Archive of Archives

LA as Subject is an interesting conglomeration of libraries, archives, and other collections of materials which contain documents and artifacts related to the history of the Southern California area. The group is in the process of creating a database of facilities which house this valuable and often one-0f-a-kind material. On October 23, they're planning an archives bazaar from 10 am to 5 pm with exhibits of local historical collections as well as speakers. The event will take place at the Doheny Memorial Library on the USC campus

Small Business Development Center Gets Books

The Small Business Development Center at Long Beach City College received a donation of 800 books from Sarah and Paul Edwards, experts on entrepreneurship and working from home. The SBDC has training and counseling for local small business owners. It's open from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays and is located in Building O-2 at 4900 E. Conant Street.

Broadening my bibliographic horizons

Heading over to the Wilmington Branch of Los Angeles Public Library today. It's a bit of a poke but the LAPL holdings are awesome. Once you get a card number, you get access to all their databases and a gazillion downloadable audio books.

Have You Hugged Your Librarian Yet?

Across the country, National Library Week is over, but here in Long Beach, it lasts for the whole month of April, so it's not too late to live out whatever bibliographic dreams you've just been too shy to consumate. Popwatch has a great feature on unforgettable librarians in the movies. Don't forget that there are plenty flesh-and-blood ones out there too who need our support to keep the information flowing.

Long Beach Public Library has a list of events on its website. I'm planning to make the scene at Bay Shore Branch for its 50 year centential this Saturday, April 25, at 1 pm. Music, food, and surprise guests are promised, and, what the heck, maybe I'll check something out while I'm there.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

This week has a lot to offer. Tops on my list is the Belmont Shore Chocolate Festival from 1 to 4 this Saturday. For ten bucks you can wander up and down Second Street with all the other chocoholics and sample tasty morsels all the way from Sweet Jill’s to Café La Strada. Alas, I have to work this Saturday, so have an extra hot fudge brownie for me!

I will be able to stop by the e-waste dropout at Kettering School this Saturday. It’s from 9 to 3 at 550 Silvera, and you can bring all household electronics such as TVs, computers, monitors, printers, DVD players and batteries for proper disposal.

If my schedule doesn’t change, I hope to make it to Break at the Bay at Bayshore Branch Library on Friday, February 6, at 12:30. This month, Dr. Lionel Gatley, former president of the Historical Society of Long Beach, will talk about the history of East Long Beach. The library’s located at 195 Bay Shore Avenue where parking’s tighter than a tick, so come early and enjoy the spectacular view of Alamitos Bay from the library’s reading room or snag a free cookie in the auditorium.

I reached a milestone of note, having posted more messages this month than I did for the whole year of 2008. Wish me luck for the coming months and send chocolate!

Did you miss me? Presto! I'm here!

Sorry, dahlings, that I haven’t written lately, but I’ve been outlining my novel. It sounds pretentious, I know, but I’m so thrilled and amazed that I’ve gotten this far in my online class, that I just had to announce it. The class is offered by Writer’s Village, a great group of friendly people with all levels of writing ability.

I’ve set up my compost bin and filled it with yard clippings. (see thrilling action photo to the right) It’s called the Presto, but it took me about 5 hours to set it up because I had to clear away so much weeds and miscellaneous stuff we had stowed out of sight (and out of mind) on the side of the house. Good thing my husband helped me or I’d have been at it all day. Next come the food scraps and hosing it down every now and then. February should be a good time to start planting, so I need to get self-watering inserts for my pots. I’ve also got my heart set on a sexy new pitch fork and the Original Bucket Screener for getting down with it with my steaming hot compost. Or I could track down James de Boer the Yard Farmer (he’s featured in this week’s issue of The District with no contact information) and get him to grow veggies in my front yard. Is this a zoning violation waiting to happen?

I had a Blue Line adventure last Friday but got no decent pictures, so I didn’t post about it. I stopped in at that temple of knowledge, the Los Angeles Public Library I picked up a few books (for research on my novel, dahling) and stopped in at an interesting exhibit of maps. Not much about Long Beach, but lots of interesting information on Southern California history. It’s been extended through March, so check it out if you get a chance.

Have You Read It Yet?

I’m proud to answer an emphatic YES to the question. This year, I am all read up and ready for the week that the Long Beach Public Library Foundation celebrates Long Beach Reads One Book. From March 6 to 14, events will be held all over the city featuring the book called Three Cups of Tea, which details the harrowing near-death experience of mountaineer Greg Mortenson after his unsuccessful attempt to climb K-2 (a more rugged neighbor of Mount Everest) and of his subsequent quest to build schools for the impoverished villages of the remote mountain regions of Afghanistan as a way to repay the people who saved his life.

The highlight of the week will be an appearance by Mortenson on March 6 at the Carpenter Center on the CSULB campus. Tickets for the event are already available. There’ll be several opportunities to learn more about the book and Mortenson’s group, Central Asia Institute, at the local libraries as well as a Read-a-thon on Second Street and a Spoken Word Festival on March 14. Once the full schedule has been finalized, it will be posted on the Foundation’s website. This year, Smithsonian Week will be combined with Long Beach Reads One Book, a pairing that promises to offer a rich assortment of cultural experiences. So hustle on down to your nearest neighborhood library and pick up a copy of Mortenson's book. You'll be glad you did!