December 2, 2005

Off the Shelf

Enjoy a stress-free holiday at the library

By Tim Collins
Special to the Times

December! Everyone knows that it’s a big holiday month. But did you know that it’s Spiritual Literacy month? Bingo’s Birthday month? National Tie Month? And maybe most importantly, National Stress-Free Family Holidays month?

Come enjoy the library this month, and we wish you holidays as stress-free as possible.

Homework Center news
Tully’s Homework Center is a roaring success. It operates in the classroom over on the adult side of the library on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. There are two tutors, one a Vietnamese speaker and the other a Spanish speaker.

One is a math major, so she is particularly good at tutoring students in high school level math. However, the Homework Center works on an as-needed basis. Whatever subject you need assistance with, grade levels K-12, our tutors should come through.

As you can expect, right after school, namely at 3 p.m., the Homework Center is especially crowded. The crowd thins out a bit by about 4 p.m.

This Homework Center is in addition to the live Homework Help you can get through our Web site: http://www.sjlibrary.org/services/reference/live_homework.htm. Live Homework Help gives students enrolled in grades 4-12 or the first year of college free assistance from certified tutors online.

Use it as often as you need to and watch your grades improve! Live Homework Help is provided through a partnership between the California State Library and the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System.

teensReach
Libraries could not function without dedicated volunteers. Tully is no exception, and our teensReach volunteers help us out considerably. They have fun while they’re doing so, too.

In December, the teensReach group continues with a ballroom dance session on Dec. 10, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. On Dec.16, they’re planning a craft session. The first Saturday of the month, the teens take charge of the Big Book Sale, an extension of the Friends of the Library ongoing book sale.

Other activities include movie nights and window washings. The teens have a great deal of autonomy in planning both these fun activities and work activities. But hey, when you’re with people you like, the “work” activities can be fun too!

The teensReach group is open to volunteers ages 13-18. So far there are approximately two dozen active teensReach members who attend any given function. Care to join in the fun? Come to the teensReach meeting on Dec. 21, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The more the merrier!

Science Resource Center database
It’s December in the Evergreen area … has your child planned their science fair project yet? Science fair season approaches. In December, we still have about 10 full shelves of science experiment books. By about mid-January, that will dwindle down to about half a shelf.

But before you come to the library, you might want to check out this database: the Science Resource Center. Using your San Jose Public Library card, access this database from our Web site: http://www.sjlibrary.org/research/databases/index.htm.

Once you’ve logged into the Science Resource Center, choose the Advanced Search mode and the document type “Experiment Activity.” Voila! You have reached a veritable cornucopia of science experiments.

May your science experiments grace your classrooms, and not your refrigerators.

Holiday prep
The Tully Library hosts a two-part program. On Dec. 2, the Vietnamese Women’s Association demonstrates a holiday flower arrangement, construction of a Buche de Noel, and making a holiday gelatin mold.

On Dec. 9, bring your own supplies and practice making one of the items exhibited the week before. This program will be bilingual in English and Vietnamese. All adults are welcome.

Tim Collins is the Adult Services Librarian at the Tully Community Branch Library, 880 Tully Road, between McLaughlin and Senter roads. It is one of the branches of the San Jose Public Library. The library’s phone number is (408) 808-3030. For more information about the library, visit sjlibrary.org.

Tully Library’s December Calendar

For children and families
- Tuesday, Dec. 6, 11:30 a.m. – Fun for Ones, followed by Stay and Play

- Tuesdays, Dec. 6 and 13, 6:45 p.m. – Family Story Times

- Wednesdays, Dec. 7 and 14, 5 p.m. – Movie for Kids

- Thursday, Dec. 1 - Toddler Time, followed by Stay and Play

- Thursday, Dec. 8 - Toddler Time, followed by Parenting University

- Fridays, Dec. 2 and 9, 10:30 a.m. – Preschool Story time followed by Stay and Play

- Tuesdays and Fridays at 4 p.m. – Fun for Youth activities (Dec. 2 – Game Day; Dec. 6 and 9 – Crafts: ornaments; Dec. 13 and 16 – Crafts: cards)

- Fridays, Dec. 9 and 16 – Cambodian Cultural Dance

- Saturdays, Dec. 3, 10 and 17, 11:30 a.m. – Family Story Times

- Saturdays, Dec. 3, 10 and 17, 10 a.m. to noon – Cambodian language class

For young adults and adults
- Tuesdays at 5 p.m., Saturdays at 10 a.m. – Computer tutoring

- Tuesdays at 6 p.m., and Wednesdays at noon – Conversation Groups

- Wednesdays, Dec. 7 and 14, 6 p.m. – Beginning Internet classes in Vietnamese

- Saturdays, Dec. 3, 10 and 17, 2 – 5 p.m. – Citizenship classes

- Saturdays, Dec. 3 and Jan. 7 – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Big Booksales

- Monday, Dec. 5, 4:30 p.m. – Citizenship information session

- Wednesday, Dec. 21, 6 p.m. – TeensReach meeting

- Fridays, Dec. 2 and 9, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Holiday Preparation Workshops

- Saturday, Dec. 10, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. – Ballroom Dancing for Teens

Library closures
- Dec. 23 to Dec. 26 — Christmas Holiday

- Dec. 30 to Jan. 2 — New Year’s Holiday