Carl Winters, Kalimba King: Coming in Jan. '08

Carl Winters: Kalimba King
Tuesday, Jan. 22, @ 5pm in the community room

All ages are invited to enjoy this one-of-a-kind musical performance by Carl Winters, master of the African kalimba (aka thumb piano). Explore the historical and cultural roots of this interesting instrument as the Kalimba King performs and invites the audience to participate! Find out more about Carl Winters at his website: Kalimba King

10 Years of Books for Little Hands!

Congratulations to San Jose Public Library's Books for Little Hands program on 10 years of excellent service to the youngest members of our community! Books for Little Hands is SJPL's outreach program that fosters early literacy by connecting educators and childcare providers with books, classroom kits, workshops, and other resources to use in the classroom or at daycare for children ages 0-5. Teachers and care providers can visit any SJPL branch, including West Valley, to check out these special materials. Last year alone, 8,328 children in San Jose were served by this program! Check out the Books for Little Hands website for more information.

West Valley library has got a book club!

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls ... our library has undertaken the task of starting-up a new book club and we have high hopes for the future of this literary endeavor. Upon receiving periodic suggestions for the formation of such a group and encountering a small but committed group of library goers and their friends, we have put together a reading club scheduled to begin with the first meeting on January 9th of the new year (2008!) at 6:30pm. And, yes, thank you for asking, we have picked a title to discuss that evening. The inaugural title for the book club will be Snow Mountain Passage by James Houston, a local author from Santa Cruz whose novel is a fictionalized account of the infamous Donner Party. All are welcome and we hope to have a list of future book club selections in the next couple of months for those of you who like to plan ahead. Please help us make this local literary gathering a success and we hope to see you there!

Holiday Season at West Valley Library

It's December! Take some time out from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and spend some time at the West Valley Branch Library! Here are some of our programs going on this month.

Improv Workshop for Youth
Sat. Dec. 1st at 2pm
Please join us for this fun and engaging workshop for children and teens, ages 7 and up. Learn improvisation skills and play fun theater games. This workshop will be led by the Willow Glen Children's Theatre!

Design Some Holiday Gift Wrap or Card
Sat. Dec. 8 at 2pm
Get a head start on your holiday wrapping by joining us for a free holiday craft program. We will be using items around the house or yard to design some unique gift wrap. All materials will be provided by the library. This program is geared for children 5 and up. Please wear old clothes since painting can be messy.
This event takes place in the Community Room.

Let's Talk About It: Jewish Literature Discussion Series, Session 5
Sun. Dec. 9 at 2pm
Join us for a lecture and discussion of Mona in the Promised Land by Gish Jen. This is the last of a five-part book discussion series: Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature - Identity and Imagination. Participants of all backgrounds are invited to explore the theme “Neighbors: The World Next Door” through the reading and discussion of works of contemporary and classic Jewish literature.

Anime & Manga Club for Teens
Fri. Dec. 14 at 4pm
Do you love all things anime and manga? West Valley Branch Library has a new anime and manga club for teens ages 12-18, and we want YOU to join! Watch anime episodes, discuss manga series, try some Japanese snacks, meet new friends, and have fun!

teensReach Meeting
Thurs. Dec. 20 at 4pm
teensReach is our advisory and volunteer group for teens ages 13-18. We meet every third Thursday of the month. Earn volunteer hours, share your ideas, make a difference in your community, and have fun! Please join us at the next meeting!

Game On! Gaming Party for Teens
Thurs. Dec. 27 at 4pm
Teens, join us for our monthly gaming party! Enjoy some snacks and try out some fun new multi-player video games or board games. For ages 12-18.

Reminder: We will be closed Dec. 23-25 (Sun.-Tues) and Dec. 30-Jan. 1 (Sun.-Tues.) for the holidays. Also, all story times will take a break between Dec. 16-Jan. 6th. Happy Holidays!

*NEW* Anime and Manga Club

Anime and Manga Club for Teens
Thursday, Nov. 8 at 4pm

Have you read nearly all the manga we have in the library? Do you sketch characters all over your notebook? Love watching anime episodes and movies?
West Valley Branch Library is starting a new anime and manga club for teens ages 12-18, and we want YOU to join!
Come to our first meeting to help us decide on a name, and submit your sketches or ideas for our logo! We’ll be watching brand new anime trailers and episodes, and we’ll share our favorite manga series. Try some tasty Japanese snacks, meet new friends, and enjoy all things anime and manga! We'll be meeting in the community room.

Edenvale Branch opens tomorrow!

San Jose Public Library has a brand new branch library opening tomorrow! Check it out!

Grand Opening Celebration - New Edenvale Library
Free community celebration, featuring a ceremonial ribbon cutting, entertainment and children's activities. Immediately following the brief dedication ceremony, residents will be able to obtain library cards and enjoy full use of the new Edenvale Branch Library. The Dedication Ceremony begins at 11:00 AM, at the new Edenvale Library, 101 Branham Lane East.

Fall is here, and so are the programs!

Fall is here! We have lots of great events going on here at West Valley this month. Check the calendar for our complete listing of upcoming programs, or be sure to take a monthly calendar the next time you visit! Here are some highlights for these coming weeks:

West Valley's 3rd Annual Bookmark Contest for Children
Oct. 1-31, all month long
In honor of Children's Book Week, help the library encourage everyone to spend time each day with a favorite book by designing an original bookmark promoting books and reading. Children in grades K through 8 are invited to submit their entries to the West Valley Library by October 31st, 2007. One winner will be chosen for each grade level. Winning bookmarks will be printed and distributed at the library during Children's Book Week (Nov. 12 -18th) Everyone is welcome to attend our special presentation program that honors our winners on Tuesday, November 13th at 6:30pm.

Parenting Through Nature
October 13, Saturday, 2pm
Storyteller Wendolyn Bird will lead a workshop for parents about using nature to inspire and educate kids.

Glue and Go Costumes for Kids
October 16, Tuesday, 7pm
Holly Cleeland, author of Glue and Go Costumes for Kids, will demonstrate how to make great costumes out of household materials! Holly Cleeland has made television appearances, including HGTV and the Rachael Ray show.

teensReach Meeting & Teen Read Week Celebration
October 18, Thursday, 4pm
teensReach is our advisory and volunteer group for teens ages 13-18. We meet every 3rd Thursday of the month. Earn volunteer hours, share your ideas, make a difference in your community, and have fun! Please join us at the next meeting! We will also be celebrating national Teen Read Week with food, fun activities, and Nintendo Wii!

Get Crafty!: Teen Craft Activity
Thursday, October 25, 4pm
Teens and tweens, join us for a fun craft activity! We will be making cool crafts to celebrate Halloween and Día de Los Muertos. Decorate a skull or make tissue paper flowers! For ages 10-18.

Game On! Gaming Party for Teens
Friday, October 26, 3:30pm
Teens, join us for our monthly gaming party! Show us your Nintendo Wii skills on a huge projected screen. Enjoy some snacks and try out some fun new multi-player video games or board games. For ages 12-18

Homework Help is here!

West Valley Library's homework center is now officially up and running for the 2007-2008 academic year.We have two tutors in our branch every Monday thru Thursday from 3pm to 6pm offering tutoring on a drop-in basis for students in grades k thru 12. Come and check out this great service to the students in our community and for more information, click here where you'll also find a link to an online tutoring service offered to library card holders of San Jose Public Library.

TeensReach Meeting

TeensReach Meeting
Thursday, September 20, 4pm

Hey Teens! West Valley invites YOU to join our TeensReach group!

What is it? TeensReach is the library's teen advisory and volunteer group that meets once a month to share ideas, plan activities, and discuss upcoming volunteer opportunities. It's a great way to get involved in your community! Join us for some snacks and let us know what YOU think! For ages 13-18.

Willow Glen Children's Theatre Workshop

Willow Glen Children's Theatre: Improvisational Workshop
Saturday, September 15 1-3pm

We are pleased to present an improvisational workshop led by Willow Glen Children's Theatre. In this workshop for children ages 7 and up, participants will have fun learning improvisational skills and inventing scenes. Join us in the community room for this fun (and free!) program!

"It's Easy Being Green"

"It's Easy Being Green": A Guide to Energy Efficiency and Alternatives
Thursday, August 30, 9 AM - 11:30 AM
West Valley Library Community Room.

We are pleased to welcome Congressman Mike Honda to the West Valley Library. Exchange ideas and information with multiple green organizations on how to live a low-carbon lifestyle. An expert panel will provide perspectives of researchers, scientists, students, architects, environmentalists, and hi-tech companies in the Silicon Valley on the topic of green living. We hope to see you there!


Check here for more information about Congressman Mike Honda and his local forums on green living.

Gaming Party for Teens

Game On! Gaming Party for Teens Thursday, September 27 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Hey teens, let’s play some video games in the library! Join us in the community room for some awesome new multi-player games on a huge projected screen. There will be plenty of games and consoles to try. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, it will be lots of fun! We will also have board games and snacks. This event is for ages 12-18. Stay tuned for more gaming in the library!

Jewish Literature Discussion Series

Join us for a free reading and discussion series that uses five works of Jewish literature to explore the theme Neighbors: The World Next Door. The relationship between neighboring cultures animates these works of history and fiction, which trace the Jewish experience from Muslim Spain to Bolshevik Russia to contemporary America. Five scholar-led discussions will be held on Sunday afternoons 2pm-4pm in the community room of the West Valley Branch Library beginning August 26. Pre-registration is recommended: contact the Library at (408) 244-4766 or Ruth.Kohan@sjlibrary.org.
Check out this page for more information about this series.

Join us in the community room at 2pm on Sunday, August 26, for a lecture and discussion of A Journey to the End of the Millennium by A.B. Yehoshua.

Summer Reading ends soon...

Our Summer Reading Celebration, happening at all San Jose Public Libraries, ends August 11! Here at West Valley, we are giving you an extra week to come and redeem your prizes...Please come pick them up no later than August 18.

ALSO, here at West Valley Branch, our generous Friends of the Library group is holding a special drawing to reward readers who have finished all 30 hours in their reading logs! Four $50 bookstore gift certificates will be given out to kids and teens who have finished their logs and filled out an entry form, available at the Summer Reading table. If you have already finished and redeemed your prizes earlier this summer, just bring your reading log back to us and we will give you an entry form for the drawing.

Courtesy Notices for Materials

Effective today, August 3rd, courtesy notices via email have been successfully implemented in our system! This means that all customers who have given us a valid email address will now receive an email reminder 3 days before an item is due in order to remind them to return or renew materials. Very helpful! You can log in to your account online, or see a staff person at an San Jose library to make sure that your contact information is current. This electronic service will only be available to customers who have supplied us with an email address; it will not be available for customers contacted via phone messages. Enjoy!

August Events @ West Valley

Here's what's happening this August at West Valley Branch Library!

Summer Reading Celebration
The Summer Reading Celebration ends August 11! Please come before then with your completed reading logs to claim your prizes!

Game Day and Cookie Tasting Popularity Contest
Tuesday, August 7, 2-3pm
Join us as we play a variety of board and word games with friends and family. After some relaxing summer fun, we will then taste and decide which of our cookies is the most popular and the yummiest. A nice way to end our 2007 Summer Reading Celebration Program.

Free Citizenship Q&A
Saturday, August 25, 3-5pm
Do you have questions about your citizenship application, application process or immigration status? Would you like to know whether you are qualified for "special consideration?" Check out the Citizenship Q & A sessions in multiple languages at West Valley Library. These sessions will be offered the 4th Saturday of every month from 3-5pm beginning on August 25th.

West Valley Library's Book Sale
Saturday, August 25, 9-3pm
The West Valley Library is having a book sale. From 9 - 10AM Friends Members Only; 10AM - 3PM General Sale and from 2 - 3PM Bargain Bag Sale. GREAT BARGAINS! BEAUTIFUL BOOKS! All proceeds benefit the Library. Sponsored by Friends of the West Valley Library.

Let's Talk About It: Jewish Literature Discussion Series, Session 1
Sunday, August 26, 2-4pm
Join us for a lecture and discussion of A Journey to the End of the Millennium by A.B. Yehoshua. This is the first of a five-part book discussion series: Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature - Identity and Imagination. Participants of all backgrounds are invited to explore the theme “Neighbors: The World Next Door” through the reading and discussion of five works of contemporary and classic Jewish literature. Each session will open with a presentation by David Mesher, Professor of English at San José State University. Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association. Pre-registration is recommended so that we can provide sufficient hand-outs and refreshments for all participants. To register, call the West Valley Branch at (408) 244-4766 or e-mail ruth.kohan@sjlibrary.org.

Check out our event calendar for more upcoming events.

West Valley has a blog!

Welcome to the West Valley Branch Library's new blog! We are part of the San Jose Public Library, located in West San Jose. Click here for more information about our branch. We will keep you posted on upcoming events, info and photos from past programs, news, and other library-related information. Please leave comments on our posts to offer your feedback, suggestions, or just say hello!