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Calfresh Pre-screening and Application Assistance at the Library
Formerly known as the food stamp program, Calfresh is the state of California’s supplemental food budgeting program. Its purpose is to assist low-income families and individuals with getting the food and nutrition they need. Participants in the program use a EBT card to buy food the same way they would use any other debit card at grocery stores and farmers’ markets.
Various branches of the San Jose Public Library host ongoing pre-screening and application assistance sessions for those who think they may qualify for the program. See our events calendar for dates, times, and locations.
Second Harvest Food Bank of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties has some very helpful information on its web site about how the Calfresh Program works and who is eligible for it. It also debunks common myths about the program (for example, applying can’t hurt your immigration status and you don’t need to have children to be eligible).
2013 Book Trailer Contest
The San José Public Library invites teens to create a book trailer for our Summer Reading Celebration during the months of June and July. Upload a short clip, no longer than 4 minutes, to YouTube. Be creative! The contest is open to all participants in the Teen Summer Reading Celebration.
How to enter:
Think of a favorite book you read for Summer Reading and envision it as a short video, one that will capture the interest of your audience. Create your own book trailer, reviewing the book. You can submit more than one video, but each video has to be for a separate book.
- Sign up for Summer Reading starting on June 1, 2013.
- Post the video on YouTube using the tag: SJPL2013SRC
- Submit the YouTube link to your book trailer along with your name, age, contact information (either a phone number or email) and your library branch to: 2013SJPLBookTrailerContest@gmail.com
- All entries must be submitted by July 31, 2013
- Book trailers may not be longer than four minutes in length
- Story being reviewed should be a young adult or adult fiction or non-fiction book.
- Cite all images, video and audio that you did not create
A panel of judges (staff at San José Public Library) will review all entries and select the top three winners, to be announced in August 2013. The panel of judges will use the following criteria when reviewing book trailer entries:
- Content: Clear introduction; strong hook; summary without dominating narration; fresh and interesting commentary with strong conclusion
- Voice/Sound: Interesting; well-rehearsed; smooth delivery; holds audience attention; easy to hear narration over soundtrack; voice sounds natural and helps convey meaning; soundtrack adds to tone/feel of presentation
- Images: Crisp, clear, engaging, enriching, extending details and meaning; appropriately cited.
- Presentation: All elements (color and graphics) work together seamlessly to create an interesting book trailer
Need some examples? Check out the winning entry from last year's Book Trailer Contest, created by K. Rai.
Here are links to some professional book trailers:
- Divergent by Veronica Roth
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- Legend and Prodigy by Marie Lu
Teens who submit links to their Book Trailer will automatically be entered in the contest. The top 3 winners will receive:
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- 1st place: iPad Mini
- 2nd place: $50 gift card for iTunes
- 3rd place: $25 gift card for Jamba Juice
Graphic Novel Making Contest 2013
If you have a talent for creating comic/manga style illustrated short stories, you are invited to enter San José Public Library’s Graphic Novel Making Contest for all ages as part of our Summer Reading Celebration, 2013. This contest is sponsored by San José Public Library, Hijinx Comics, San José Museum of Art and TRY Japan Culture Group.
Here’s how to enter …
- Create your own comic book with a maximum length of 8 pages, including the cover page.
- Use letter-size paper (8.5 x 11) with black-and-white drawings and text on one side only.
- Each submission must be the creative and original work of a single individual—the author/illustrator.
- The contest is limited to amateur authors/ illustrators only.
- Computer generated images are acceptable as long as they are your original work (no clip art)
- Consider submitting a photocopy that is an accurate reflection of the original (as submissions are non-returnable).
- San José Public Library reserves the right to reproduce your work. You can reuse all your work after the contest.
- Be sure to print and complete the creative works release form. Include your Name, Age, Contact Information and Signature.
- Entries can be submitted to any San José Public Library location no later than 8p.m. on Wednesday, July 31, 2013.
- Entries can also be submitted online to sjplgraphicnovelmakingcontest@gmail.com as a jpeg or pdf attachment.
- There is a limit of one entry per contestant.
Entries will be judged on content and illustrations by a panel of library staff and comic industry professionals. All cash prizes will be awarded as gift cards.
- Children (up to age 6): first prize $25; second prize $15
- Children (7-12): first prize $40; second prize $20
- Teens (ages 13-17): first prize $100; second prize $70; third prize $50
- Adults (age 18 and above): first prize $100; second prize $70; third prize $50
Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at a reception to be held at the Seven Trees Branch Library on Saturday, August 24th at 2:00 p.m.in the Community Room.
Check out the award winning entries from 2012, 2011 and 2010.
San José Public Library staff members are ineligible to participate.
San José Public Library reserves the right to refuse submissions that are not appropriate for a general audience. This contest is open to all California residents.
We Need Your Suggestions for the IMPAC Dublin Award
San Jose Public Library wants your recommendations for the International IMPAC Dublin award now! (Deadline May 16, 2013)
Is there a novel you read last year that you enjoyed? Nominate it for the IMPAC Dublin award!
Every year San Jose Public Library, along with other major libraries from around the world nominates a work of fiction written or translated in English published the preceding year for the International IMPAC Dublin Award. From the Long list of recommended books, a short list of 10 books is chosen by a jury of authors. From this list of finalists a winner is chosen and announced the following June.
The book must be a novel, published in English between January 1 and December 31, 2012 or an English translation of a book originally published between 2008-2012.
Post your recommendations below no later than May 16.
