June 2, 2006

Off the Shelf

June: Potty Training Awareness Month

By Tim Collins
Adult Services Librarian

June: celebrate Potty Training Awareness Month! In addition to being mildly amusing fodder for the start of this column, Chase’s Calendar of Events also provides contact information regarding groups who sponsor the “Month,” the “Week,” the “Day.” In the case of Potty Training Awareness, the sponsor is - surprise, surprise - a diaper manufacturer. Next time you’re at the library, you can get more details if you wish. Or maybe you can just get a library book, or obtain information on the topic for free on a library computer. The library...your tax dollars at work - Use it!

Tully Library’s Calendar
For Children and Families

- Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m. – Fun for Ones, followed by Stay & Play
- Tuesdays, June 6, 13, 27 at 6:45 p.m. – Family Storytimes

- Thursdays, 10:30 am - Toddler Time, followed by Stay & Play

- Fridays, June 2, 9, 23, 30 at 10:30 a.m. – Preschool Storytime followed by Stay and Play

- Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. – Family Storytimes
- Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 12 noon – Cambodian language class

- Wednesday, June 7, After school movie for kids

- Saturday, June 17 – Summer Reading Celebration begins
- Saturday, June 17, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Reading to Dogs

- Tuesday, June 20, 6:45 pm – Daffy Dave: magic, juggling, comedy, clowning

- Thursday, June 22, 3:00 pm – Animal Bingo, grade 2 and up

- Thursday, June 29, 3:00 pm – Scrapbooking, grade 2 and up

For Young Adults and Adults
- Sundays, Tai Chi classes - Beginning 3-5 p.m.; advanced 5-7 p.m.

- Tuesdays, 5 p.m. - Computer tutoring

- Wednesdays at 5 p.m. – Conversation Group

- Wednesdays, June 7, 14, 28 at 6 p.m. – Beginning Computer Classes in Vietnamese

- Saturdays, 1 –3 p.m. – Vietnamese/English Citizenship classes

- Saturday, June 3, 3 – 4 pm – Citizenship workshop in Vietnamese

- Saturdays, June 3 and July 1 – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Big Booksales

- Tuesday, June 13, 4 pm and Wednesday, June14, 3 pm – Summer Reading Teen Volunteer Training

- Tuesday, June 20, 6 -7 p.m. – Friends of Tully Library Meeting
- Tuesday, June 20, 6:30 pm – Citizenship Workshop in Spanish

- Wednesday, June 21, 3:30 p.m. – Movie for Teens
- Wednesday, June 21, 6 p.m. – TeensReach Meeting and Orientation

Library Closures
Friday, June 16 – Staff In-Service morning; library open 1-6, instead of the usual 10-6.

Mojo Café opens
The Tully Library Community, staff and customers, warmly welcomes the Liu family- Joyce, Sam and their college-age daughter Mona, proprietors of the newly opened “Mojo Café” here inside the library. Joyce Liu previously worked at the café at the Vineland Branch Library, and decided to strike out on her own. More power to the family!

Mojo Café offers snacks, coffee, espresso, tea, soft drinks, smoothies, juice, cheese sticks, yogurt, cookies and muffins, all at popular prices! It was a long, hard four weeks for we Tullyites, customers and staff, between removal of the vending machines and the arrival of the Café. But the wait is over! When thirst besets us, hunger attacks us, sweet relief is now at hand! Our Internet Café area finally is an Internet Café in deed, as well as in name.

Welcome, Mojo Café, and the Family Liu. It’s great to have you with us!

Wireless Comes to Tully
Ever since Tully opened in January of 2005, we’ve been a community hot spot. Now we’ll be a “hot spot” in another sense of the term as well. Tully is slated to get a wireless connection on or about June 7, 2006. Really and truly, that has been one of the most frequent questions we library staff-people have received on a day-in, day-out basis: “Do you have wireless?” It will be a pleasure to finally be able to answer in the affirmative!

Those of you who are familiar with how their computing device interacts with such connections should experience little or no problems. We the staff have been provided with information sheets which should answer the common questions. However, due to legal considerations, we library employees have likewise been instructed that we cannot assist you with your wireless connections beyond giving you the standard information sheet. We don’t want to be responsible for erasing your hard drive settings!

So, if you want to experience the convenience of wireless, come to the library. If you want to learn the mechanics of using wireless… ask a trusted friend, family member or teacher.

Summer Reading Begins, June 17
Every year, San Jose libraries celebrate summer reading. School assignments are over for a bit; read for pleasure! With San José Public Library, you can read and win prizes too. Pick up a reading log on or after June 17, and thereafter keep track of every 15-minute block of time you spend reading. Next time you come to the library, show your log and win a prize. Such a deal!

Summer Reading starts on Saturday, June 17, and runs for eight weeks, until August 12. For teens looking to earn credit for volunteer hours served, Summer Reading offers lots of opportunities here at the library. We need you to man the booths, to hand out the prizes to all those deserving readers. On June 13 and 14 we’ll be having special training sessions for our Summer Reading volunteers; see the calendar for exact times. The library couldn’t function without volunteers; our Summer Reading Celebration is the ultimate example of that truism.

“Celebration” isn’t just a word. Special events take place at the library throughout the course of Summer Reading. Here at Tully, we kickoff Summer Reading’s theme of Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales with quite a suitable event: “Reading to Dogs.” On June 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., wonderful, gentle dogs from Canine Companions for Independence will be here hoping kids will read to them. If you love dogs or would like to get to know one, sign up at the Information Desk on the day of the event. All reading levels are encouraged to participate.

That’s our kickoff event. But throughout the eight-week period, various activities will be taking place and special performers will entertain. Don’t miss Daffy Dave on June 20!

We here at San José Public Library want you to be exposed to the joy of reading. Read early, read often! As soon as you’re potty-trained!

Tim Collins is the Adult Services Librarian at the Tully Community Branch Library, 880 Tully Road, between McLaughlin and Senter. It is one of the branches of the San Jose Public Library. The Library’s phone number is 808-3030. For more information about the library, visit the website at sjlibrary.org.