1 Book 1 San Antonio Initiative launched

Since 1998, when Seattle hosted Russell Banks for four days of programs and discussion of his novel The Sweet Hereafter, community-wide reading programs have spread to dozens of cities across the country.

The idea is to encourage civic unity through the reading of one book.

This summer, San Antonio launches 1 Book 1 San Antonio, an initiative sponsored by H-E-B, the San Antonio Public Library Foundation and the Express-News, to get the city, literally, on the same page.

A committee of community leaders and educators has chosen Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation by native son John Phillip Santos as the centerpiece of this celebration of reading.

Meticulously researched and luminously written, the book has been described as a family memoir, but is so much more than that. By tracing his Mexican roots back to the colonial period, when Texas was part of New Spain and then Mexico, Santos tells the story of an entire people, a cultural biography.

The book is available at H-E-B stores for $9.99, and is available at all San Antonio Public Library locations.

Other cities and books they have chosen: Denver’s One Book, One Denver initiative read Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River; Washington, D.C.’s DC We Read program read Interpreter of the Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri; Tampa Bay’s One Bay One Book participants all read Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff; and New Orleans’ One Book One New Orleans project all read Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying.

Stay tuned to the SAPL Website for more information on 1 Book 1 San Antonio events this summer.
 

Then carry it, wear it, snap it, or wave it on Towel Day, May 25th. Established in the weeks following the death of Douglas Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001), Towel Day commemorates the life and work of this author, passionate environmentalist and all-around hoopy frood.

Adams is best known for writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which started as a BBC radio show and was later reincarnated as a series of books, a stage play, a computer game and a motion picture. His other contributions include the “holistic detective” Dirk Gently novels, The Meaning of Liff (which is somewhere on the spectrum between sniglets and The Devil’s Dictionary), and Last Chance to See, a travelogue of journeys to observe species on the verge of extinction.

So, why Towel Day (you might reasonably ask)? Many of the more memorable images from HHGG are based on observations from Adams’ own life. After constantly losing his beach towel while on vacation in Greece, Adams reflected on how a more savvy traveler would cope, and thus:

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels. A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. . . . any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.”

For you non-strags out there: Towel Day falls on a Thursday this year

• Douglas Adams - author link

• Towel Day
• Wikipedia's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Wikipedia's Douglas Adam
• h2g2, the terrestrial version of HHGG

Scrapbooking has gained popularity in the past decade, becoming a billion-dollar industry. However, most don’t realize that scrapbooking has been around since the Renaissance.

In the past, books were kept to collect small mementos, such as dried flowers or newspaper articles. Eventually photos were added as well. Around the 1950s, scrapbooking declined in favor of photo albums. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when interest in genealogy became popular, that scrapbooks began to make a comeback.

Today, many people gather together for a "crop," a term used for a scrapbooking party. Whether at someone’s home or at a local store, it is a great way to meet new people and join in the scrapbooking fun.

The first thing to do when scrapbooking is to organize your pictures. It may be awhile before you get to a certain event so write down important information such as names and dates. If there was a funny story that goes with the pictures, write that down as well. This will help when you come to the journaling part of your page.

Basic supplies needed include acid-free adhesives, decorative papers and a scrapbook. Many tools, such as a 12-inch trimmer, can be borrowed when you crop at a store.

Remember, there isn’t a right or wrong way to scrapbook. Just create whatever is pleasing to you.

Get started scrapbooking with the help of your library!

Scrapbooking Books

The Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking Tools and Techniques by Susan Pickering Rothamel
745.593 Best

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Scrapbooking Illustrated by Wendy Smedley
745.93 Smedley

Scrapbooking: Everything You Need to Know to Preserve Your Memories
745.593 Scrapbooking

Making Scrapbooks: Complete Guide to Preserving Your Treasured Memories
771.46 Vanessa – Ann

Scrapbooking Your Family History by Laura Best
775.593 Best

Scribbles, Stickers & Glue: a Kids’ Guide to Scrapbooking by Nikki Larsen
Juvenile 745.593 Larsen

Fast Scrapbooking
745.593 Fast

Scrapbook Storytelling: Save Family Stories and Memories with Photos, Journaling and Your Own Creativity by Joanna Slan
771.46 Slan
 

Inclusion of stories dealing with evil shall be used or shall be published only where the intent is to illustrate a moral issue and in no case shall evil be presented alluringly, nor so as to injure the sensibilities of the reader.
-- Standards of the Comics Code Authority, 1954

Much like the Hays Code that sanitized American cinema, the standards of the Comics Code Authority were iron rules that comic book publishers had to abide by in order to ensure the national distribution of their products. In the last two decades or so, though, the graphic novel genre has pushed beyond these standards so much that many publishers forgo seeking the Comics Code seal of approval. Such works as the Pulitzer prize winning Maus by Art Spiegelman and Watchmen by Alan Moore firmly established the genre outside of the cozy, homogenized bounds of typical comic book fare, like Archie Comics.

To acknowledge the rapid growth of this body of literature and to better match library materials with their appropriate audiences, the library has recently changed the designation of these books to “Graphic Novel.” Because many of these works were cataloged in the nonfiction Dewey decimal 741 area (drawing), patrons may never have encountered Alan Moore’s novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Formerly shelved in nonfiction as 741.5973 MOORE, you should now find it in your branch’s fiction collection under the call number GRAPHIC NOVEL MOORE.

STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS

Rolf Laun (Central - Reference) recommends a few books while enjoying Thud! at Ruta Maya.

Currently Reading:
Thud! by Terry Pratchett

Laugh Out Loud Authors:
Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Christopher Moore, Gideon Defoe, P.G. Wodehouse

Best "New" Discovery:
Scott Westerfeld (Peeps, Uglies, The Risen Empire)

Favorite Authors for Young People (or at least young at heart):
Roald Dahl, Morris Gleitzman, Norton Juster, Tamora Pierce

First Book Ever Read All by Myself:
Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman

FEATURED DATABASE

Health & Wellness Research Database

Searching for health and medical information on the internet can return millions of hits and sorting through these multitudes of hits for non-biased, thoroughly researched health information can be quite a chore. Instead, the San Antonio Public Library has access to several medical databases that are guaranteed to provide up-to-date health news, journal articles, medical dictionaries, alternative medicine materials, and drug and herb information.

The Health & Wellness Resource Center (HWRC) is a comprehensive resource for libraries, schools, and hospitals that provides integrated access to medical, statistical, health, and wellness information through an intuitive Web interface. HWRC delivers up-to-date reference material as well as full-text magazines, journals, and pamphlets from a wide variety of authoritative medical sources.

Health & Wellness Resource Center has partnered with Healthology, an industry leader in providing health and medical video content and physician-authored articles. Users of HWRC can search the extensive online library provided by Healthology directly from the HWRC home page.

This database is available at your library branch or from your home computer.
 

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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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