|
UP
COMING EVENTS |
| |
|
| |
|
MAY
26, 2013
4:00
p.m.
•
NEW
HOLLYWOOD STRING QUARTET*
*
The New Hollywood String Quartet - "Quartet
in Residence"
Read
more
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The
following youth programs have been funded in full or
in part by the Friends of the South Pasadena Public
Library
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
|
|
Stuffed
Animal Sleepover
photos are still available
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| COMING
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
MORE EVENTS COMING
SOON
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| NEWS
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yvonne
Voisin, a former president of the Friends of the Library
and active in the Friends Bookstore for more than
20 years, died March 17 while convalescing after a
short hospitalization. Yvonne, who had been honored
as a Volunteer of the Year by the Library Board of
Trustees, also served as publicity chair for both
the Concert Restoration Series Committee and the Friends
Board of Directors and had been very active in other
civic organizations.
A resident of South Pasadena since 1969, she was born
in Poole, England in 1930 and married Geoffrey Voisin,
a native of the Channel Island of Jersey-in 1952.
Their son Michael was born in 1953. Geoff's sales
career with British European Airways took them to
Chicago and Los Angeles where twin daughters Laura
and Samantha were born in 1962. Yvonne was divorced
in 1974.
From 1974-1989
she served as Public Relations Director for the
American Cancer Society's greater Los Angeles region.
In 1989 she formed her own consulting company, Voisin
Communications. Yvonne was active in many Service
Organizations; in 1979 she joined ALTRUSA, serving
as local president six times, at one point producing
their local newsletter and was currently serving
as local treasurer. While serving as president of
PIRATES (Print Interactive Radio and Television
Educational Society)from 1994-1996, Yvonne was integral
in keeping the organization solvent and focused.
In 2000 she
received their highest accolade, "The Golden
Buccaneer Award" for outstanding service within
PIRATES and through Voisin Communications to the
public service community in Los Angeles.
For over a quarter of a century she has been at
the center of preparation and booking for their
every program and event.
Since 2007 she
has worked with the Oneonta Club Foundation on their
Scholarship program and with
the Language Institute in Pasadena finding lodging
for foreign students. Since Oct 2012 she has worked
as proofreader for the South Pasadena Review. Yvonne
is survived by her three children and grandson Joshua.
|
|
|
|
| NEWS |
|
|
 |
Sally
Swan was a long-time South Pasadena resident and stalwart
community volunteer. Together with Dorothy Cohen,
Bev Engler and Margaret Wallace, she was one of the
founding members of the Friends of the South Pasadena
Public Library Bookstore. She served on the Friends
Board for many years. Sally and her husband Philip
Swan sponsored the publication of an illustrated booklet
celebrating the new Library building when it opened
in 1982. She also served as a member of the Library's
Centennial Committee and in 1993, after 23 years as
a Library volunteer, she was honored by the California
Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners
(CALTAC) as Volunteer of the Year.
Sally was passionate about gardening, reading, travel
and art. She was an accomplished watercolor painter,
calligrapher and accumulated a prized collection of
illustrated children's books. Traditionally, in December,
she would display her collection of antique children's
Christmas books. She was devoted to her family, and
each January for many years, she donated the funds
for the newest Newbery Award winner in honor of her
grandchildren, Emily, Audrey and Madeleine Steen.
Since Sally Swan's passing in March 2011, the Friends
of the South Pasadena Public Library have received
generous memorial donations to honor their beloved
family member, friend and colleague. To date, the
Friends have purchased 239 titles for a total of $4,400
from the Sally Swan Memorial Funds. All of these books
will include a bookplate identifying them as books
purchased in memory of Sally Swan. Specifically, the
funds were used to replace aging Caldecott Award winners
and to purchase notable picture or fiction books,
along with titles related to art and gardening. All
of these subjects were particularly special to Sally
Swan.
