NEED HELP?  Help is here: Social Workers in the Library

At King Library: Every 1^st and 4^th Mondays of the month, 6:00 – 8:00 PM.

Call: 1-408-808-2350 to schedule an appointment

At East Branch Library: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, 6:00 - 8:00 PM.

Call: 1-408-808-3075

Is something happening in your life that you have questions about concerning:

• Education
• Emergency Services- food/clothing/housing and crisis support
• Employment
• Family Matters- parenting, childcare, divorce, elder issues and domestic violence
• Health Improvement- mental, physical and health insurance
• Immigration
• Support Groups- men, women and teens

Make an appointment to get a FREE 20 minute session of information and referral or advice, from a member of the National Association of Social Workers. Everyone at some point in their lives could use the advice of a social worker. Our volunteer social workers are offering it - Free of Charge.

Social Workers in the Library, is a partnership between the San José Public Library, San José State University's School of Social Work,  National Association Of Social Workers - California Chapter, and the SJSU School of Library and Information Services.

American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Workshop

July 7th, 2012 at The King Library, Room 255/257 2:30pm

Get a kit, make a plan, be informed: Prepare for emergencies with this workshop from the American Red Cross.

Learn how to be prepared for and informed about all kinds of emergencies, including earthquakes and fires.

To request an accommodation for Library-sponsored meetings or events, please call 408-808-2173 or 408-808-2130 (TTY) at least three business days before the meeting/event.

Lately we have had a number of smaller earthquakes in the Bay Area.Last week, when my whole house shook, my husband thought it was the wind.But news reports confirmed a 3.8 quake on the Hayward Fault.

If you do feel a quake, go to Did You Feel It to register your experience.This crowdsourcing tool sponsored by the United States Geological Survey records the data and maps it.You can look back over the past 24 hours or even further back to see where earthquakes are occurring all over the world and also see how many people reported feeling it and how far away they were from the epicenter of the quake.

This photograph was taken after the earthquake in San Jose in 1906 and is a part of the Scan Jose tour, Tragedies and Calamities.

I’m told you can ask just about anybody who’s over the age of 30 where they were when the Loma Prieta Quake happened in October of 1989. I wasn’t in California then, but I was in 2007 on October 30th when the King Library was shaken so hard that hundreds of thousands of books fell off the shelves.

Are you ready for the next big quake? Have you reviewed your emergency plan with your family? Do you have an out of town relative that everyone can call to relay information if local phone connections don’t work? If you haven't, don't put it off. There is nothing more comforting that being ready just in case something goes wrong. There are many sites with good tips on preparedness and the very best are sponsored by government agencies. Ready.gov and FEMA both have concise and useful information on what to do to stay safe in case you feel the earth move under your feet!

On Tuesday, April 5th at 6:30 PM, the Edenvale Branch Library will present a program on disaster preparedness that takes a step back from real disasters by focusing on a "zombie apocalypse."

This is a great way to plan for those more earthly disasters like storms, earthquakes, and power outages with the added fun of pretending it's to keep away the zombies. We'll show families how to keep their kids involved in disaster planning by making it all about zombies.& Children and teens might not feel comfortable putting together a disaster plan while thinking of actual emergency situations. By putting the task in the form of a zombie apocalypse plan, valuable planning can be accomplished that can be used in any emergency situation.

This program will be repeated at other libraries.

Stay informed in an event of an emergency! Sign-Up for AlertSCC to receive free emergency notifications from Santa Clara County. Warnings and notifications may include:

- Flooding, wildfires and subsequent evacuations

- Public safety incidents, including crimes, that immediately affect your neighborhood

- Post-disaster information about shelters, transportation, or supplies

Emergency notifications can be sent directly to your cell phone, mobile device, email, or landline.

With all the footage of Japan coming across the media, parents of children are going to be asked some very serious questions about the earthquake, tsunami and the aftermath. It seems the younger your children are, the more you want to protect them from devastating news like this. 

Here are some resources that might help:

FEMA has a website about disaster readiness for kids that walks you through the steps of how to make a disaster plan for your family.

FEMA also has a webpage devoted to helping parents and teachers help their children cope with disasters. It is comprised of a quick overview of how different aged children cope, what their needs are and how to help them.

Terrorists, Tornados, and Tsunamis: How to Prepare for Life's Danger Zones by Lt. Colonel John C. Orndorff and Suzanne Harper. This book takes all sorts of dangerous situations and explains what they are and how to be better prepared to handle them if they should occur. A really good book for middle schoolers.

Eight Days: A Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat.  This novel describes one child's experience during and after the earthquake in Haiti.

DVD - How and When to Dial 911 - situations when a child should dial 911 and what to do in case of an emergency.

More books on earthquakes for children

More books on tsunamis for children