Wednesday, December 14, 2011

New Library Boardmember Kathie Sheldon


The Friends wish to welcome new Library Board Member Kathleen Sheldon. Her connections with UCLA include a Ph.D. in history, and an affiliation as a independent research scholar with the Center for the Study of Women, which awarded her the Tillie Olsen grant for travel and research. Her work focuses on sub-Saharan African women’s history from early times to the present. One of her recent publications is Pounders of Grain: A History of Women, Work, and Politics in Mozambique.
Sheldon previously served on the Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women from 1992-2002. Her dedication and commitment to SMPL is strong, and she is pleased to bring a woman's perspective to what was an all-male board.  “The Library is such an essential part of the community …  to  support its continuity and growth is my goal.” She fills the vacated seat of Edward Edwards, who now serves on the Arts Commission.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

November Special Sale of High Value Books

Save the Date: Please come to the Friends' Bookstore special sale of higher value books on Saturday, November 12, 2011, from 11-2pm. We will feature books from $2-$75 on art, photography, history, signed fiction, cookbooks, collectible classics, and other subjects. See you there!

We give thanks: Thanks to your patronage, the Book Store has raised over half a million dollars since it opened in early 2006!!!! And what would we do without the unending support of our wonderful volunteers and library staff! And of course, thank you to the donors for their continuous stream (sometimes a river) of used books and other materials.

Monday, October 3, 2011

October and November Specials in the Bookstore

Time for the Holidays: Do your holiday planning and shopping at the Santa Monica Public Library Friends' Bookstore! We have terrific cookbooks and crafts books, plus lots of almost new books, that would be perfect gifts for friends and family. How about almost pristine copies of your aunt’s favorite mystery writer’s books? Or a recent fiction best seller or biography for your brother? And don’t forget our collection of children’s and young adults’ books that would make great presents for a local school.

Special Reference Sets: The library has given the bookstore two important sets of books for resale:
Jane’s Fighting Ships
Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft
If you are interested in either of these multi-volume sets and wish to make an offer, please stop by the bookstore or call 310-395-1951 and leave your name and phone number.

Monthly Theme: Be sure to check out our monthly theme books, displayed in the windows and on the Perennial Place cart.

Schedule: New items arrive by the dozens almost every day, so drop by soon. Bookstore hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 11-4:30, Sunday 1:30-4:30, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Location is on the left as you enter through the north entrance of the Main Library at 601 Santa Monica Boulevard.

Friends: To learn more about the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library and the activities we support, to become a member, or to make a donation, check out our new website at www.friendsofsmpl.org.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Santa Monica Public Library, Living Library Project






On Saturday, September 10, Living Books drew a near sellout crowd at the Santa Monica Public Library’s fourth annual Living Library Project. The goal of the Living Library is to foster understanding and develop connections through dialogue. Both the books and readers reported that they were impressed with the quality of the conversations and three of our bestselling Living Books were City staff members.

The Living Books available for thirty-minute personal conversations were: an atheist, a communist, a Big Blue Bus driver, a homeless advocate, a Muslim, a police detective, a transvestite, a union representative, a teen, a bicycle advocate, and a homeschooler.

Thanks to the Friends of the Library for their generous support of the program.

Learn more about the Human Library visit humanlibrary.org.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Ocean Park Branch gets new bench seating



A new Dolphin Zetty Bench, recently delivered to the Ocean Park Branch and paid for with Friends funds, is a huge hit, according Karen Reitz, the branch manager. Ms. Reitz says, “Thank you so much for your continued support. We love our Friends of the Library!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Gift from a local foundation

In June, the Friends received a generous gift from a local foundation to further enable us to pursue our mission to provide resources, services, and a place to encourage the community to read, connect, relax and learn. The donor also hopes to stay connected with the library and its future programs and accomplishments. We send them our wholehearted thanks for their generous donation.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Popular Fairview Branch Librarian Retiring

Sylvia Anderle, popular children's and Latino Outreach Librarian at the Fairview Branch is retiring after 21 years. Sylvia has dedicated herself to the children and families of the community, especially of the Sunset Park and Pico neighborhoods. In 1991 she presented the first Spanish-language story times at the Santa Monica Public Library that continue to be enthusiastically attended.

Sylvia developed the highly successful tutoring program which has paired thousands of children entering first through fifth grades with trained volunteers who work with students to improve their reading, comprehension and math skills and to assist them with homework.

In 2005 Sylvia received national recognition for her excellence of service and commitment to young people as a recipient of the New York Times Librarian Award.

The Friends extend very best wishes for continued success and happiness in all her future endeavors.