The remaining Sally Swan Memorial Funds, combined
with funding from the Estate of Keith L. Stiles and
dedicated to the Children's Services Department, will
be used for the construction of a Children's Room
Entry Mosaic. This architectural mosaic will be designed
and constructed by artist Jolino Becerra who recently
completed the whimsical and thoughtful mosaic sculpture
featured next to the information desk
in the Children's Services Department. The Children's
Room Entry Mosaic should be completed by the end
of 2013.
|
| |
Shown below -
random samples from the 239 titles purchased |
|
|
|
|
NEWS
|
| |
|
|
|
Earlier in April 2013, the California
State Library released its California Library Statistics
2012, the latest of its annual reports on library
statistical performance measures, covering the previous
fiscal year. The report covers the period of July
1, 2010 through June 30, 2011 and 182 public library
jurisdictions are profiled. Of these, there are 46
county libraries, 117 city, 12 district, and 6 Joint
Power Authority public libraries. |
|
Out of the 182 library jurisdictions, South
Pasadena Public Library is in the top 15% in
California in per capita checkouts, program
attendance, and library visits.
|
|
|
South
Pasadena Public Library, with its service area of
a mere 3.44 square miles and a population of 25,693,
enjoyed the very healthy number of 307,058 visitors
during the 12 month stretch. That averages out to
approximately 875 visitors for every day that the
Library is open --or more than 11 and a half visits
per year for every man, woman, and child in the
city. These are impressive figures no matter what,
but especially because the Library has no dedicated
parking spaces of its own. Fortunately, the Library
is located in an area where many residents walk,
ride bikes, and take public transportation.
The South Pasadena Public Library’s total annual
circulation for all materials: books, magazines,
DVDs, CDs, etc. is also noteworthy, having exceeded
450,000 for the very first time in 2010-2011. That’s
more than 17 annual checkouts per capita. With its
circulation at 452,945 items, it rose from 431,573,
an impressive increase of about 5% over the previous
year.
California
Library Statistics 2012 also shows that the South
Pasadena Library has 33,862 registered borrowers.
That total constitutes about 8,000 more cardholders
than South Pasadena has residents. It’s a figure
that speaks volumes about local residents’
interests in reading, music, films, cultural events,
and lifelong learning. The total is especially remarkable
given the fact that the neighboring communities
of Alhambra, Monterey Park, and San Marino all have
new, very sizeable library buildings, and Pasadena
Public Library has 10 facilities.
During
2010-2011, South Pasadena presented 425 programs
that drew audiences totaling more than 20,000. The
vast majority of the programs, 291 in fact, were
for children, although the Library still offered
134 programs for adults. Some of them, it should
come as no surprise, were presented for audiences
of all ages.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| NEWS |
| |
|
.
|
| |
|
 |
| |
|
|
Current members are being asked, in the annual membership
drive now under way,
to verify
their email addresses. Those unable to
receive email may request a mailed printed copy
by calling (626) 399-0051. The change is being made
in the face of rising print, paper and postage costs.
Since 1950,
support from the Friends has underwritten or enhanced
the library's many free programs, such as the Summer
Reading Program, Live Homework Help and the popular
Author Nights, as well as the purchase of high quality
books and digital programs for all ages. More than
60 volunteers staff the Friends' Bookstore, which
hosts a special members-only preview night on the
eve of the annual Holiday Gift Book Sale.
Levels of membership
in the Friends range from $10 for seniors and students
or $25 for an individual, to $1,000 in the Friend
for Life category. New and renewed memberships are
available either by mail, using envelopes which
may be found at the library's reference desk or
in the Bookstore, or online by credit card or by
printing out and mailing an application to be found
at
www.friendsofsopaslibrary.org
(Get Involved)
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| NEWS |
| |
|
|
|
2012 |
The Friends of the South Pasadena Library,
the Library Board of Trustees, and the South
Pasadena Public Library conducted a Ribbon Cutting
Ceremony for the public on Thursday, October
18 on the El Centro Street side of the Library
Park. The event celebrated the installation
of the new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
compliant wheelchair accessible ramp for the
Library Community Room at 1115 El Centro Street.
