Welcome home, Fiesta Tower!

In October 2009, Dale Chihuly’s colorful glass sculpture, Fiesta Tower, was disassembled from its display location in the Central Library and placed in secure storage during roof work and replacement of the Central Library’s skylights located directly over the tower.

Now the Fiesta Tower has been reinstalled and the Central Library’s second-floor atrium will shortly reopen.

To celebrate the Fiesta Tower’s homecoming, the San Antonio Public Library will host a family craft event from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 23, in the second-floor atrium at the Central Library, 600 Soledad.

During the come-and-go event, local artist Susie Monday will guide participants in creating their own Chihuly-style works of art. The event is free and open to the public. One hour of free parking is available in the library parking garage with validated ticket.

A gift of the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts through a grant to the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, the Fiesta Tower was originally installed in the Central Library in 2003 as part of the celebration of the San Antonio Public Library’s 100th anniversary.

Notes: The Memorial Branch Library, 3222 Culebra Road, will close for renovations on Monday, November 8, 2010. The project is expected to take approximately one month to complete.

All San Antonio Public Library locations will be closed on Thursday, November 11, in observance of Veterans Day.

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

Saturday, September 25, sees the kickoff of Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. The website of the American Library Association, which originated the annual observance, says, “Intellectual freedom – the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular – provides the foundation for Banned Books Week, [which] stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.”

Most of the books spotlighted during Banned Books Week have been the subject of challenges about their inclusion in school or public library collections, or on students’ assigned reading lists. Books that have been challenged or removed include The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, the Twilight series, Huckleberry Finn, Gone with the Wind, the Goosebumps series, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, A Wrinkle in Time, and probably some of your favorites (I know some of mine are in the list above.)

Why is it important to talk about this? I think it’s because we are reminded that if you or I can ban a book someone else likes, then it’s entirely possible that a book we find important can be banned as well. Part of the price of an open conversation is that sometimes we might hear something we don’t like.

If you’re interested in continuing the conversation about what we read, join us on Thursday, September 30, at 7:00 p.m. in the Central Library Auditorium, 600 Soledad, when Dotty Griffith, ACLU of Texas Public Education Director, will discuss the Banned Books report for this year. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, she will also reflect on the book’s significance for us today.

What books would you want to protect? Drop us a line and let us know.

¡Viva Mexico! The San Antonio Public Library celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

In 2010 nuestro vecino to the south is celebrating the Bicentennial of Mexican Independence and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution, and the San Antonio Public Library is honoring this observance during Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 through October 15.

Join us at the Cortez Branch Library from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 18, for ¡Viva México!, a celebration in music, story and art of Mexico's battles for independence and democratic government.

All month long, there will be programs at branch libraries throughout the City. Pick up a calendar of events at your library, or visit our online calendar (click on "Hispanic Heritage Month" at the top of the page), and look for these activities:

Crafts, Humor and Short Stories - a series of short animated films focusing on the war for Mexican independence and the Mexican Revolution.

Rhythm of a Revolution - how corridos motivated the Mexican revolution, with special performances by Los Inocentes.

Children are also included, with El águila y la serpiente, a craft series based on the eagle and snake imagery of the Mexican flag. Call your branch library for details, or pick up a calendar of events on your next visit.

You're invited! All programs are free and open to the public.

Reminders: The Central Library, 600 Soledad, is open, even though renovations are underway.

The McCreless Branch Library, 1023 Ada Street, is currently closed for renovations

The San Antonio Public Library invites young authors to try their wings!

For more than eighty years, the San Antonio Public Library's Young Pegasus Poetry Competition has encouraged young authors to try their wings. Open to all Bexar County teens and children eighteen or younger, the Young Pegasus Competition offers poets the opportunity to share their works with the community, and to have their talents recognized. Each year, these young authors are invited to submit their poems for consideration by the Young Pegasus judges. All poems selected are published in the Young Pegasus Poetry Anthology, and the writers recognized at the Young Pegasus award ceremony.

