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News
Coming
Events
Adult
& Youth
News
Newsletter
Annual
Report
Visit
the South Pasadena Public Library
1100 Oxley
St.
South Pasadena
California, 91030

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| UP
COMING EVENTS |
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Restoration
Concert Series
information
for
Fall 2010 - Spring 2011
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An
Author Night Program
with
Historian Tom Zimmerman
Thursday
September 23, 2010
at 7:00 p.m.
Paradise Promoted explores
the years from
1870 to
1930 when a small town was developed
into the city that would become Americas
most cutting-edge metropolis.
Read
more
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Event
will take place in the Community Room
Read
more
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Amanda Pope and Nicholas Spark
at the Film's Opening
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Tuesday
October 5, 2010
at
7:00 p.m.
Award-winning
Author
Ron Koertge

Read
more
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Ron
Koertge
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Thursday
October 21, 2010
at 7:00 p.m.
Screening of "Autumn Gem"
brings the story of Qiu Jin to
life.
Produced
and directed by
Rae Chang and Adam Tow
Screening
will take place in the Community Room
Read
more
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The
following youth programs have been funded in full or
in part by the Friends of the South Pasadena Public
Library
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If
fractions have you flummoxed, algebra
makes you allergic, history has
you hysterical, or long division
leaves you dazzled, the South Pasadena
Public Library can help you with
its online tutoring service.
From
any Web-enabled computer in the
library or at home, a student can
click on the Live Homework Help
link on the library's Web site at
www.cityofsouthpasadena.us/library
and engage in controlled online
chat with a math, English, science
or social studies expert. Students
and tutors can also work on an interactive
white board, share educational Web
sites and send files back and forth
for a rewarding learning exchange
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Funded
by grants from the Friends of the South
Pasadena Public Library and the Library
Services and Technology Act, the Live Homework
Help from Tutor.com has assisted nearly
4,000 South Pasadena students over the past
few years.
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| UP
COMING EVENTS in detail |
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Producer
and writer Nicholas Spark and Director Amanda Pope
will personally present their 2009 documentary film
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom
Riding Club
on September 2 at 8:00
p.m. in the Library Community Room.
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The film explores the life of Florence Lowe "Pancho"
Barnes (1901-1975), a daredevil tomboy who grew up to
become one of the most important women in 20th Century
aviation. Born into a wealthy Pasadena family in 1901,
Florence Lowe's father was a millionaire sportsman and
her mother an aristocrat from a prominent Philadelphia
family. To appease her high-society mother, at age 19
Florence married the highly respectable Rev. C. Rankin
Barnes of St. James Church in South Pasadena, but she
had little interest in being a minister's wife.
In 1928, Barnes decided to become a pilot for the thrill
of it. Aviation soon became her profession. She was hired
as a test pilot by Lockheed and flew in the first Women's
Transcontinental Air Race in 1929. After emerging from
a Mexican adventure where she gained the name of Pancho,
she soon humiliated her husband by deliberately flying
past his church during a Sunday service. She later broke
Amelia Earhart's Air Speed Record, and was Hollywood's
first female stunt pilot -for Howard Hughes!
The Great Depression put a halt on Pancho's flying career
and extravagant lifestyle. In 1935 she ended up in the
Mojave Desert, near an Army Air Corps bombing range called
Muroc, later to be known as Edwards Air Force Base. Barnes'
own "The Happy Bottom Riding Club" became its
social center and notorious as the boisterous oasis visited
by some of the most important fliers of the time. A few
years later, things began to go downhill. Edwards Air
Force Base had become home to secret military programs
and top security. At the same time, allegations circled
that the Happy Bottom Riding Club was a house of ill repute.
The FBI launched an investigation, and as legal proceedings
began, a mysterious fire destroyed the Club's ranch.
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom
Riding Club features interviews with many of those
who knew her best including Buzz Aldrin and Chuck Yeager.
The voice of Pancho is that of Kathy Bates who won an
Academy Award for her performance in Misery.
Narration is provided by Tom Skeritt, known for roles
in M*A*S*H and Alien, as an Emmy winner
for Picket Fences, and as a fighter pilot
in Top Gun. The film also features rare
photographs, footage, and documents, many shown for the
first time.
Nicholas Spark has produced or directed a number of award-winning
documentary films. He holds a master's in Film Production
from USC and is a two-time winner of the student Emmy
in non-fiction filmmaking. Amanda Pope has an extensive
background in producing and directing documentaries and
dramas. Her previous experience includes directing and
writing Jackson Pollock Portrait for PBS
and co-producing the 90-minute film Wilbur and Orville
about the Wright Brothers.
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The event
is presented by the South Pasadena Public Library
and the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library.
The Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro
Street. No tickets or reservations are necessary.
