Call for Artists - Journey with Veterans

The Fresno County Public Library invites veterans to submit their artwork for our upcoming Art Hop show A Journey with Veterans – View the World through Veterans’ Eyes. In partnership with the California Department of Veterans Affairs, Fresno County Public Library has created this event for the veteran community. A Journey with Veterans is supported with California Library Services Act Funding.

These pieces of art work will be shown at Clovis Book Barn in Clovis, CA and will showcase how the veterans in Fresno County view the world. 

Accepted artwork for Journey with Veterans will be on display at Clovis Book Barn at 640 Clovis Ave, Clovis CA 93612, August 9 – August 28. A reception will be held on Thursday, August 15, 5-8 pm.

Deadline: Artists must contact the WoW! Library office by July 12, 2019. Space is limited.  Drop-off for artwork will be on Friday August 9. Pick-up will be on Wednesday August 28. Wall mounted 2-D works are ideal.  There will be limited space for small 3-D works.  All artwork must be ready to hang when dropped off.

There is no cost to submit artwork.

Applications must be submitted to Fresno County Public Library Community Librarian Jessica Hall at Jessica.Hall@fresnolibrary.org.

Please use the subject line: Journey with Veterans application.

Please include a jpeg of the work.

Please include a short biography about yourself and the piece you are submitting.

Depending on the number of interested artists, we will be limiting the number of displayed pieces.

For more information, please email Jessica at Jessica.Hall@fresnolibrary.org or call the WoW! Library office at 559-600-9699.

Dunlap Book Club

WoW! is putting together a book club for the residents of Dunlap. The chosen books have all been made into movies. It will be run by WoW! librarians Jessica Hall and Shannon Morrison. They will be traveling to Dunlap to distribute the books as well as run the discussion. The book club will be held at the Twin Valleys restaurant at 39316 Dunlap Rd, Dunlap, CA 93621. If you are interested in participating, please RSVP by calling 559-600-9699 or emailing wow.library@fresnolibrary.org by July 25, 2018. The librarians will be there August 1, 2018 from 12 PM-1 PM to distribute the first book. The first discussion will take place on September 5, 2018 from 12 PM to 1 PM. 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon - the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him 'the bitter neighbor from hell.' But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre

A half-starved young Russian man claiming to be a devout Muslim, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, and a sixty-year-old scion of a failing British bank based in Hamburg form an unlikely alliance as the rival spies of Germany, England and America scent a sure kill in the “War on Terror,” and converge upon the innocents.

The Circle by Dave Eggers

When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world's most powerful internet company, she feels she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users' personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company's modernity and activity. Mae can't believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world--even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public.

Reading Takes You Everywhere

Summer is on its way bringing with it all the summer fun of barbecues, summer vacations, swimming and the library's Summer Challenge. So put your feet up, relax and let a book take you on adventures to distant lands filled with fairies, robots, gods and everything in between.

Magic shows, cooking sushi, and learning how to draw comic book characters are just a few of the events that will be going on at library branches this year. You can find a list of all of the events for kids, tweens and teens at
http://www.fresnolibrary.org/summer/index.html.

Starting June 11, walk into any library branch and pick up your Summer Challenge log. The official kick off for the Summer Challenge will be held at Sunnyside Library on June 14, 11am-4pm.

Which event are you most excited for this summer?

Riverdale Spring Festival

Who doesn't love a good old fashioned parade? People get to pull out their lawn chairs, grab a spot on the road and watch the scene unfold. This year, lucky attendees of the Riverdale Spring Festival Parade got to see the DigiBus! The DigiBus loves to make community appearances.The Fresno County Public Library is a proud supporter of community building. Here are a couple of pictures before the parade began.

Remember, the library is here for you. What are your favorite parade memories?

Mobile Library at Sanger

Amid the threat of rain, WoW! was at the Sanger Branch Library on April 6 to  provide library materials to patrons while the branch is closed for renovations. During the closure, either the Bookmobile or WoW! will be at the Sanger Library Branch from 11 AM to 4 PM every Friday until June 8. 

Armed with portable chairs and a table, WoW! librarians Matt and Jessica set up a pop-up library in the library's parking lot. On the other side of the lot, renovations were fully underway inside the branch. A temporary book drop has been put up in the parking lot for returns.

Storytime with Santa

For the past few weeks, library staff has been hanging out with Santa on Wednesday mornings at Sierra Vista Mall for Storytime with Santa.

