JULIA YATES SEMMES BRANCH LIBRARY

The new Semmes Branch Library at Comanche Lookout Park is San Antonio’s newest and most unusual public library. Once open, the 3.5-million-dollar facility is expected to become a national model for green libraries because it incorporates numerous features making it environmentally sensitive and energy efficient. A 20-foot glass wall along the park-side view of the building will help bathe the interior of the 15,000 square-foot library in a generous amount of indirect sunlight, providing the best light for reading and working while cutting down on utility costs.

The building itself is built for rainwater harvesting, so that water that hits the roof will collect in cisterns to be redistributed on the grounds for irrigation. The remaining surface water will be channeled into a new landscaped wetlands area that will naturally filter the water and contribute to the park’s ecosystem.

The library is in the middle of a booming housing and retail area off Loop 1604 and Nacogdoches Road, but visitors will hardly realize that when they are sitting in the serene surroundings. The 96-acre Comanche Lookout Park is a popular Northeast Side attraction, drawing hikers to the fourth highest point in Bexar County with an elevation of 1,340 feet.

The library is named after Julia Laura Yates Semmes, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. At the age of 80, she developed macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans older than 55. Mrs. Semmes worked with the Texas Commission for the Blind to learn to how live independently, despite her loss of vision.

Before she died in 2002, the Semmes Foundation donated $1 million to the San Antonio Public Library to create a special collection, including books and equipment, for the visually impaired. The Library Foundation has pledged an additional $250,000 for materials and equipment for the Semmes Branch at Comanche Lookout Park. The Library Foundation has also contributed nearly $1 million to making the Semmes Branch a one-of-a-kind experience.

Join us in the opening of the Semmes Library at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 5. There will be activities for the whole family all day. See you there!

HOMEBOUND USER PROGRAM

Are you homebound due to a physical disability or other condition? Do you like to read, watch videos/DVDs, or listen to audio books? Can you receive mail at your place of residence? If so, you may apply for the San Antonio Public Library Homebound User Program, and have library materials mailed to your home!

Who is eligible?
Only residents of Bexar County are eligible for this service. If you are unable to visit a library due to a physical limitation or are principally homebound for other reasons, you are eligible. In some rare instances, homebound users may be required to submit certification of their limitation, if requested to do so by the library.

How do I enroll in the homebound user program?
If you are currently registered as a library user possessing a library card, call 207-2500 and ask for the circulation desk. Converting your current account to the homebound user program will only take minutes. If you are not currently registered as a library user, call 207-2500, ask for the circulation desk, and we can arrange to mail you a library card application.

Once enrolled, how do I borrow and return library materials?
Once enrolled, call 207-2500 and speak with a member of our library staff. These specially trained individuals will work with you to request materials based on favorite authors, specific titles, or even genre. The librarians will research our catalog for books, movies, CDs or book on tape based on your desires and offer them to you. A hold will be placed on the title and once the title becomes available, the item will be checked out to your account and mailed to your residence. The library will mail the items to you at no cost. Once you have enjoyed the library materials, it is your responsibility to return the items either in person, have a relative/friend return them or mail them back.

Currently, we have approximately 500 patrons enrolled in the homebound user program. Please don’t let a medical condition or a stage in your life limit you from enjoying services provided by the library. Enroll today!!

Celebrating Employees’ Creativity

When you check out a book from the San Antonio Public Library, it might surprise you to know that the person behind the counter may be a photographer or a painter or a potter.

Library employees’ artwork will be on display from Thursday, November 3, through Monday, December 5, at Central Library’s Gallery. The exhibit opens with a public reception from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. November 3 at the Gallery, 600 Soledad.

“This is the second year we’ve held an exhibit to showcase the creative talents of our staff members,” Barbara Celitans, SAPL Program Manager, said. “We call the exhibit ‘Just For the Art of It’, and it allows the public to see another side of us.”

The inaugural exhibit attracted approximately 55 displays from 30 artists. Last year, organizers allowed exhibitors to submit up to three items each, but this year reduced the limit to two. “We have more items this year than we did last year because we have more artists displaying their works,” Celitans said.

“Wrap Up” the Holidays with the San Antonio Public Library!

Many San Antonians remember going to grandma’s house early in the holiday season to make tamales for the upcoming celebrations. The tamalada was more than a cooking session – it was a family reunion, a party in itself, a chance for the kids to play and the adults to catch up on all the news about the aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends. It was the warm-up session for the family holiday celebrations to come.

Nowadays, with more single-parent or two-working-parent households, it’s hard to keep the tamalada tradition going.

A few years ago, Bolner’s Fiesta Products, Burras Finas Productions, Mex-Sales Company and the San Antonio Public Library Foundation partnered with the San Antonio Public Library to start a new tradition.

Saturday, November 19, San Antonio families are invited to the Central Library for their own tamalada! Sandra Vásquez of Mex-Sales Company, inventor of the Más Tamales Masa Spreader, will present two tamal-making classes, one from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and one from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. After a discussion about the tamalada tradition, the kids will have a chance to get their hands in the masa and see what making tamales is all about.

The sessions are free and open to the public, but admission will be by ticket only. Tickets may be picked up at the Central Library Circulation Desk beginning November 9. Class capacity is limited.

At 2:00 p.m., following the hands-on tamal assembly, everyone is invited to the Central Library Auditorium for a free viewing of the hilarious bilingual play Las Nuevas Tamaleras. A comedy which can be enjoyed by English-speakers and Spanish-speakers alike, Las Nuevas Tamaleras follows the adventures of three modern Hispanic women as they try their hands at making tamales for the first time. During their “ordeal” they are guided by the spirits of traditional Hispanic women who have been allowed to return as invisible angels to oversee the project.

Las Nuevas Tamaleras was written and is directed by San Antonio author and playwright Alicia Mena, and opened in Houston at El Teatro Bilingüe’s First Annual Latino Playwright’s Festival. Its first San Antonio performance was in 1993 at the Guadalupe Cultural Center. It has since moved to Jump-Start Theater in the Blue Star Art Space, where it has become an annual tradition. This preview at the Library is free and open to the public. However, seating is limited, and admission will be by ticket only. Tickets will be available at the Central Library Circulation Desk beginning November 9.

One hour’s free parking is available in the Central Library parking garage with a validated ticket. For more information, the public may call (210) 207-2500.

FEATURED PROGRAM

FEATURED EVENTS

Cocina Para Diabéticos: ¡Comida de Fiesta! Clases en español con Luz Neira del San Antonio Food Bank. Sabado, noviembre 5, 1:00 p.m. Biblioteca Cortez.

Festive Holiday Food for Diabeteics. Cooking demonstration by Kate Biss of the San Antonio Food Bank. Saturday, November 5, 2:00 p.m. Cortez Library.

Dia De Los Muertos Altars. Pre-registration required. Tuesday, November 1, 2:30 p.m. Landa Library.

Apache Encounter. Meet Brown Eagle from Southern Winds Intertribal Native Americans. Listen to stories and learn about Apaches (Chotaw, Kiowa, Mescalero, Chiricahua and Lipan). Wednesday, November 16, 7:00 p.m. McCreless Library.

MORE SAPL EVENTS

If you have any questions about the library or would like to see something included in this newsletter, please contact our Web Administrator at librarywebadmin@sanantonio.gov.

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