For more information on the IMPAC Dublin award: www.impacdublinaward.ie
Read to Children and Make a Difference!
Give children the joy of reading by reading aloud to youngsters at one of the San Jose Public Libraries. Reading occurs in the library's children's area at designated times throughout the day. Specialized training is provided to all incoming volunteers. Several of our library branches are seeking volunteers to read to children on an ongoing basis (minimum 6 month commitment). Bilingual volunteers (Spanish/English) are especially needed. This position requires fingerprinting.
Training is on Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 12:00pm - 3:00pm at the King Library. Please complete the application form and register for training here.
Preserve Your Personal History at the Library
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In celebration of National Preservation Week, San Jose Public Library is offering a way for you to preserve your personal and family memories. Library staff will be on hand to help you scan photographs and documents that have meaning in your life, and perhaps that you would like to share with others.
I have a photograph of my grandfather, a World War II veteran, who passed away last year. My grandmother gave me this image and also shared with me a few stories about how they first met and what their early years together were like. I would like to share this image and her personal stories with my 20 cousins spread throughout the United States. In this way the family memories can be saved and handed down.
Let us help you do the same. We welcome you to attend a Scan Day at any of the following times and places. Please bring up to ten items to scan and we will help you save the digitized images to a CD.
Thrusday, April 4th 11-1 pm
Friday, April 5th 2-4 pm
Thursday, April 11th 11-1 pm
Thursday, April 11th 4-6 pm
Asteroids or Meteorites
It was in the news - massive, the size of 15-story office building, asteroid DA14 nearly brushed the surface of the Earth on February 14th, 2013. Almost at the same time another meteorite (or meteoroid) unexpectedly exploded over Russia's Ural region. About 1,200 people, 200 of them children, were injured mostly by glass that exploded into schools and workplaces. Meteoroids typically cause sonic booms when they enter the Earth's atmosphere and the one over Russia shattered windows, TVs and dishes in peoples's homes. Large asteroids reflect the light of the sun, so it is easy to see them and small objects like the one that exploded over Ural are difficult to trace. Meteoroids are usually pieces of matter that have splintered off from asteroids. A meteorite is a meteoroid that reaches the surface of the Earth without being completely vaporized. To find out more about these mysteriously dangerous space objects come to the library and explore all our materials from books (digital and printed) to DVDs.
Here are some titles from our collections:
Adult materials:
Comets, Meteors and Asteroids by John Man
Cosmic collisions [videorecording] : our explosive universe
Asteroids [videorecording] : deadly impact
Children's books:
Comets and Asteroids by E.M. Hans
Jupiter and the Asteroids and the rest of Explore the solar system series books
25th Annual San Jose Children's Faire
Celebrate the Month of the Young Child at the
25th Annual San Jose Children's Faire!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Faire is expected to draw over 5,000 attendees to the outdoor festival, held at Discovery Meadow (in front of the Children's Discovery Museum), in downtown San José.
The theme this year is "Explore the Possibilities" and features family-oriented stage entertainment, special attractions, and activity booths offering hands-on activities for children ages 2-12. Families can obtain information about education, child care, recreational programs and health and safety resources.
For more information call 1-408-808-2617 or visit www.sjpl.org/moyc
Get Seussical at the Library!
Celebrate the upcoming birthday of beloved children's book author Dr. Seuss! Special Dr. Seuss Birthday Parties will be held at several San Jose Public Library locations in early March. Kids will enjoy Seuss stories, Seuss-themed crafts, and other activities.
Dr. Seuss, author of The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, and more than 40 other children's books, was born on March 2, 1904. His birthday coincides with the National Education Association's Read Across America Day, and many schools and libraries are holding special events to celebrate both.
Fun fact: Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, used the pseudonym Dr. Seuss for books he both wrote and illustrated, and the pseudonym Theo LeSieg for books he wrote that were illustrated by others. LeSieg is Geisel spelled backward! Find titles by both Theo LeSieg and Dr. Seuss at your local library. For all things Seuss, visit seussville.com -- and come to the library for a birthday celebration!
Love Bites
Enjoy the following paranormal romance titles at your library today! Let us know if there is a title that you would like the library to have by filling out and submitting the purchase suggestion form.
Hush, Hush (Series) by Becca Fitzpatrick
Nora Grey, a high school sophomore, lives with her widowed mother in a rural area near Portland, Maine. One day, Patch Cirpiano, a new and mysterious student joins her biology class and sits next to her. Eventually, after having several interactions with him, she soon finds herself attracted to him. In a turn of events, she discovers scars on Patch's back, leading him to admit that he is a fallen angel who seeks to become human. How will Nora respond to this shocking discovery?
Timeless by Alexandra Monir
Michele Windsor has moved in with her grandparents in New York City after a family tragedy occurred. For many years, she has had romantic dreams of a mysterious man that she has never met before. While staying at her grandparent's mansion, she discovers a magical diary that transported her back to the year 1910. After being sent back to this year, she eventually meets the mysterious man who has been haunting her dreams and falls for him. Who is this man? Check out this title to find out more. You can also download this book from the library's Overdrive and Axis 360 eBook collections.
Shiver (Series) by Maggie Stiefvater
A moving, paranormal romance story about Grace and a mysterious wolf that often watches her from a nearby distance. Later, Grace discovers a wounded boy near her home and makes a shocking discovery that this boy is that same wolf in human form. Will their relationship last? Read more to find out. This title is also available in eBook and CD audio book formats.
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