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The
version of the film that will be shown is
the "Film Festival Edition" that
is 7 minutes longer than the one shown on
PBS. Some of the language may not be appropriate
for young children. Refreshments will be provided.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. |
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COMING EVENTS in detail |
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-- AUTHOR
NIGHT --
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An Author Night
Program with Historian Tom Zimmerman will be presented
in the South Pasadena Library Community Room on
Thursday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. The program
is presented by the Friends of the South Pasadena
Public Library, and the Library. Zimmerman has penned
two recent books: Downtown in Detail: Close-Up
on the Historic Buildings of Downtown Los Angeles
and Paradise Promoted: The
Booster Campaign that Created Los Angeles 1870-1930.
Downtown
in Detail stunningly shows off Zimmermans
lively, insightful analyses of downtown LAs
most glorious architectural landmarks of a bygone
era. It also showcases his perceptive photographs
of a wealth of our grandest architectural marvels,
and their sculptures, tiles, clock towers, and gargoyles.
The book is designed as a walking tour guide, map
included, that will lead visitors enjoyably to a
wealth of distinctive palaces in and near the Historic
Core around Main, Spring, Broadway, and Hill Streets.
In doing so, Zimmerman passionately makes the case
that Los Angeles still has the most intact pre-World
War II downtown in the United States. While other
cities were demolishing their downtown buildings
at an alarming clip, suburban sprawl in the name
of progress was taking place in Los Angeles .There
was simply no need to tear down LAs downtown
buildings because nobody wanted to build anything
new there anyway.
An opulent coffee
table book with more than 250 photographs, Paradise
Promoted explores the years from 1870 to
1930 when a small town was developed into the city
that would become Americas most cutting-edge
metropolis. It also presents rare ephemera collected
by Zimmerman that served as important elements of
the longest, loudest, most persistent promotional
campaign in the history of the United States.
Tom Zimmerman
is a native Southern Californian whose photographs
are in the permanent collections of the Library
of Congress, National Trust for Historic Preservation,
and California State Library.
The Community
Room is located at 1115 El Centro Street. No tickets
or reservations are necessary. Doors open at 6:30
p.m. and refreshments will be provided.
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| UP
COMING EVENTS in detail |
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Seasoned
and aspiring writers alike can get useful tips,
memorable inspiration, and practical answers from
award-winning author Ron Koertge.
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Mr. Koertge will conduct a special workshop
in the
Community Room
of the
South Pasadena Public Library
at
1115 El Centro Street
on
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
at
7:00 p.m.
The program is sponsored by
the South Pasadena Public Library,
the Friends, and Poets & Writers, Inc.
with financial support from
the James Irvine Foundation.
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Koertge
is the author of many acclaimed young adult novels,
including Stoner & Spaz, winner
of the PEN award; Shakespeare Bats Cleanup;
and his latest novel, Shakespeare Makes the
Playoffs. Booklist proclaimed
it A standout
The poems are funny, touching,
and always energetic.
Ron was a faculty
member for more than thirty-five years at Pasadena
City College, where he taught everything from Shakespeare
to remedial writing. Ron also writes poetry for
adults and teaches at Hamline University in the
MFA in Writing for Children Program.
Former South
Pasadena resident, Lynore G. Banchoff, author of
Past Tense and Parts of Speech on Beech Street,
a book of poems inspired by her childhood in South
Pasadena, will conclude the event with a brief reading
from her book which is also in the Library collection.
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Doors
will open at 6:30 p.m.
No tickets or reservations are necessary.
Participants are encouraged to bring pencils, pens,
and paper. Refreshments will be provided.
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COMING EVENTS in detail |
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Screening
of
"Autumn Gem"
at the South Pas Library
on October 21
"Arise! Arise! Chinese women, arise!"
- Qiu Jin
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Meet the "Chinese Joan of Arc," Qiu Jin
(1875-1907), a radical women's rights activist who
defied Tradition. Qiu Jin boldly challenged conventional
gender roles and demanded equal rights and opportunities
for women. She was the first woman to lead an armed
uprising against the corrupt Qing Dynasty, for which
she was captured and executed. She became the first
female martyr for China's 1911 Revolution and is
celebrated as a national heroine today. While Qiu
Jin is a familiar figure in China, she is largely
unknown outside of the country. AUTUMN GEM is
the first documentary feature on Qiu Jin in the
U.S. Using scholar interviews, archival materials,
and dramatic recreation scenes based on her original
writings, AUTUMN GEM brings the story of Qiu Jin
to life.
The hour-long film was produced and directed by
two San Francisco Bay Area Chinese American filmmakers,
Rae Chang and Adam Tow. It stars former China National
Martial Arts Champion and Hollywood stunt actress
Li Jing. The project's partners include the San
Francisco Chinese Culture Center, the San Diego
Chinese Historical Society, and the Official Qiu
Jin Museum in Shaoxing, China. AUTUMN GEM has screened
at over forty venues nationwide, including Stanford
University, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Princeton, and
the Tribeca Film Center in New York.
