit during the Sacramento Room's service hours – prepare to be delighted!

World Walking Day, Friday, May 8

The weather is drying out and warming up just in time for today's World Walking Day observance. Locally, the Sacramento Walking Sticks is hosting an evening walk tonight near the State Capitol beginning 5 - 6:30 p.m. and finishing by 9 p.m. The event is free. If you love to go a-wandering, this is a friendly group that welcomes all walkers and strollers and dogs!

For those who are serious about their recreation, or who want to use walking as a way to improve their fitness, Sacramento Public Library has a good collection of videos, print and audio books to help get you started.

There's also a nice grab-bag of items in our downloadable collection. And for those who would like to keep up with the latest walking techniques, equipment and health news, look for articles in our Health and Wellness Resource Center (Sacramento library card and PIN needed if you want to view either of the above at home.)

Let's get movin'!

Mandy No Good's photo used with permission.

A Sacramento Job Fair

Looking for a job?

Central Library is here to help!

We are hosting the following event:

Sacramento Career and

Vocational Fair

Wednesday, May 6th

from 11 am to 2 pm

Lots of groups are coming out, including the Sacramento Sheriff's Department, American River College, California Conservation Corps, California Highway Patrol, Elk Grove Police Department, Labor Ready, Macy’s, Sacramento Employment and Training Agency, Sacramento Fire Department, Sacramento Job Corps, Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento START, and more!

Some groups are hiring for the summer; others are offering training (some of it paid training, my favorite kind) and one group, hands on Sacramento, is looking for volunteers. Come on down if you are interested, and dress for the job you want.

Sacramento's Arc de Triomphe

So, we're working the night shift last night, see, and we spotted this double rainbow othrough the 5th floor windows around 7:25 p.m., and it was SO BRIGHT! Glad I had my camera to capture it, because 5 minutes later, it was all gone.

Golden Grains: Brewing, Winemaking and Distilling in Pre-Civil War Sacramento

Today, Sacramento boasts a huge number of micro-breweries and wineries, all of which produce an abundance of fine, artisan-style elixirs.  This is nothing new to Sacramento - as early as 1849, we see the Sacramento Brewery producing ales, while wines were being produced near the late 1850s from grapes growing near Sutter's Fort.  

Sacramento's position in what was once an inland lake means that the State's capital city has inherited some of the richest soil in the word, born of alluvial fans - the American, Feather, Cosumnes and Sacramento Rivers and Putah, Cache and Stone Creeks.

Join us Wednesday, January 28th, at 6:00 p.m. in the Central Library's East Meeting Room as librarian and local historian, James Scott, will deliver a talk on the production of alcohol in Sacramento's earliest days.  Registration is encouraged and can be done by calling 264-2920 or going to www.saclibrary.org.

For a 'taste' of what's to come Wednesday evening, watch a brief video history below:

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)

Book Review: Sacramento : Indomitable City

"Sacramento: Indomitable City" by Steven Avella. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S.C., 2003.

Whether you're new to Sacramento or a long-time resident, a look at Steven Avella's effort is worth your time. This history of the city, from its Native American roots to its current-day challenge with affordable housing, is presented in a highly readable form; it's also laced with a number of great photos.

A large portion of Avella's research interests dwell in the early history of the Catholic Church in the American Midwest and California. In this regard, his treatment of the development of institutions of worship in the city is particularly strong. An additional strength rests in his discussion of the city's early growth in the context of disasters, both natural and manmade. Fire, flood, and famine are all integral features of the city's heritage and Avella's ability to deliver the essence of this history without burdening the reader with needless verbage is refreshing and effective.

Avella is a professor of history at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is currently working on a biography of Sacramento Bee newspaper editor C.K. McClatchy (1883-1936).

Historic Photos of Sacramento: History's Course? You Be The Judge

On July 8, 2007, the coffee table-style book Historic Photos of Sacramento, was presented at the Carmichael Library. The book contains over two-hundred photographs, covering the the city from the 1860s to the 1960s. The photos came from the Sacramento Archives Museum and Collection Center, while the chapter narratives were written by staff in the Central Library's Sacramento Room.

The talk, moderated by Central Librarian James Scott, focused on a comparison of photos from the book with those taken from the current day. Daily life in the context of history, demographics, population shifts, transportation trends and natural history were all touched upon during the one-and-a-half-hour program. From a single point, looking eastward from the corner of of 9th and "K," what can one conclude from the comparison of a photo taken in 1942 to a photo taken last week? The 38 program attendees were encouraged to provide their own perspective on the element of change as presented by the photos.
Scott also discussed the value of photos as a way of judging history with ones own two eyes. As opposed to the written word, which can often be unclear or overly academic, photos provide a 'what you see is what you get' perspective. In other words, photos are a window to the past that we all have the power to look through, study, and make our own conclusions about.

Scott and co-author/colleague Tom Tolley will be giving the same presentation on August 8, 2007, from 6:oo pm to 7:30 pm, at the Central Library's Sacramento Room at 828 "I" Street. Call 264-2920 for reserve a seat or go to http://www.saclibrary.org/. Books will be on sale for $39.95, with 40% of proceeds going to the Central Library's Friends affiliate.