Just Life| Pont des Arts

It was a cold winter morning in Paris. I was walking with my daughter along the River Seine trying to get to Notre Dame when we came across this unattractive bridge over the Seine River. It was called Pont des Arts.

" What an ugly bridge"

Pont des Arts. Picture from DEMOTIX.COM

The bridge was so unattractive and out of place compared to all the other magnificent bridges that we had seen so far.

The bridge had black railings and there were thousands and thousands of padlocks covering the railings on both sides.

There has to be a story behind it. I was a bit intrigued. Later on, I was surprised by what I learned about that bridge.

I found out that lovers go to Pont des Arts bridge and attach padlocks to it's railing and then they throw the keys in the river below to achieve eternal love.

How romantic is that. The bridge was becoming more attractive by the second. I wished my husband was there with us.

Pont Alexandre III, Paris

I have never been fortunate enough to visit Paris with my husband, but when that day comes, I guarantee that I am taking a sturdy padlock with me. :)

So, don't forget Pont des Arts on your trip to France and don't forget to check out travel books from your local library.

Notre Dame

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Books On Film | The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch

The Seventh Son, which was released in theaters yesterday, is an adaptation of Revenge of the Witch, the first book in the sixteen book children's fantasy series The Last Apprentice. In Revenge of the Witch, Thomas Ward, twelve years old and newly minted as an apprentice, is tricked into releasing an evil witch and has to help fight to protect the people of his land.

Young Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son, starts work as an apprentice for the village spook, whose job is to protect ordinary folk from "ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties."

She's Crafty | BiblioCraft

Ahem, you just have to listen to the full title of this book I will be talking about in today's post:

BiblioCraft: A Modern Crafter's Guide to Using Library Resources to Jumpstart Creative Projects.

Sounds pretty amazing, right? And it is.

BiblioCraft by Jessica Pigza is about finding inspiration for a craft project from library resources. This is not a book that will direct you to craft books about a specific craft with information that guides you through a craft, step-by-step. BiblioCraft shows you how to comb special collections found at the library for inspiration with multiple projects to illustrate just how to do this.

How a type specimen book can help you find that perfect background shape for a greeting card.

How marbled endpapers from a collection found at the New York Public Library is the inspiration for a fabric pencil pouch.

How a book that collects animal watermarks inspired Pigza to create Watermark Pillows, which are cool in more ways than one because there is a story behind each image. It's not just any old rooster, it's a rooster that was used by a papermaker in the Spanish city of Orihuela in the fifteenth-century!

BiblioCraft features over twenty projects to guide you through the possibilities--the endless, wondrous possibilities. Pigza gives you the information needed to plot a course through the collections at a library, what to keep in mind when it comes to copyright laws, digital library offerings, and a handy list of recommended library collections from around the world. If you think what your next project needs is a little bit of library style, click here to find a copy at one of our branches. I highly recommend a peek!

Malia

Just Life| Exam Preparation Books

Do you know that you can find many exam preparation books in your local library? 

For example, you can find SAT preparation books, GED materials, CBEST test guides, nursing exam preparation books, and this list goes on and on.

Many government jobs require you to take some sort of civil service exam and the library carries some of these civil service exam books to get you ready.

Why pay $25 for an exam book that you are going to use only for a week or so? Just head to your local library and the chances are, we carry that exam preparation book or we can request it from the Link+ (which is a free inter-library loan system).

Here are a few examples of civil service exam books that we carry in our public libraries.

Master the civil service exams 

Arco master the clerical exams

Master the corrections officer exam  

Police officer exam  

Accounting & auditing clerk

Taking the SAT Exam is a right of passage for every high school student. Don't worry, we have plenty of SAT preparation guides to get your child ready.

Cracking the SAT 

Peterson's Master the SAT, 2015 

If someone needs to get their high school equivalency test, we have GED preparation guides in the library. At the Literacy Office in Cesar Chavez Library, you can also find free GED help at your finger tip.

How to prepare for the GED test 

New GED : strategies, practice & review 


Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Learning | Pirates! In the Library!

One of the most interesting places in a library is the reference section.  It's a great place to look for answers to research questions, but the best thing about being in the reference section is stumbling on information you did not know existed. 

