June 30, 2006

Off the Shelf

July: Celebrating our nation’s birthday and of course, Cell Phone Courtesy Month!

By Tim Collins
Special to the Times

Besides our nation’s birthday (the Fourth, of course), in July we celebrate Cell Phone Courtesy Month, Herbal/Prescription Interaction Awareness Month, Doghouse Repairs Month, Grilling Month, Recreation and Parks Month, Smart Irrigation Month and Social Awareness Month. Check out the library’s Health and Wellness Resource Center database for information on herbal/prescription interactions, look through the library’s freebie section for a catalog of San José’s Park and Recreation Department’s summer activities, peruse the Dewey 158’s for social awareness issues, and savor the Dewey 641’s for grilling cookbooks. Cell phone courtesy issues? You’re on your own!

Tully Library’s Calendar

For Children and Families
- Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m. – Fun for Ones, followed by Stay & Play
- Tuesdays, July 11, 18, 25 at 6:45 p.m. – Family Storytimes
- Tuesday, July 18, 1:30 p.m. – Discovery Museum program: Compasses. Limited space, please sign up at the library in advance

- Thursdays, 10:30 am - Toddler Time, followed by Stay & Play
- Thursday afternoons – Summer Reading special activities

July 6, 3:00 p.m. – Craft: make and decorate a fish

July 13, 3:00 p.m. – Pet Show

July 20, 4:00 p.m. – Happy Birds

July 27, 3:00 p.m. – Visit with San José Police Dogs

Aug. 3, 4:30 p.m. – Norman Ng, magician

- Fridays, 10:30 a.m. – Preschool Storytime followed by Stay and Play

- Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. – Family Storytimes
- Saturdays, 10 a.m. to noon – Cambodian language class
- Saturdays, 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. – Math in Vietnamese

- Wednesday, July 5, After School movie for kids

- Saturday, July 8 – Jazz Concert; Peace Poetry Contest winners will be announced

- Tuesday, July 25, 6:45 p.m. – Caterpillar Puppets

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

- Tuesdays, July 11, 18, 25 - 5 p.m. - Computer tutoring

- Wednesdays at 5 p.m. – Conversation Group
- Wednesdays, July 5, 12, 26 - 6 p.m. – Beginning Computer Classes in Vietnamese

- Saturdays, 1 and 3 p.m. – Vietnamese/English Citizenship classes
- Saturday, July 1 and Aug. 5 - 3-4 p.m. – Citizenship workshop in Vietnamese
- Saturdays, July 1 and Aug. 5 – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Big Booksales

- Tuesday, July 18 - 6-7 p.m. – Friends of Tully Library Meeting
- Tuesday, July 18 - 6:30 p.m. – Citizenship Workshop in Spanish

- Wednesday, July 19 - 3:30 p.m. – Movie for Teens
- Wednesday, July 19 - 6 p.m. – TeensReach Meeting and Orientation

Library Closures
- Tuesday, July 4 – Fourth of July Independence Day

Summer Reading Activities
Summer Reading continues through Saturday, August 12, 2006. Get your reading log and prizes!

In conjunction with our Summer Reading Celebration, during July we will be having a Pet Show on July 13, at 3 p.m.. Do you have the best pet in the world? Show him or her off! Bring your cat, dog or other pet to the library. All pets must be on a leash or in a cage. The pet’s humans must be in second grade or up. Advance registration is required.

Continuing with the animal theme, come again to the library on July 20 at 4 p.m. and see our fine-feathered friends, the Happy Birds! Thrill to the antics of these trained parrots as they perform their repertoire of stunts, tricks and their own special variety of avian magic!

Sometimes there’s just no denying the attraction of creepy-crawlies. For those of you who feel this way, and even those of you who don’t, come see the Caterpillar Puppets on July 25 at 6:45 p.m., as they present their “Itty Bitty Variety Show.”

Not all animals nap most of the day, getting loved up in between times (like my two cats!) Some of our four-legged friends really work for a living! On July 27 at 3 p.m., the San Jose Police canine unit visits the library. Meet the brave and highly trained dogs that help the police do their job.

Want to put a little magic back in your life? See Norman Ng, magician, as he astounds, amazes, and entertains with his hatful of tricks!

Databases being tested; let us know what you think
A big part of the library’s collection is now an electronic collection, available to you 24/7, as long as you have an Internet collection and a San José Public Library card. We have 30+ databases available to you, the public, on a variety of issues. Some databases cover legal issues, others literary matters or student research matters. Some are good to look up information and articles of general interest for the last 15 or 20 years or so.

From time to time, we have the opportunity to add to our collection of databases. Currently you can try out three particular databases now being tested: Consumer Health Complete, Learning Express Library, and Tumblebooks. For Consumer Health Complete, the title tells you what the database is about, as a good name should.

LearningExpress Library provides practice tests and tutorial course series designed to help students, and adult learners succeed on the academic or licensing tests they must pass. You'll get immediate scoring, complete answer explanations, and an individualized analysis of your results.

The TumbleBook Library is a collection of TumbleBooks (animated, talking picture books) TumblePuzzles, TumbleQuizzes and TumbleResources for Teachers. TumbleBooks are created from existing picture books, which have been licensed from children's book publishers and converted to the TumbleBook format.

To access the Library’s collection of databases, including these being tested, (1) go to the library’s website sjlibrary.org, (2) click on “Articles and Databases” and (3) choose “SJPL Remote and Branch Users.”

Blog us or IM us!
In addition to reading about the library in the Evergreen Times, you can find out what’s going on through our library’s blog, or you can send us an instant message. Our blog’s web address is www.tullyroad.blogspot.com. Our yahoo instant messenger name is “tullylibrary.” Or you can contact us by email via tullylibrary@yahoo.com or tu.sjpl@sjlibrary.org. We love our communication choices; but feel free to walk in the front door, and talk to us face-to-face, the good old-fashioned way. However you choose to reach us, we’re here to serve you!


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.