Are your kids always telling you last minute that they have a project on a Mission and when you get to the library all the books are checked out? Worry no more! The Missions of California Books are available in digital format online at sjpl.org. Go to our catalog and do a keyword search for "missions of california." Then click the link on the mission your child has to do report for then type "missions" for username and password and you're set. All the same information online ready for you at anytime.

The first Chinese arrived in San Jose in 1850 to work in the fruit industry. The first of the five consecutive Chinatowns in San Jose was formed in 1866 on the location of today’s Market Street; and the last one, Heilenville, lasted from 1887-1931. After the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 and with a new wave of immigrants since 1965, the Chinese American community in Santa Clara Valley has grown in population (160,000 approx.) and made contributions in the developments in various economic, social, and political fields. 

The exhibit of "Pioneering the Valley: The Chinese American Legacy in Santa Clara Valley" is lovingly presented by the Chinese Historical and Cultural Preservation Society, featuring 14 colorful panels of text and images on the history of Chinese Americans in the Santa Clara Valley from the 19th -21^st century. Come visit us soon.  

Another exhibit in tandem with "Pioneering the Valley" at King Library is "Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County: 50 Years Preserving Tradition, Culture, & Community Service." This exhibit is drawn from the source materials of "Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County records, 1962-1999" archived at Special Collections, King Library.  These records "document the organization's promotion and preservation of Chinese culture and service to the larger Bay Area Chinese community."

For more information, below are some books and websites on Chinese Americans:

Image credit: Chinese Historical and Cultural Preservation Society www.chcp.org

Rat Island by William Stolzenburg shows the darker side of endangered species conservation. Islands make up just 3 percent of the Earth's landmass, but contain more than half of its endangered species. These ecosystems historically existed in isolation, their flora and fauna developing in ways not found on the mainland. The island ecosystems have been catastrophically disrupted either by humans or the animals humans bring with them- rats, cats, goats, and pigs primarily. To save these island ecosystems and their native inhabitants, ecologists have teamed up with a variety of people including professional hunters, semiretired poachers, and many more. Goats are shot from helicopters, rat poison is dropped onto mountainous islands. Rat Island reveals the modern "cruel to be kind" philosophy of conservationism.

Did you know that great white sharks lurk just off the California coastline? On a nasty group of

islands just a few hours boat ride from San Francisco are the Devil's Teeth, also known as the Farallon Islands. Devil's Teeth features Susan Casey's memories and experiences on the islands, which are a seasonal nesting ground for many seabirds, marine mammals and the hunting ground of the great white shark. There are many fascinating anecdotes in the book, such as Casey's attempts to sleep in a boat off the islands stormy coast, the biologist's clash with local "shark seeing" tour boats, and one scientist's mission to be the first man to surf the waves at the Farallons despite the presence of 20-foot great whites known as "The Sisters."

Without sea otters, sea urchins are stripping California's coastline of its kelp. Without wolves to hunt deer and elk, those species are eating Yellowstone's fragile population of young trees. Without large meat eaters to check their populations, smaller predators such as raccoons and opossums are eating through the United States' population of songbirds and other small animals. The disappearing bear and cougar has resulted in an explosion of deer, which have out-competed many other fauna for food and are stripping our wilderness of its flora. Where the Wild Things Were explains how ecosystems depend on these top-tier predators as "keystone species." The removal of these species due to humanity's attempts to manage the wilderness causes the rest of the ecosystem to crash. The book is written well, and in language that doesn't require a degree in biology to understand.

Reviews by volunteer Robert D.

Californians want a path forward – not left or right – one right step after another.

California Forward, the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, and San José Public Libraries invite you to Speak Up CA, an important dialogue about our state and its future, and how restructuring the relationship between state government and city and county governments may help move the California in the right direction – closer to its people.

California Forward is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group working to fix state government and restore the California Dream. California Forward believes there is a critical link between many of the problems that threaten our future and our state government, which has become ineffective, unresponsive, and unable to fix itself. We are working to create a "smart" government that’s small enough to listen, big enough to tackle real problems, smart enough to spend our money wisely in good times and bad, and honest enough to be held accountable for results. But we need your help.

Speak Up CA will take place on the evening of Wednesday, May 11 at Dr. Roberto Cruz-Alum Rock Library, and your participation is critical to finding ideas to fix our state.  We will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and the program runs 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited, and space is filling up, so please RSVP HERE as soon as possible. If you don't have internet access, you can RSVP by calling 408-674-1371.

 

It’s that time of year again, and California Mission Projects are in full stride. Because everyone has to do a project on a particular Mission, chances are that someone else beat you to book you wanted. No need to worry because the San José Public Library offers a great way to learn about your particular Mission of interest and explore all the other Missions across California. The Missions of California link on the SJPL eBook page provides online access to the California Mission books you typically find at your local Library. These online books are a great source of information for your Mission projects and even more info about the Missions is available at the SJPL’s History Reference Center. If you can’t find a book on your Mission this is a great way to finish your project without having to use a single book!

I heard in the news about the Annual Worlds of Flavor Conference, held by the Culinary Institute of America, November 2-4, 2010. It featured “Japan-Flavors of Culture” this year. Each year since 2003, this Conference “showcases the gold standards of world cuisines that are reshaping American palates and the U. S. foodservice industry.” I searched online and found their website and watch some of the videos from these conferences. For example, the videos of 2009 conference have highlights from a festival of “sauce-slopping, noodle-slurping, chaat-sampling, kabob-nibbling, tamale-savoring, tapas grazing epic tour of the best of world street food and world comfort food.” Go look for yourself!

Among the 2010 presenters of the Conference are several esteemed authors, all authorities in food culture and culinary art, including Ruth Reichl, Harold McGee and Elizabeth Andoh. Below are a few of their attractive and useful titles in the Library for you to consider:

Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

Keys to Good Cooking by Harold McGee

On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee

Kansha by Elizabeth Andoh

Washoku by Elizabeth Andoh

By the way, cooking and cookbooks are two of the largest collections in the Library, you may browse our shelves or look up in the catalog by keywords, such as:

Cooking

Cookbooks

Cooking, (Italian, Japanese, United States, etc.)

Cooking vegetables

International Cooking

Food

Food habits

Happy cooking and good eating to you!