After her first group presentation to the Friends of the Library, Westfall Teen Council (WTC) member, Yliana silently whispered to me, "I feel so at home here."

For Yliana and the other members of the WTC the library has become a friendly and welcoming place, which is the overall goal of creating a library teen council.

The Westfall Teen Council (WTC) began in 2001 after a successful Teen Read Week "National Read Aloud" Event. Five teens signed up to read to kids and they haven’t stopped volunteering at the library since.

Teens are at a unique time in their lives and have special developmental needs such as described by Gayle Dorman in The Middle Grades Assessment Program: User’s Guide.

By being a part of the WTC, Dorman's "Seven Development Needs of Young Adolescents" can be met:

1. Physical Energy: car wash, reading to kids
2. Competence and Achievement: organizing a poetry night
3. Self-Definition: contributor to the community
4. Creative Expression: writing and reading poetry
5. Positive Social Interaction with Peers and Adults: participating in WTC planning meetings
6. Structure and Clear Limits: leaders in summer reading opening day event
7. Meaningful Participation: feeling a positive part of the community

The WTC group has sponsored the Valentine’s Day Chocolate Festival, many Poetry Nights, a Beading Program, Car Wash, and Bake Sale (in conjunction with SAPL’s Friends Book Sale). The WTC group members have the option of joining the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library (at the Teen rate of $5.00) and the money they raise supports the library and future events.

The WTC was essential in coordinating Opening Day of the 2002 Summer Reading Program by manning the face painting, balloon sculpture, refreshments, chalk drawing and reading booths.

Last week Yliana was in the library celebrating the end of the year with a WTC gift exchange. She went home that night with a brand new book by Jerry Spinelli called Stargirl. It’s about a young girl who makes a positive difference in her community, by standing up for what she believes in. Hopefully the members of the WTC will carry on the community spirit they have felt through their work at the Westfall Library. And hopefully they will always feel at home.

In last November’s Bookmarks!, we featured San Antonio Public Library’s handheld e-book readers. Because of their extreme popularity they have holds placed on them frequently, but because of their value, the library has a strict borrowing procedure that prohibits an e-book reader traveling from one branch to another. So if you are placing an e-book hold online, remember that you can place a hold on a Carver e-book reader and pick it up at Carver, but you cannot place a hold on a Carver e-book reader and pick it up at any other library location. When you are placing the hold online and have entered your card information, the next screen will ask you to select a pickup branch. Remember to select the branch to which the reader belongs.

There are e-Book readers at the following locations:

• Central Library (Media Room – 1^st Floor)
• Brook Hollow
• Carver
• Cortez
• Great Northwest

A blending of culture – contemporary and traditional, Western European and indigenous Mexican – is the basis to Marín’s work. Judith Christensen with Art Scene writes, "Marin’s figures may pose in stances borrowed from earlier eras, but their execution is wholly modern. Still visible are the cracks, holes, streaks, and other evidence of the process of their construction. These rough-hewn surfaces, which recall the work of Manuel Neri, among others – give the work a raw immediacy that contrasts sharply with its classical roots. It is this contrast that gives these figures their edge." Mr. Marín was born in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico in 1962. He attended the Academia Nacional de las Artes de San Carlos (UNAM) in Mexico City. His work has been exhibited widely in Mexico, the United States, Europe and South America, including his solo shows at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, MARCO, in Monterrey and at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. He has also been exhibited in galleries and museums in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Brussels, Montreal, Bogotá, Caracas, Buenos Aires, San Salvador, Los Angeles, Miami, and Santa Barbara.

For directions to the Central Library and further information about the exhibition, please call 210-207-2500 (the Library) or 210-225-4728 x1 (Library Foundation).

CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES

The Astonishing Mr. Pitts and His Small Wonder Circus! We’re starting the year off big for kids with The Astonishing Mr. Pitts and his Small Wonder Circus! Mr. Pitts and his bag of magic, ventriloquism and juggling tricks will visit every San Antonio Public Library to amaze and delight children. Please call your nearest branch for ticket availability, individual show times, and for additional information. Limited Seating.

Saturday, January 4th – Central
Saturday, January 4th - San Pedro
Wednesday, January 8th - Bazan
Wednesday, January 8th - Landa
Saturday, January 11th - Forest Hills
Saturday, January 11th - Johnston
Sunday, January 12th - Cody
Tuesday, January 14th - Pan American
Wednesday, January 15th - Brook Hollow
Saturday, January 18th - Cortez
Saturday, January 18th - Reagan High School
Sunday, January 19th - McCreless
Wednesday, January 22nd - Carver
Wednesday, January 22nd - Las Palmas
Wednesday, January 22nd - Westfall
Saturday, January 25th - Great Northwest
Saturday, January 25th - Oakwell
Monday, January 27th - Collins Garden
Tuesday, January 28th - Memorial
Wednesday, January 29th - Thousand Oaks

YOUNG ADULT ACTIVITIES

Westfall Teen Council. Teens share their love of reading with others; a variety of volunteer opportunities. Thursday, January 16th, 6:00 p.m. Westfall Branch Library.

ADULT ACTIVITIES

Genealogy Workshop presented by volunteer Suzy Bettac: Immigration. For information or to register please call 207-2500 and ask for Texana. Saturday, January 11th, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Central Library.