 
Santa has been kind enough to take a break from his hectic holiday schedule to give a storytime for mall-goers.  As it turns out, Santa is not only good at listening to what kids want for Christmas and posing for adorable pictures; he's also good at reading stories!  After Santa read a couple of books to a captivated audience, we invited everyone to do a holiday craft with us.

Along with the craft, we brought a pop-up library of winter and holiday books for people to check out, and we made library cards for those who didn't have one yet.

Children's Librarian Anna gives instructions on the  craft

WoW! Librarian Annika assists with the glue

 It was so fun to decorate popsicle-stick snowflakes and paper-plate Santas with everyone, and help parents pick out some books to take home.  Storytime with Santa was a success!

If you're looking for an opportunity to take a picture with Santa, check out this flyer to see when he may be coming to a library branch near you.

Coming to California

The Fresno County Public Library is hosting a Story Jam on October 21 at the Bitwise theater at 2:00 PM. The theme of this Story Jam is coming to California. You are invited to come tell your personal story about your journey to California. For more information or to register to tell your story please click here.

California the Journey Story Jam - Until You Walk a Mile is the final event in the California the Journey series. The other events in this series were Taste the World - Community Potluck, Tell Us Your Story, and The Art of the Journey.

Come join us, October 21 at 2:00 PM in the John W. Dodson Theater at Bitwise 700 Van Ness Ave, to tell your story or to hear the stories of others . We hope to see you there.

Summer Challenge Fun Finale

The Summer Challenge is over and Fae's Fresno Skyline is complete. Throughout the summer Fae has blogged about her fun experiences, from visiting Sequoia National Park to eating a chocolate covered cricket, on the Fresno Teen blog. For her final blog post, she wrote a book review of Stephen King's IT.

Summer Challenge Fun Part 8

The Summer Challenge is over and Fae's adventures are coming to a close. Last week, Fae played board games, spray painted her patio furniture, volunteered to help her family, and visited Art Hop.

Throughout the summer, Fae has blogged about reading Stephen King's IT and she will finish off her Summer Challenge with a book review. What does she think of IT? Was she hiding under the bed covers while she was reading? Will Fae ever be able to sleep again? Visit the Fresno Teen blog next week to find out.

Summer Challenge Fun Part 7

Fae's adventures are nearly over and her Fresno Skyline becomes more alive as she completes each activity. With the Summer Challenge nearly over, will she be able to complete all the tasks? She's already had a wild ride this summer. Last week she ate bugs, read poetry by a local author, designed a personal logo, and mailed a card to a friend.

The Summer Challenge is for children and teens and ends August 6. Each participant is given a log with different activities to complete. The participant is entered into a raffle to win a prize after they have completed a certain number of tasks. For more information on the history of the Summer Challenge and the available prizes, please click here.

Summer Challenge Fun Part 6

New designs have been added to Fae's Fresno skyline after she completed five fun activities from the Teen Summer Challenge list. Each week, Fae has documented her experience of completing these activities on the Fresno teen blog. You can read about her trip to the Sequoia National Forest for the Dark Sky Festival here.

The Summer Challenge is for children and teens and ends August 6. Each participant is given a log with different activities to complete. The participant is entered into a raffle to win a prize after they have completed a certain number of tasks. For more information on the history of the Summer Challenge and how to participate, please click here.

Summer Challenge Fun Part 5

What phrase did Fae learn in Spanish? Which movie did she watch that is based off of a book? What issue did Fae contact a local official about? Read about how she completed these 3 activities on the Fresno teen blog.









The Summer Challenge is for children and teens and each participant is given a log with different activities to complete. The participant is entered into a raffle to win a prize after they have completed a certain number of tasks. For more information on the history of the Summer Challenge and how to participate, please click here.

Summer Challenge Fun Part 4

Fae completed 8 activities this week and has added more windows and people to her skyline. Click here, to read about what books she's been reading, her goals for the year and her six word memoir.

The Summer Challenge is for children and teens and each participant is given a log with different activities to complete. The participant is entered into a raffle to win a prize after they have completed a certain number of tasks. For more information on the history of the Summer Challenge and how to participate, please click here.