The ceremony featured remarks by Mayor Pro Tem
Philip Putnam; City Manager Sergio Gonzalez;
President of the Library Board of Trustees,
Ann Penn; Sean Rogan, Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) Executive Director; Robert
Gorski, ADA Access Coordinator for City of Pasadena;
Jeannie Chu, Administrative Analyst; and City
Librarian Steve Fjeldsted. The dignitaries in
attendance included Councilmember Bob Joe; Former
Mayor Dorothy Cohen; City Treasurer Gary Pia;
Glen Duncan, Board Member of the South Pasadena
Preservation Foundation; Teresa Lamb Simpson,
Field Representative for Congressman Adam Schiff;
Angelica Contreras from the CDBG Office, Albert
Proctor from the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, and Hovanes Gasparian
from Assemblyman Assemblyman Portantino's Office.
Construction Manager Gabe Nevarez and Architects
James McLane and Justine Leong were also present.
The brief proceedings were filmed by Cesar Rodes
and will be shown on Channels 19 (Time Warmer
Cable) and 99 (AT&T U-Verse) in South Pasadena.
|
| |
Others
in attendance included City Clerk Sally Kilby;
Police Chief Joe Payne; Paul Toor, Public Works
Director; Scott Feldmann, Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director; Sheila Pautsch, Community
Services Director; Liliana Torres Community
Services Supervisor; Grants Analyst Tracey Perkosky;
Library ESL Teacher Ann Jilg; Kristen Dube,
President of the Friends of the South Pasadena
Public Library; Kay Rosser, Co-Coordinator of
the Restoration Concert Series; Margaret Wallace,
Co-Founder of the Friends Bookstore; and Bianca
Richards, Counselor for the Disabled at Pasadena
City College. Access advocates Lee Walker, Heather
Hinton, and Bill Zook were a few of the first
users of the ramp. Afterwards a reception was
held inside the Community Room featuring refreshments
from the Friends Hospitality Committee and piano
music by David Batt, Assistant Finance Director.
|
|
|
| 1906
|
The
present day Community Room is the original
main reading room of South Pasadena's Carnegie
Library. A 1906 grant from the Carnegie Corporation
provided the initial construction funds for
the Library's 1908 opening. Since it first
opened the venerable building has been moved,
remodeled, renovated, and expanded. The new
ADA ramp, designed by Architectural Resources
Group of Pasadena and built by Rafael26 Construction,
is a cause for celebration for the entire
community and represents a giant stride forward
for the Library. The Community Room has hosted
thousands of events and meetings since it
opened as a public venue in 1982, but it has
never had its own wheelchair access.
|
| 1982 |
The South
Pasadena Public Library was last expanded and
remodeled in 1982. Areas within the library
proper are handicapped accessible and the elevator
enables people in wheelchairs to access the
Friends Bookstore, Conference Room, Community
Room, and Administrative Offices on the second
floor. However, until October 18 the Community
Room could only be entered by those in wheelchairs
from the library proper. It should be mentioned
that the Community Room has hosted many events
that took place when the rest of the Library
was closed to the public, both Library related
events and those that were not. In the case
of Library-sponsored events that took place
during Library after hours, such as the Restoration
Concert series and the Author Night programs,
a Library staff member or a volunteer needed
to be on hand to usher a wheelchair bound attendee
through the Library proper using the elevator
because the steps of the Community Room are
impassible by wheelchairs.
|
| 2007 |
Transtech
Engineers, Inc surveyed the South Pasadena Public
Library and finalized their report "City
of South Pasadena Disabled Access Assessment
for the Library and Senior Center" in 2007.
