July 1, 2005

Tully Community Branch Library offers plenty of opportunities in July

By Tim Collins
Special to the Times

Happy July! Besides our nation’s birthday on the Fourth, July is Cell Phone Courtesy Month and Social Wellness Month. Hmmm, is there a connection there?

At the Tully Community Branch Library, we offer plenty of opportunities this month to turn off your cell phone and enjoy summer reading activities. Please see the calendar below for a list of activities taking place.

Branch library hours change Aug. 1
The San Jose City Council approved the following branch hour changes to take affect Aug. 1. All branches will offer full service during all open hours.

Monday, 2 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library open hours will remain unchanged, however fewer staff will result in reduced service levels. Longer waits for assistance or materials—including those routed for pickup at other locations—may occur.

Coming soon – Sunday branch hours
Library service on Sundays will be offered at several branches. Locations, hours and start date will be announced soon.

Harry Potter Party
The latest Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” arrives at bookstores and San Jose Public Libraries on July 16. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the Tully Library is holding a Harry Potter party at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 15.

Come as your favorite Hogwarts character! Do you prefer to be the heroic Harry? Possibly the wise Hermione is more your cup of tea. Professor Trelawney will be there: What will her tea leaves say about your future? Come and find out!

Clear your record online
For a long time, customers have asked if they could pay their library fines using a credit card. Finally, the answer is yes. Go to the library Web site, www.sjlibrary.org, and click on the link near the top right “My Account.” Directions there will tell you how you can pay your fine.

Of course, the best way to deal with fines is to avoid them entirely. You can keep track of what you’ve got checked out and the due dates by referring to this same section of the San Jose Public Library Web site.

If you need more time, you can usually renew items, as long as nobody else has requested the item. For most library items, you can check them out once and renew them up to three times. At three weeks per check-out period, that means you could have a book checked out for possibly 12 weeks without incurring a fine.

But borrowing rules differ for different items, particularly media like movies and CDs, so keep track of what you’ve borrowed.

Questions? We’re happy to help you here at the Tully Branch Library or at any San Jose Public Library for that matter. Enjoy your summer!

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 (408) 808-3030. For monformation about the library, visit the Web site at sjlibrary.org.

Tully Community Branch Library’s July calendar

For children and families
- Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. – Fun for Ones (12 – 23 months), followed by Stay & Play
- Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. – Family Story Time
- Wednesdays at 6:45 p.m. – Spanish & English Story Times
- Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. – Toddler Time, followed by Stay & Play
- Fridays at 10:30 a.m. – Preschool Story Time, followed by Stay & Play
- Wednesday, July 6 at 2 p.m. – San Jose Mounted Police visit
- Wednesday, July 13 at 3 p.m. – Scrapbooking craft program, grades three and up
- Monday, July 15 at 3 p.m. – Harry Potter Party
- Wednesday, July 20 at 3 p.m. – Craft program – decorate a book bag
- Wednesday, July 27 at 3 p.m. – Sidewalk cartooning contest
- Friday, July 29 from 11 am – 1 pm – Fingerprinting for children
- Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 3 p.m. – Super Hero Bingo
- Wednesday, Aug. 10 at 3 p.m. – Super Reader Party
- Saturday, Aug. 13 – Last Day of Summer Reading; claim your prizes!

For young adults and adults
- Mondays at 4 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. - Beginning computer classes and/or tutoring
- Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at noon – Conversation groups
- Wednesdays at 6 p.m. – Beginning Internet classes in Vietnamese
- Monday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. – Friends of the Tully Library meeting
- Wednesday, July 20 at 6 p.m. – teensReach meeting
- Wednesday, July 27 at 7 p.m. – “And Then There Were None” book discussion
- Thursday, July 31 at 6:30 p.m. – Hepatitis C informational seminar
- Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. – “Common Sense” book discussion

Library closures
- Monday, July 4, Independence Day