Call for Artists: Tell Us Your Story - Part 3

The WoW! Library is organizing the third program of our 4-part series: California: The Journey.  Our first program was the wonderful Taste the World – Community Potluck, which you can read about here and here.  Our second program is the ongoing Tell Us Your Story that runs during the entire series.  You can read the stories, and direction on how to submit your own, here under the “California: The Journey” tab.

For the third program in our series, we’ll be hosting a special Art Hop event at the Betty Rodriguez Regional Library in September: The Art of the Journey – Art Inspired by the Immigrant Experience in California.  Starting September 10^th, the Betty Rodriguez Regional Library will highlight stories told through the visual arts, hosting an Art Hop showcase featuring works submitted by community members that help tell stories about “Coming to California.”  We welcome art that shows the stories and the experiences of “Coming to California,” from other countries or from other states.

There is limited space.  We plan on accepting pieces on a first come, first served basis.  If you, or someone you know, is interested in participating, here’s what you need to know:

Accepted artwork for The Art of the Journey will be on display at the Betty Rodriguez Regional Library, 3040 N Cedar Ave, Fresno, CA 93703, September 10 – October 9, 2017.  A reception will be held on Thursday, September 21, 5-8 pm.

Deadline: Artists must contact the WoW! Library office by August 30, 2017.  Space is limited.  Artwork drop-off is Saturday, September 9. Special arrangements may be made for drop off on surrounding days. Pick up will be on Tuesday, October 10.  Please keep in mind that the Library is a public space.  Wall mounted 2-D works are ideal.  There will be limited space for 3-D works.  All artwork must be ready to hang when dropped off.

There is no cost to submit artwork.

Applications must be submitted to Fresno County Public Library Community Librarian Michelle Gordon at michelle.gordon@fresnolibrary.org.

Please use the subject line: The Art of the Journey application.

Please include a jpeg of the work.

Depending on the number of interested artists, we will be limiting the number of displayed pieces.

Please include a short statement about the piece and how it relates to the theme of the exhibition.

Summer Challenge Fun Part 3

Fae Giffen has added more windows and musical notes to the Fresno city skyline by completing four more challenges from the Teen Summer Challenge list. You can read about which favorite book she checked out from the library, the Freegal playlist she shared, and what new activity she tried on the Fresno teen blog.

The Summer Challenge is for children and teens and each participant is given a log with different activities to complete. The participant is entered into a raffle to win a prize after they have completed a certain number of tasks. For more information on the history of the Summer Challenge and how to participate, please click here.

Book Give-away in Orange Cove

As part of our Summer Challenge events, and thanks to a generous donation from the National Book Foundation, we gave away free books at the Kuffel Terrace Housing Authority Apartments in Orange Cove last week.

The National Book Foundation is a nonprofit organization that presents the National Book Award each year.  Through their Book Rich Environments initiative, they seek to form connections between communities and local libraries while also providing books for children to build up their own personal libraries. 

Everyone got to pick a few books to take home (and keep!), sign up for the Summer Challenge, do a craft, and blow giant soap bubbles outside in the shade.

 

At the craft table, kids could create their very own robot, sparkly pompoms and all.  You can spot one eager reader in the background of the photo above.

As an added bonus, the Healthy Smiles Dental Mobile was parked outside the community meeting room for anyone to come in for a teeth cleaning.

 Our children's programming librarian, Nicole, engaged our youngest guests in a robot-themed storytime.  The theme for this year's Summer Challenge is "Reading by Design" and when kids sign up they receive an activity log designed to help them stay active during the summer through reading, playing, and creating. 

Thank you to the National Book Foundation's Book Rich Environments initiative, the Fresno Housing Authority, and the Healthy Smiles team for a successful event!

Summer Challenge Fun Part 2

Fae Giffen has added more windows and some musical notes to the Fresno city skyline by completing four more challenges from the Teen Summer Challenge list. You can read about what music she streamed on Freegal, what new genre she read, how she connected with the library on social media, and how she had fun outside over the weekend on the Fresno teen blog.

The Summer Challenge is for children and teens and each participant is given a log with different activities to complete. The participant is entered into a raffle to win a prize after they have completed a certain number of tasks. For more information on the history of the Summer Challenge and how to participate, please click here.

Summer Challenge Fun

Community Librarian, Fae Giffen, has decided to complete the Teen Summer Challenge during this summer by completing fun activities from the list and documenting her experiences on the FCPL teen blog.

The Summer Challenge is for children and teens and each participant is given a log with different activities to complete. The participant is entered into a raffle to win a prize after they have completed a certain number of tasks. For more information on how to participate and to view the raffle prizes, click here.

