May 25, 2004

Evergreen branch library features book sale, summer reading kickoff in June

By Tim Collins
Special to the Times

“What is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days.”

James Russell Lowell wrote that bit of wisdom; let’s hope we have that perfect day on Saturday, June 19, when the San Jose Public Library (SJPL) kicks off its annual Summer Reading Celebration.

From Chase’s Calendar of Events, we find that June also plays host to Children’s Awareness Month, International Men’s Month, and Rebuild Your Life Month. Also, it’s International Volunteers Week, June 1-7! We love our volunteers!

Summer Reading: Catch a Dragon!
Catch a Dragon by the Tale! That’s the theme of SJPL’s Summer Reading Celebration this year. Here at Evergreen Library we’ll celebrate the Saturday, June 19, kickoff with Curious George, who visits us at 11 a.m. We’ll read Curious George stories from 10 – 11 a.m. and from noon to 1 p.m.

Evergreen library patrons always participate in summer reading in a big way. This is SJPL’s way to encourage families with children of all ages to read together and to promote awareness of library programs and services. Evergreen Library and SJPL generally will be having special programs throughout the summer to celebrate summer reading.

Watch this column, check our Web site (www.sjlibrary.org) or inquire the next time you are at the library for details.
The Summer Reading Celebration runs for eight weeks, from June 19 to Aug. 14. If you can’t make it to the library exactly on June 19, that’s okay, you can sign up later. Participants receive an activity log to track their progress; at each milestone, participants may cash in their credits for a prize while supplies last.

Interested in volunteering? We have volunteer opportunities throughout the summer for young adults, ages 13 to 18. With the anticipated strong response to summer reading, we will need a larger than normal crew of volunteers on June 19.

Big Book Sale June 19
In conjunction with the Summer Reading kickoff, the Evergreen Friends of the Library will host a big book sale in the park adjacent to the library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Friends accept donations of books anytime, of course, but donations prior to this book sale are especially welcome. The Friends support the activities of the library in many and various ways. Would you like to be a Friend, and/or assist with this book sale? Contact Rod Cryer, president of the Friends, at 531-9933.

Rediscovering the Classics
Just recently I saw the movie “Troy,” and highly recommend it to any adult who has had an interest at one time or another in the Trojan War or ancient Greece (it is a violent movie). This movie treated the war in a very human way, as something that could and did really happen. These flesh-and-blood characters had their own motives, passions and desires; they were not merely puppets of gods on Mount Olympus.

Here at our library, we have several books that relate to this time and place. Books on ancient Greece can be found in the Dewey section 938. Books of ancient Greek literature, such as the “Iliad” and “Odyssey” by Homer, plus Greek dramas that have been preserved through the ages, can be found in the Dewey area 880-889. Dewey numbers 291 and 292 carry books on Greek mythology.

Actually, some of the most interesting and certainly the best illustrated books for someone casually interested in the subject can be found on the children’s side. Like all the “Eyewitness” series books, “Ancient Greece” by Anne Pearson and “Mythology” by Neil Philip, combine hundreds of photos of archeological relics, artwork and existing sites with informative text. Warfare, sadly but truly, seems to have been around since prehistoric times, with the Trojan War being but one prime early example.

Another well-illustrated, interesting volume, “Warfare in the Classical World” by John Warry is directed toward adult and young adult readers. This book deals not only with ancient Greece, but also ancient Persia, Alexander the Great, the Roman Reÿÿÿÿic and the Roman Empire. This and similar military books await you in Dewey section 355.

Tim Collins is the Adult Services Librarian at the Evergreen Branch Library, 2635 Aborn Road, between White Road and Capitol Expressway. Evergreen Library is one of the 17 branches of the San José Public Library System. The library’s phone number is (408) 238-4434. Visit San José Public Library’s Web site at http://www.sjlibrary.org.