Archive
American Library Association Birthday!
The American Library Association (ALA) is turning 135 on October 6th!
To celebrate, think about the ways that your favorite library has helped you in your life! Did your library give you a love of reading as a child? Was it a safe place for you to hang out as a teen? Did you use our computers to print out a boarding pass for flying or pay an important bill? Did the library help you find a job? Or did we just help you find the perfect book to read?
Libraries are here for YOU! Celebrate ALA day your own way, remember your library and keep us in your heart.
Celebrate Banned Book Week
This week many libraries celebrate “Banned Books Week.” This week is remind all of us to exercise our freedom to choose and read what we want to read–not what others want us to read.
From the American Library Association’s (ALA) website:
Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.
The Richard Burges Library is showcasing many books that have been banned in other states and cities. We have a display near the check out desk with these books. Some of the banned titles might surprise you!
For more information, go to the ALA website!
Teenfest is coming up! Just 3 more weeks!
Teenfest is the kick-off to the Teen Summer Reading Club (Texas Teens Read!) but it’s much, much more than just that! Sure, you can register for Summer Reading, but you can also:
- Get free books
- See the Car Show
- Listen to live music and bands
- Watch Teens do cool things
- Make Crafts
- Play games
- Get silly
- Meet local authors
- Eat good food
- Get info for college
- And more!
TeenFest is at Cohen Stadium [map] on June 4th. It’s from 12 pm to 5:30 pm. It’s family friendly–so don’t just bring your teens, bring everyone.
Check out these photos from last year’s Teen Fest and make plans to be there! And… don’t forget to “Like” us on the Teen Hangout Facebook Fan Page for updates, news and more pictures.
15th Anniversary of El día de los niños/El día de los libros
2011 marks the Anniversary of the 15th year of the “Love of Reading” festival, El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Día, as it is affectionately called, is a celebration of books, reading and literacy for all children regardless of culture or background.
The festival of Día was promoted by author and poet, Pat Mora. She felt that since there was a mother’s and father’s day, there should also be a day set aside to celebrate children. Her insistence that there be a celebration for children, books and literacy found a lot of support. One of the first supporters was Veronica Myers from the El Paso Public Library. After a year of planning that included scholars, members of REFORMA and others, Día was celebrated on April 30, 1997.
For more information about the history of Día, visit Pat Mora’s history of Día and the American Library Association’s (ALA) site. From ALA, you can also look at a recommended booklist for Día!
And…. be sure to come to Washington Park this year. Día is Saturday, April 30 from 11 to 6 pm. For more information, visit our library website or watch this video!
Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros 2011
Check out this exciting video highlighting the up-coming Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros 2011. This festival has free events, fun games, free books for all children and Dora the Explorer!
Dia de Los Ninos: Coming April 30
Dia de los Ninos/Dia de los Libros is coming this year on April 30th at Washington Park! Watch footage from last year’s Dia and hear news about this year’s!
Don’t Know Vector Graphics? Don’t Freak!
You want to enter the TeenFest T-shirt Contest, but you don’t know how to make Vector Graphics? You don’t think you’re a good enough artist?
Don’t freak out. We’re here to help you find the information you need to succeed.
First, download the free, open source, vector graphics program, Inkscape. Now, point your browser to Wikimedia for an excellent tutorial on how to use your new program. Another great source for information is from the Inkscape FAQ.
For some nice examples of Vector art, check out these images:
If you’d like a template to download to play around with, I found one in the Public Domain (free to use) online here.
So, don’t panic! Be creative! Remember, the theme is “Going Global / Staying Connected.” We can’t wait to see your work!
Attribution: Cat picture by Katharine Moriarty (You scared me!) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsTexas Book Festival Winner!
Earlier this year, the Richard Burges Library was awarded a grant from the Texas Book Festival. The Texas Book Festival (TBF) is held every October in Austin. TBF was founded in 1996 by Laura Bush to promote literacy; additionally, TBF awards grants to public libraries that are seeking to upgrade technology or enhance their collections. With the grant, the Richard Burges Library has been able to buy some much needed and more current science project books for children. Also, the grant allowed us to purchase nonfiction and fiction children’s Spanish titles. These books are on display in the children’s area, and of course, are available for check-out. Below you will see a sampling of some of the new books we have received courtesy of the Texas Book Festival. Thank you Texas Book Festival!!!
The Día Festival
Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros took place this year at Washington Park on Saturday April 24. It was very cold in the morning and in the pictures, you can see staff bundled up to protect themselves from the chilly wind. As the day went on, it did get much warmer.
In the slideshow, you will see staff preparing the book distribution tent. Every year the El Paso Public Library gives books out for free to celebrate reading and to promote literacy. This year, over 9,000 books were distributed to El Paso families!
Other events at the Día include performances, dancing and singing, information booths, games, visits from the fire department and appearances by Dora the Explorer.
Enjoy the pictures of the El Paso Library staff doing what we do best: share our love of books!