ONE day at Santa Monica Public Library

• 5,399 people visited the library
• 6,032 items were checked out or renewed
• 1,357 reference questions were answered
• 400 people bought books in the Friends’ Bookstore

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Time to prepare for your summer travels

Visit the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library Book Store during June and buy books in a foreign language, at HALF-PRICE. Half-price means you can buy twice as many books and be doubly fluent! (The sale does not apply to higher value books, marked with a circle label.)

New items arrive by the dozens almost every day, so drop by soon. Bookstore hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 11-4:30, Sunday 1:30-4:30, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Location is on the left as you enter through the north entrance of the Main Library at 601 Santa Monica Boulevard.

To learn more about the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library and the activities we support, to become a member, or to make a donation, check out our new website at www.friendsofsmpl.org.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Bookstore Sale of Special Books

Come to the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library Bookstore sale of special books on Saturday, May 14 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The sale will feature books from $2 to $75 on art, photography, history, signed fiction, cookbooks, collectible classics and more.

See you there!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Spring in the Friends of the Library Bookstore

Selling library discards at 25 cents each was a big hit in March so we’re continuing this special in April, once again only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. These books and audiovisual items are fiction and nonfiction, covering a wide range of topics, so stop by soon and buy a bunch.

Save the Date: Another sale of higher value books – art books, first editions, and signed books – will take place Saturday, May 14, from 11-2. Circle the date on your calendar!

New items arrive by the dozens almost every day in the Bookstore, so drop by soon. Bookstore hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 11-4:30, Sunday 1:30-4:30 closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Location is on the left as you enter through the north entrance of the Main Library at 601 Santa Monica Boulevard.

To learn more about the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library and the activities we support, to become a member, or to make a donation, check out our website at http://www.friendsofsmpl.org/.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Ocean Park Branch Open House


The Ocean Park Branch Library celebrated the completion of its improvements’ project with an Open House on Saturday, March 12 from 11am to 2pm.

Festivities included a balloon show with Annie Banannie, a live music performance by the Leftover Cuties, a surfer photo booth, ocean-themed crafts, and refreshments.

According to Branch staff over 1500 people came through the doors by 3pm the day of the event, almost 100 showed up for Annie Banannie and 50 attended the ocean themed craft in the community room. The Leftover Cuties drew a triple digit crowd for their performance on the lawn. Even the weather cooperated!

This program was made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library.

Annual Volunteer Recognition Event

The Library treasures and appreciates the gift of self and time so freely given by our volunteers. To honor them, The Friends show our appreciation by inviting them to an annual Volunteer Recognition Event. On Friday March 11 over 150 volunteers and guests attended a performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica.

The show was preceded by an ice-cream social and ended with presentation of awards for excellent service. A good time was had by all.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Special Sale in May!

Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library Bookstore sale of special books on Saturday, May 14 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. We will feature books from $2- $75 on art, photography, history, signed fiction, cookbooks, collectible classics and more. See you there!

March Sale in the Friends Bookstore

Visit the Friends of the Library Bookstore any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in March and you can buy library discards for 25 cents each, limit of 12. You can easily identify these books by the library sticker on the spine and the word “withdrawn” or “discard.”

(These sale prices do not apply to the higher value items, marked with a circle label.)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Friends Sponsor Santa Monica Teen Film Festival and Summer Reading


At their February 15 Board meeting the Friends of the Library Board voted to support the Santa Monica Teen Film Festival and Summer Reading, two essential programs offered by the Santa Monica Public Library Youth Services department.

For the past 5 years, the Santa Monica
Teen Film Festival has been the premiere teen film festival in the Los Angeles/Westside area. This endeavor is an interdepartmental collaboration between the Santa Monica Public Library, Virginia Ave. Park Teen Center, and Cultural Affairs. The festival has grown from 40 submissions and a one-day screening the first year to over 150 submissions and a two-day screening in 2010. The film festival receives films from all over the country (Hawaii, New York, Indiana, etc.), as well as Canada.

For the past two years, the Friends of the Santa Monica Library have been a significant sponsor of the festival by funding the film festival prizes. These prizes are an added incentive for the filmmakers and help encourage teens to continue their passion for filmmaking.

The Friends Board also agreed to provide additional funding support for the 2011 Summer Reading Program. Studies have shown that reading for pleasure (not assigned reading) is the best incentive to encourage lifelong learning. Summer Reading 2010 registered a 34% increase in participation that reached nearly 3,000 babies, children and teens; and after 10 weeks participants had read more than a million minutes. The Friends support makes summer reading possible by funding programs, special events, prizes and bags.

Santa Monica Evening Outlook Newspaper

Imagine Santa Monica (http://digital.smpl.org) now contains the complete contents of the Santa Monica Evening Outlook newspaper through June 17, 1920. The number of individual issues digitized now totals 7311. The earliest date available online is October 13, 1875.

A heartfelt thanks to Jon Arenberg and the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library Board for contributing to the ongoing development of this unique source of historical information!