Biblioteca Latinoamericana and Washington United Youth Center will present the annual Posada de la Comunidad on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm.  

The entire community is invited to participate in this traditional Latino event, with folkloric dancing and other entertainment.  Refreshments, including delicious buñuelos will be provided free of charge.

Children and teens will receive a gift book while supplies last.  

This special event is co-sponsored by Los Amigos de la Biblioteca, Santa Maria Urban Ministry, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, RW Garcia Co., Brenda Lopez Folklorico Group, Grupo Folklorico Yolotly Guerrerente, Antonio Avalos, and other community groups.

Would you like to learn more about the celebration of Las Posadas?   Here are some books that you and your children may enjoy:

The Night of Las Posadas, written and illustrated by Tomie DePaola is a story about a community preparing for and enacting their yearly Posadas celebration.

Uno, Dos, Tres, Posada! Let's Celebrate Christmas, written by Virginia Kroll, and illustrated by Loretta Lopez is a story about a family preparing for a party at their house and welcoming the guests.

Carlos, Light the Farolito, written by Jean Ciavonne and illustrated by Donna Clair is another story about a Posadas procession with many fascinating cultural details. 

Now that school has started again, this is a great opportunity to find out what your neighborhood library, Joyce Ellington Branch (491 E. Empire St., San José, CA) has to offer to kids, teens and their families at our Open House event on Tuesday, September 25th from 6pm - 7:30pm.

Come join us in a fun and educational night with a craft activities, games, prizes, information on homework resources,  goodies and more!

For more information, contact the Joyce Ellington Library at (408) 808-3043.

Ahora que la escuela ha comenzado de nuevo, esta es una gran oportunidad para descubrir lo que su biblioteca vecindario -  la Biblioteca Joyce Ellington (491 E. Empire St., San José, CA) tener para ofrecer a los niños, los adolescentes y sus familias en nuestro evento de Casa Abierta - el martes, 25 de septiembre de 6pm - 7:30pm.

¡Están invitados a una noche divertida y educativa con manualidades, juegos, premios, información sobre los recursos para ayuda con las tardeas, gololsinas y mucho mas!

Para más información, contacte la Biblioteca Joyce Ellington al (408) 808-3043.

National Preservation Week is later this month and on Saturday at King Library you can participate by bringing in some of your historic photographs or documents to be scanned.  Library staff will be on hand to assist you and you will receive a copy of your scanned photos on CD.

Scanning will take place from 11am to 1pm on the 3rd floor in Study Room 390.  Bring up to 10 items for scanning on a first come, first served basis.

Making digital copies of old family photos is a great way to share your past with your children and other family members who may live far away.  This photo is of me on Easter Day in 1969. 

On January 2012, the storytime schedule at the Alviso Branch Library will resume again!

Family Storytime starts on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 6:30pm.

And the First Inclusive Storytime will be on Thursday, January 5th at 10:30am. We especially  invite families and caregivers with children with special needs to our Inclusive Storytime. 

Storytime Schedule at the Alviso Branch Library:

• Family Storytime (weekly) with Stay & Play Activity- Wednesdays at 6:30pm
• Preschool Storytime (weekly) with Stay & Play Activity - Thursdays at 10:30am
• Inclusive Storytime (monthly) with Stay & Play Activity - 1st Thursday of the month at 10:30am

Starting in January 2012, storytimes at the Joyce Ellington Branch Library will resume again!

On Tuesday, January 3rd from 11:30am to 12:30pm, we will have a special presentation of Ms. Margaret's Puppet Theatre to start off our Bilingual Preschool Storytime and followed by a Stay and Play activity.

Our first Family Storytime with Stay and Play activity is scheduled on Wednesday, January 4th from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. Also, our Inclusive Storytime will resume on Tuesday, January 24th at 11:30am.

New Storytime Schedule at Joyce Ellington Library:

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) Preschool Storytime and Stay & Play - Tuesdays - 11:30am-12:30pm
• Family Storytime (English) and Stay & Play - Wednesdays - 5:30pm - 6:30pm
• Inclusive Storytime with Stay & Play - 4th Tuesday of the month - 11:30am - 12:30pm

¡A partir de enero de 2012, la hora de cuentos en la Biblioteca Joyce Ellington se reanudará de nuevo!

El martes, 3 de enero de 11:30am a 12:30pm tendremos una presentación especial de títeres con la Srta. Margaret para emprezar nuestra Hora de Cuentos bilingüe y preescolar con Quédate a Jugar.

La primera Hora de Cuentos para familias con Quédate a Jugar está programada para el miércoles, 4 de enero de 5:30pm hasta las 6:30pm.

Además, nuestra proxima Hora de Cuentos Inclusivo con Quédate a Jugar será el martes, 24 de enero a las 11:30am.

El nuevo horario  de cuentos en la Biblioteca Joyce Ellington:

• Hora de Cuentos Bilingüe y Preescolar con Quédate a Jugar va ser los martes de 11:30am hasta 12:30pm
• Hora de Cuentos Para Familias con Quédate a Jugar va ser los miércoles de 5:30pm hasta 6:30pm
• Hora de Cuentos Inclusivo con Quédate a Jugar tomará lugar el cuarto martes de cada mes de 11:30am hasta 12:30pm

Grab your smartphone and get ready to learn about the history of San Jose!  

Thanks to a Library Services and Technology Act grant and about a year's worth of hard work, we've created three walking tours of downtown San Jose that you can take using your smartphone and your feet! 

Go to www.scanjose.org to see images from our California Room Collection while standing at the locations that the photographs were taken. Think of it as a time machine in the palm of your hand!

There are three tours to choose from:
A Walk Around the Plaza - takes you on a loop around Plaza de Cesar Chavez
Tragedies and Calamities - a no holds barred look at some of the tragic events in San Jose history
Old Santa Clara Street - highlights some of the great architecture that has sprung up and come down over the years.

Don't have a smartphone?  Come join us on September 10th at 11:30 for a group tour using smartphones and iPads to take A Walk Around the Plaza!  We will meet in front of the Art Museum - 110 S. Market Street.  I'll be there and I hope you will too!