The South Pasadena Public Library and the Friends
of the South Pasadena Library will host a screening
of the film on Thursday, October 21, 2010
at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at 1115 El Centro
Street. No tickets
or reservations are necessary.
Filmmakers Rae Chang and Adam Tow will attend the
event and participate in a Q-and-A afterwards.
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Library Volunteer Kay Rosser Named a Woman of the
Year
for South Pasadena in the 29th Congressional District
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On
March 30, 2010 at a reception in Pasadena, Representative
Adam Schiff honored Library Volunteer Kay Rosser for her
commitment and service to South Pasadena by naming her
a Woman of the Year. Kay has been a volunteer
for South Pasadena Public Library since the early nineties
and was a member of the Board of Trustees for seven years.
Today, she co-chairs the Friends Restoration Concerts,
a series that benefits the restoration of the Library
Community Room. Kay was also recognized because of her
involvement as Volunteer Chair for the Los Angeles Festival,
in creating the Theatre Arts Angels, and as a Volunteer
Coordinator for Plaza de la Raza, a performing arts school.
Every March Rep. Schiff honors one outstanding woman from
each of the communities in the 29th Congressional District.
Rep. Schiff looks for women who through their work
or volunteerism have improved the quality of life
for the community.
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| NEWS |
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The 2010 Volunteer Recognition Luncheon was
conducted in the Community Room on April 16, 2010.
The event was conducted by the Library Board of
Board of Trustees and about 65 volunteers were
able to attend.
Mayor Richard D. Schneider, M.D. presented a Proclamation
from the
City of South Pasadena declaring it Library
Volunteer Recognition Day."
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The
Proclamation recognized
the valuable contributions made by more than
160 volunteers who donated more than 10,935
hours in 2009, assisting with such efforts
as the Friends Bookstore, the Restoration
Concert Series, Grandparents and Books, Author
Nights, and the Exterior Beautification Project.
Jane Schirmeister the President of the Friends
of the South Pasadena Library and Margaret
Leong, the President of the Library Board
of Trustees thanked their respective organizations
and gave much-deserved credit to all of the
tremendous support provided by the volunteers.
The
keynote speaker was Harry Brant Chandler,
who recent book for Angel City Press,
Dreamers in Dream City profiles some of the
leading LA visionaries with illuminating words
and arresting photographic images. Chandlers
own personal relationships with many of the
imposing figures in the book provided insight
into the makeup of these original thinkers
and achievers. He shared his personal observations
of several of these subjects during his captivating
presentation.
Chandler
is a fifth-generation member of both the Chandlers
and the Brants, two famous Los Angeles families
whose dreams helped shape the city from
the founding and running of the Los Angeles
Times to numerous civic, business, and real
estate endeavors. Chandler believes the Los
Angeles he knows so well is not a city of
nostalgia, but rather a dynamic, always-moving
metropolis. In both his book and during his
talk, Chandler offered tidbits of lasting
inspiration from these unique Southern Californians.
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Margaret
Leong, the President of the
Library Board of Trustees with Kathy Folsom,
Co-Chair of the Friends Restoration Concert
Committee and this years Volunteer
of
the year.
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Kay
Rosser......
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Mayor
Richard D. Schneider, M.D.
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Keynote
speaker, Harry Brant Chandler
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Folsom, Co-Chair of the Friends Restoration Concert
Committee was announced as this years Volunteer
of the year by Dorothy Cohen, the Bookstore/Steering
Committee Director. Kathy has served as a Committee
member for 10 years. Kathy credited her husband
Ron as one of her greatest resources in helping
her secure all the wonderful world class musicians
to perform in her hometown library.
During the
festivities all of the Librarys Volunteers
were thanked for their hard work and dedication.
The Bookstore Steering Committee, the Restoration
Concert Committee, the Measure L Committee,
South Pasadena Beautiful, and the Exterior Beautification
Committee were recognized as groups. Many Childrens
Services volunteer efforts were acknowledged including
the Summer Reading Program, the Grandparents and
Books Read-Aloud, and the Special Quarterly Series
for which volunteer Andy Lippman coordinated several
series, such as Journalism 101, Shakespeare for
Kids, and Summer Writing Camp.
Besides the
Volunteer of the Year, two other received special
mention: Dorothy Cohen,
who was accorded two statewide awards at
the California Library Association Annual Conference
in Pasadena last November, and Kay Rosser, the
other Co-Chair of the Restoration Concert Committee,
who was
just selected by Congressman Adam Schiff as the
Woman of the Year for South Pasadena in the 29th
Congressional District.
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ANNUAL REPORT |
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The
South Pasadena Public Library
is located at 1100 Oxley Street
OPEN
Monday through Wednesday from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
Thursday and Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
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Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library 1100
Oxley Street - South Pasadena, CA 91030
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