February 8, 2008

Off the Shelf

February offers an assortment of fun dates

By Tim Collins
Adult Services Librarian

It’s almost February, a short but mighty month! Lincoln’s Birthday, Valentine’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, President’s Day, and this year of 2008, Feb. 29…Leap Day! Leap Day is also named by some “Bachelors Day," traditionally a time when women may propose marriage to men. My, that’s a quaint notion. Which leads us back to Feb. 2, best known as Groundhog Day, but also a day designated as “Teach Your Daughter to Volunteer Day.”

Yes, indeed, do teach your daughter to volunteer. Teach your son too! Teach your niece, nephew and your second cousin once removed! Help your community! Volunteer opportunities abound, including right here at your local branch of the San José Public Library!

Tet Festival, Year of the Rat - February 2nd
It’s the Year of the Rat! Those Rats among us (No offense! I’m a real Dog myself!) are supposedly quite ambitious. Born under the sign of charm and aggressiveness, they are optimistic, and seem to have a solution for everything. Friendship comes to Rats easily with their sense of humor and energetic attitude toward life. Or so the astrologers say.

Lunar New Year actually falls on Thursday, Feb. 7. But Saturday is always a better day of the week to celebrate such events. Here at Tully, we’re holding our Tet Festival celebration on Feb. 2, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the afternoon. Co-hosted with Assemblyman Joe Coto’s office, the event will include refreshments and music, lion dancers, craft activities, a Viet New Year game and a book giveaway at the end.

Also, a VTA representative will be here at the same time, and will assist people with trip planning. VTA recently revamped their schedules, with an overall benefit to those in the vicinity of the Tully neighborhood. The 26 bus line which runs along Tully, the 73 which runs along Senter and the 72 which runs along McLaughlin, all have increased their frequency of their trips.

For those of you who cannot make it on Saturday, Feb. 2, on the day before, Friday Feb. 1 at 4 p.m., our Friday Fun activity will be a Chinese/Viet New Year craft. Also, on Feb. 5 at 10:30 a.m. and 6:45 p.m., and Feb. 7 at 10:30 a.m., we will be having story times and craft activity related to Lunar New Year.

ESL Career Development Series
Tully Library is located in the middle of a neighborhood with many newcomers to America. A key aim of libraries is to help serve people’s educational needs; accordingly, our Family Learning Center coordinator works hard to assist this segment of the neighborhood’s population.

In addition to our regular ongoing ESL programs, during the month of February we will be holding a series of Career Development programs on Tuesdays: Feb. 5, 12 and 26, lasting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Learn to create a resume and cover letter, prepare for a job interview and conduct a job search online.

Staff at Tully, or any branch library for that matter, can often give some advice about resumes and cover letters, and they can assist people in finding books in the Career section of the library that may be beneficial to the person. From time to time, like now, we will even offer a series of one hour programs on the subject. Career-related information given by the library staff is somewhat general.

But one of the agencies that is part of the City of San José is Work2Future. For the Work2Future folks, helping people with their job-search concerns is a number one priority, their main mission. Work2Future has regular offices at 1290 Parkmoor Ave., across the street from the Race Street Light Rail Station. They also have a mobile unit which occasionally visits the Tully Library among other locations. Their next visit to Tully is slated to be Jan. 29 from 1 to 4 pm. For more information, call them at 277-2727 or visit their website at www.work2 future.biz.

Early Literacy Series – Fridays, Feb. 15, 22 and 29 – 11 a.m.
Following our regular 10:30 a.m. Friday Preschool Story Time, we will be offering a parenting workshop. This 3-week early literary series will introduce the importance of early literacy to parents, caretakers and daycare providers. Program is limited to 20 people. The program is presented by First5.

Visual Arts Classes for Children, ages 4 to 5
On Fridays from Jan. 25 through Mar. 28, we will be offering a series of 45-minute afternoon art classes. Children will be exposed to lines, shapes and colors, and learn to experiment and create artwork using a variety of materials appropriate for their age level. The first class runs from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. and the second class runs from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Parents need to attend the classes with their children. Though held here at the library, the class is actually offered by the Association for Viet Arts. If you wish to have your son or daughter take part, please get a registration form at the library.

A Rose by any other name…
Congratulations to Tiffanie Obilor as the winner of our Rose Making Competition for Teens on Friday, Jan. 4. The contestants competed with each other to make the most roses in 30 minutes. Tiffanie won her $15 cash prize making 5 roses; the two contestants who came second finished their fourth rose when the time ended. Thank you for those who participated in this craft program and those who took the challenge to compete. We hope you had a great time and enjoyed the experience.

Silicon Valley Reads
The Silicon Valley Reads selection this year is The Distant Land of My Father, by Cupertino native Bo Caldwell. This book is set in China before, during and after World War II. Ms. Caldwell will be visiting and speaking at various South Bay venues throughout the month of February, including the Evergreen Library on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m.

Though we won’t be having the pleasure of the author’s company here at Tully, that book will be the focus of our regular last-Wednesday-of-the-month book discussion on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. For information about Silicon Valley Reads and the schedule of author visits beginning on Jan. 29, check out http://www.siliconvalleyreads.org/2007-08/, or pick up a brochure at your local library.

That time of year – taxes and science experiments!
It’s that time of year when people start asking us at the library about tax forms and science experiments. There are all sorts of links to tax form information that we have put on the front page of our website www.sjlibrary.org. Also, from our website you can access our database, the Science Resource Center, which, among other useful things, can provide science experiment ideas. At this time of year, it’s not a class, it’s not a school, but it’s every student in the entire school district that’s preparing an experiment. Ah, the certainties in life: death, taxes...and science experiments!

City-Wide Library Events
For a listing of all upcoming Tully events, pick up a calendar in English or Spanish next time you visit us. For library events citywide, including the Dr. King library downtown, check the Events section of the SJPL website www.sjlibrary.org.

Tim Collins is the Adult Services Librarian at the Tully Community Branch Library, 880 Tully Road, between McLaughlin and Senter. The Library’s phone number is 808-3030, and its email address is tu.sjpl@sjlibrary.org.