Recently, a co-worker found The Pirates' Who's Who, Giving Particulars of the Lives and Deaths of the Pirates & Buccaneers. Well, I was so surprised, you could have knocked me over with a feather.  A book about pirates in the Reference Section? An old book, from 1924. Over a century ago! And the thought of the pirates having a "who's who" book tickled my funny bone.

After we tried to look up Captain Jack Sparrow (who is a fictional*character, and unfortunately not in this book,) we thumbed through, looking up famous pirates, and discovering the not-so-well remembered pirates of yesteryear.


I looked up Jean Lafitte. He was a complicated guy.  He and his brother were blacksmiths in old New Orleans; they started selling smuggled goods through their shop. The goods came from pirates and privateers, who traded on an island in Barataria Bay. The governor tried to have the Lafitte brothers convicted for this activity, but they were acquitted. Lafitte and the Baratarians sided with the Americans in war against the English, helping to win the Battle of New Orleans. His blacksmith shop still stands, in the Vieux Carré (French Quarter) in New Orleans.

Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. Top: Historical sketch book and guide to New Orleans and environs, with map : illustratedwith many original engravings, and containing exhaustive accounts of the traditions, historical legends, and remarkable localities of the Creole city from Internet Archives Book Images' photostream on Flickr.com. No known copyright restrictions. Bottom: Modern photo from 2012, from Andrew Wiseman's photostream on Flickr.com. Some rights reserved.

The Pirates' Who's Who book cannot be checked out, since it is a reference book. You can visit Cesar Chavez Central Library, and look at it in the library.  You do have some other options, however.  If you have an eReader, download a free digital copy of the book from Project Gutenberg. 

Looking for more pirate books?  Here's a list of some pirate books in SSJCPL's collection; most of these can be checked out.

If you really need library materials about Captain Jack Sparrow,  this list can help.

She's Crafty | Space Light Structure

During an episode of Antiques Roadshow a woman brought in a collection of jewelry that caught my eye. Modern, beautiful, and luminous, I was drawn into following the appraisal more closely and yearned to hear more about the artist who turned out to be Margaret De Patta.

To learn more about the artist and her jewelry I sought out books--of course--and found, Space Light Structure: The Jewelry of Margaret De Patta through Link+. In 2012 the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and the Oakland Museum of California put together an exhibit showcasing Margaret De Patta's jewelry pieces. Space Light Structure is the exhibition catalogue, pairing the work that went on display with the history of such topics as the Bauhaus movement, modernism, the artist herself, and constructivism.

Margaret De Patta had a knack for balancing the elements of her pieces in such a way that encourages people to wonder how these structures come together. The effect is absolutely stunning and masterful.

You can learn more about the Margaret De Patta Studio Jewelry appraisal from Antiques Roadshow on the PBS website by clicking here. There's a slideshow of the jewelry collection featured on the episode as well as a video of the appraisal.

If you, like me, are now inspired to try your hand at designing some works of jewelry art, here's a short list of what we have to help inspire and guide your explorations:

• Enchanted Adornments: Creating Mixed-Media Jewelry with Metal Clay, Wire, Resin and More by Cynthia Thornton.
• The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jewelry Making Techniques by Vannetta Seecharran.
• Steampunk-Style Jewelry : A Maker's Collection of Victorian, Fantasy, and Mechanical Designs by Jean Cambell.

If you would like to see a longer list, click on the search term jewelry making to see the results. All 109 of them!

Malia

Just Life| Soup Galore

It has been so cold and gloomy these past several days. All I am craving is a hearty pot of soup.

Unfortunately, I am not very good at making one. The only decent soup that I can make is barley soup. But I am not in the mood for barley soup. This cold weather calls for a hearty soup and I don't know how to make one.

I wish my mom was here now, but she is 1000's of miles away.

I think I should stop the self pity though!

For heaven' sake, I work in a library. Thousands of wonderful soup recipes are just a few shelves away.

So I am getting myself some cookbooks and I am gonna learn how to make some delicious soups.

You never know, maybe, I would surprise my mom with a hearty soup when she comes to visit this February. Just wish me luck.

Here are a few books that I am gonna check out:

• Soup of the day : 150 delicious and comforting recipes from our favorite restaurants 

• No taste like home : a celebration of regional Southern cooking and hometown flavor 

• Soup & stew

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha