To find out what’s going on at your local branch of the Fresno County Library check out this link to their event calendar http://califa.evanced.info/fresno/lib/eventcalendar.asp?ln=ALL
FRESNO COUNTY READS FAREWELL TO MANZANAR
Library Hosts Discussions of Democracy and WWII Japanese American Incarceration
The Fresno County Public Library will present a series of programs and activities around the book Farewell to Manzanar to inspire discussions exploring the meaning of democracy. Programs launch August 11 and continue through September 23.
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston is a riveting first-person account about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The touching, funny and tragic memoir shares the experiences of Ms. Wakatsuki Houston when she was uprooted from home at age seven with her family and incarcerated at Manzanar and the prejudices that the family endured even after their release from camp.
Local programs are part of Searching for Democracy and California Reads, an unprecedented statewide initiative by Cal Humanities designed to animate public conversations on the nature and needs of democracy in this national election year. Students, families, friends and neighbors will be inspired to discover lessons about democracy that lie in works of fiction and non-fiction.
The Library received a $14,700 grant from Cal Humanities to host programs and activities around Farewell to Manzanar for California Reads. Fresno County is one of 51 public library systems in California that received grants to discuss five democracy-themed books chosen through a public nomination process last fall.
Ms. Wakatsuki Houston will visit Fresno on August 24 for an author talk hosted by the Library and the Fresno City College Speakers Forum. Other featured programs include: Toro Nagashi Floating Lantern Ceremony on August 11, Ansel Adams Manzanar Photo Exhibition Opening Reception and Civil Rights Panel Discussion at the Fresno Art Museum on August 17, Japanese Cultural Sampler on August 18, Poetry of Justice reading lead by local poet Lee Herrick on August 30, Film screening of “Valor with Honor” Nisei veterans documentary and director Q&A on September 8, Grateful Crane 1940s musical revue on September 15, and a Manzanar National Historic Site Bus Tour on September 22-23.
“The goal of California Reads is to stimulate a community conversation about the past, present and future of democracy,” says Laurel Prysiazny, Fresno County Librarian. “It is our hope that the messages of Farewell to Manzanar will promote a stronger sense of community and a more informed citizenry countywide.”
California Reads programs are made possible with support from Cal Humanities in partnership with the California Center for the Book and the California State Library.
SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL LIBRARY CARD SIGN-UP MONTH
The Fresno County Public Library celebrates National Library Card Sign-Up Month in September. The annual initiative reminds parents and children that a library card is the most important school supply of all.
Local activities this year feature a new “Bring a Friend” incentive which offers a $5 waiver for overdue fines to everyone who gets a friend to sign up for a Fresno County Public Library card. Limit of one waiver per person. As in previous years, kids and teens can also earn a coupon for free ice cream when they sign up for a card.
A library card offers access to books, computers, homework help, job searches, resume assistance, financial information, CDs, DVDs and a wealth of other free resources. For more information, the public can go to www.fresnolibrary.org or contact their local library.
A complete schedule of events will be available in early August at local libraries and online at www.fresnolibrary.org. Additional information about Searching for Democracy and California Reads is available at http://www.calhum.org/grants/california-reads-grant.
OPEN HOUSE WILL HIGHLIGHT DIVERSITY, VALUE OF LOCAL LIBRARIES
All 34 branches of the Fresno County Public Library will host local Open House activities on Saturday, October 6, from 12 noon to 2 pm. Each branch will showcase Library programs and services for their local community.
Whether it’s research databases, story times for children, job and career resources, reading materials, movies, music, Wi-Fi access, computers, tutoring, genealogy or homework help, local libraries offer value for everyone. Open House activities will especially reach out to community members who are not library users as well as existing users who may not be aware of the diversity of free programs and services offered by their local libraries.
“The Open House is an invitation for everyone to discover, or re-discover, what’s new at their local libraries,” says Laurel Prysiazny, Fresno County Librarian. “Even regular users are often pleasantly surprised to learn about a free service or program that they didn’t realize was available at the Library.”
For more information, go to www.fresnolibrary.org or contact the nearest branch library.