For her first week, Fae read for 10 minutes, watched a sunset and said "Hi" to a librarian. Be sure to check the teen blog, http://www.fresnoteens.org/, every week for her updates. Follow along as each completed activity leads to a new design in Fae's Fresno skyline.

#Yum

Last month, we wrote about our Taste the World – Community Potluck event.  We hosted this potluck at the Reading & Beyond Mosqueda Community Center on Saturday, April 29^th.  We had over 20 dishes at our event.  Here is a small sampling of the foods that were brought for all to share:

Zweiback

Cardamom Bread

Sopes Station

Kalua Pork

Southern Greens with Turnips

Noodles          

Swedish Butter Cookies

Pure de Papas (mashed potatoes)

Apple Pie

Peanut Butter Pie

Before: Tres Leches Cake

After: Tres Leches Cake

At each dish was a handy Potluck Pal sheet we found at www.eclecticaffinity.com.  The designer was thrilled to let us use them for our event.  These Potluck Pal sheets listed allowed us to neatly list the ingredients of each dish to help eaters decide what to try and what they would want to admire from afar.  

Story for the Kalua Pork

Participants were also encouraged to share their stories or the history of their dishes.  Some brought their story already prepared and others
used our blank-pages cut-out to share their stories.  It was great to see and try dishes from so many different places. 

This event was the first of a series as a part of the California Center for the Book’s program: Community Conversations about Immigration.  We want to thank our sponsors for the event, too.  Reading & Beyond was incredibly gracious is donating the use of their wonderful banquet room at the Mosqueda Community Center.  And the Friends of the Fresno County Public Library were instrumental in providing support for this event.

For part 2 of this series, “California: The Journey,” check out the New Americans page on our website.  If you’re interested in submitting a story (or a recipe etc), just follow the directions listed there.  Keep an eye out for Part 3 of the series, an Art Hop night at the Betty Rodriguez branch in September.

Taste the World - Community Potluck

As someone who moved to Fresno from back East, I often asked people this question: what do you like best about Fresno?  And more often than not, the answer that comes back has something to do with the food.  It makes perfect sense.  The culinary offerings in Fresno are as diverse as the community.  What better way to celebrate this than with a Community Potluck?!

The Fresno County Public Library is hosting an open Community Potluck at Reading & Beyond’s Mosqueda Community Center at 4670 E Butler Ave on Saturday, April 29^th at 2:30pm.  For two hours, the community is welcome to share their favorite home-cooked meals.

Let’s all gather and break bread together, sharing stories, histories and recipes!

Here’s what you need to know:

• Pre-registration is required. 
• Click on the Potluck banner on the library’s homepage to fill out the form or call the Wow! office at 559-600-9699.
•  An ingredients list must be provided (this is to classify the dishes to avoid allergy issues)
• Warming dishes will be provided for dishes not in a crock-pot. 
• All serving tools will be provided.
• Coffee, punch and lemonade will be provided, or bring your own beverage.
• No alcohol permitted
• There will be door prizes. 
• Each dish will gain you an entry for a drawing, held this coming Fall, for a personal library of 20 titles.

 Everyone has a story to tell about how they or their family came to be in California.

California: The Journey is a four-part series of programs.  The first program, Taste the World, is our Community Potluck, graciously sponsored by Reading & Beyond and the Friends of the Fresno County Public Library.  The series is a part of California Center for the Book's Community Conversations About Immigration program.

The second part of the series is Tell Us Your Story.  You can submit anything written that has something to do with where you or your family is from.  Share a recipe, a narrative of your journey to California, a description of your hometown…whatever you want to share with us.  These stories will then be gathered and posted on the FCPL website on the New Americans page.  Stories can be posted anonymously.  Submissions are being accepted now and posting will begin at the end of April.  

To submit a story, please:

•  send it in an email to WoWlibrary@fresnolibrary.org,
• mail it to ATTN: WoW Office, 2420 Mariposa St., Fresno, CA 93721,
• or drop it off at any Fresno County Public Library branch in an envelope addressed: ATTN WoW.
• Please include your name and a telephone number or email address (for drawing entry). 
•  Please make a note if you want your story to be published on our website anonymously.
• Please remember this is for all ages, so please use appropriate language
• The Library reserves the right to not publish or post entries.