The call for entries for the 2011 Young Pegasus Poetry Competition opens September 15 and will run December 15, 2010. Poems may be submitted online, in person at any San Antonio Public Library location, or by mail to:

Young Pegasus

San Antonio Public Library

600 Soledad, 3rd Floor

San Antonio, Texas 78205

For more information and a list of competition rules, please go to http://guides.mysapl.org/youngpegasus.

Getting ready for back-to-school? Don't forget your San Antonio Public Library card!

August in San Antonio means back-to-school. When you're shopping for school supplies, don't forget the most important one is free: a San Antonio Public Library card! A Library card gives you access not only to thousands of books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs and CDs, but also to the Library's extensive online resources - full-text journal articles, e-books, downloadables, practice tests and more.

One of the most helpful of the Library's online resources is Live Homework Help. Students can visit this site for free tutoring in real time from qualified tutors in a safe online environment. Tutoring is available in math, science, social studies, and language arts, in both English and Spanish. Tutors are graduate students, teachers, and college professors. They must all undergo background checks and become certified. The Library's Live Homework Help connection is open from 4:00 to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week, and it's free with your San Antonio Public Library card, which is also free! Visit the Library's website www.mysapl.org or call (210) 207-2500 for more information.

Getting ready for back-to-school? Don't forget your San Antonio Public Library card!

August in San Antonio means back-to-school. When you're shopping for school supplies, don't forget the most important one is free: a San Antonio Public Library card! A Library card gives you access not only to thousands of books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs and CDs, but also to the Library's extensive online resources - full-text journal articles, e-books, downloadables, practice tests and more.

One of the most helpful of the Library's online resources is Live Homework Help. Students can visit this site for free tutoring in real time from qualified tutors in a safe online environment. Tutoring is available in math, science, social studies, and language arts, in both English and Spanish. Tutors are graduate students, teachers, and college professors. They must all undergo background checks and become certified. The Library's Live Homework Help connection is open from 4:00 to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week, and it's free with your San Antonio Public Library card, which is also free! Visit the Library's website www.mysapl.org or call (210) 207-2500 for more information.

If you plan to finish up your back-to-school shopping this weekend, look for the San Antonio Public Library Bookmobile! On Saturday, August 21, we'll be at Ingram Park Mall from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and at Rolling Oaks Mall from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Stop by, say hello and get a Library card!

Everyone has a story, and StoryCorps Historias wants yours!

¡Cuénteme un cuento! Everyone has a story to tell, and StoryCorps Historias wants to hear yours! They will be in San Antonio on August 15, 16, and 17, at the Las Palmas Branch Library, 515 Castroville Road. All it takes is you and a friend or family member to have a conversation about your experiences, your memories, your thoughts, or your plans.

StoryCorps Historias is an initiative to record the diverse stories and life experiences of Latinos in the United States. This is an opportunity to record those stories your grandmother always tells you, share what you remember about your mother, honor that uncle who served in the armed forces, or tell why you are in San Antonio - anything meaningful to you and your community. Sharing these stories celebrates our history, honors our heritage, and captures the true spirit of our community. It will ensure that the voices of Latinos will be preserved and remembered for generations to come.

When you record your story, you’ll have a meaningful experience captured on CD to share with your friends, family, and community. With your permission, a copy will be archived at the Library of Congress for future generations to hear.

Individuals (the interviewer and the interviewee) are invited to make a reservation to record their stories by contacting Rebecca Alvarez at Las Palmas, 434-6394, during library service hours. Sessions begin at 9:30 a.m., end at 3:30p.m., and are scheduled at one-hour intervals. The recording session runs for approximately 40 minutes.

You're invited to visit the StoryCorps Historias website http://storycorps.org/historias-en/ for details, and a list of Great Questions to start planning your conversation.

We're still gathering opinions about our web page, www.mysapl.org. Please visit the page, then take a few minutes to complete this brief questionnaire: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/mysapl. Thank you!