Since then, the Library installed ADA-compliant
catalog and magazine displays, added an ADA
computer for the public, and made its public
restrooms ADA compliant. This year the Library's
elevator will receive ADA and mechanical upgrades.
But the Library's single greatest ADA insufficiency
has been the lack of a wheelchair accessible
ramp for the Community Room. The Library was
thrilled to be able to at last celebrate the
new ramp which does so much to provide wheelchair
access to the Community Room to so many members
of the public of various ages and backgrounds
who can benefit from it.
The design and construction of the ADA ramp
were paid for with a combination of funding
from the City of South Pasadena and a Federal
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Special
thanks to the South Pasadena City Council, the
South Pasadena Cultural Heritage Commission,
the South Pasadena Public Works Department,
and Bill Glazier of the South Pasadena Review
who took the photos. The Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) of 1990 protects disabled people from
discrimination from private employers and orders
telephone companies to provide relay services
for people with speech or hearing impairments.
More important to the Library is the fact that
it also requires that public buildings and mass
transportation be accessible to disabled people. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| NEWS |
| |
|
|
Austin Ichinose
Memorial Music Collection
Offered by Library
|
|
The Craig K. Ichinose Family recently made an
extremely generous memorial donation to honor
Austin Ichinose (1981-2011), their beloved family
member and the Library’s dearly departed
colleague. The Ichinose Family gave $5,050 to
the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library
for musical CDs for the Library collection. |
| With
the approval of the Friends, the Ichinose Family
donation will be used to buy $2,550 worth of
musical CDs in 2012 and another $2,500 worth
in 2013. A memorial plate acknowledging Austin
and the Ichinose Family donation will be affixed
to each CD. The display of CDs is by the Reference
Desk.
The Library
Staff and the Ichinose Family are participating
in the selection of the CDs.
Austin
Ichinose, who started working for the Library
in 2007, was known for his wit, intelligence
and quirky humor, as well as his inner strength
and love of life. He was also an avid music
collector who liked to recommend his favorite
CDs to others. His favorites included Nick
Cave, Brian Eno, and The Flaming Lips, to
name just a few. The Austin A. Ichinose Memorial
Music Collection is offered by the Library
and the Friends to honor Austin and to touch
others with his passion and memory.
|
|
|
| NEWS |
| |
|
|
| |
|
The Friends of
the South Pasadena Public Library Bookstore celebrated
its 30th Birthday on July 31, 2012. Through the years
the all-volunteer, 7-day per week establishment has
raised more than $1 million to enhance library services.
The City of South Pasadena will be gearing up for
its 125th Anniversary on March 2, 2013 and many public
events are in the planning stages. But one South Pasadena
milestone occurred earlier in 2012 when Jane Apostol,
the city's preeminent historian, turned 90 years of
age. Jane's work is important not only to current
South Pasadena residents, but to future generations
as well.
Jane's first book was South
Pasadena: A Centennial History 1888-1988
in 1987. It was the first book-length history of the
city and remains unrivaled for its level of research
and ability to engage a broad readership. The first
edition, designed by internationally-known South Pasadena
book designer Ward Ritchie, sold out and is now a
collector's item. Even with all its authoritative
details, it's still a compelling, enjoyable read.
The award-winning coffee table book catapulted Jane
to an upper echelon writing career that now includes
14 more titles including
Painting with Light: A Centennial History of the Judson
Studio, Museums Along the Arroyo, and
Vroman's
of Pasadena: A Century of Books. The
South Pasadena Public Library has all of Jane's titles
in its collection. Jane has long been one of California's
most respected historians and along the way she's
published dozens of articles on historical subjects
from around the Golden State, and most of them center
on the Los Angeles and Pasadena areas.
|
|
cover
Jane
Apostol: Collected Works
(click
here for large version of cover)
|
Jane
Apostol published 33 research articles between 1974
and 2008 in publications ranging from The
Book Club of California, The Historical Society
of California, and The
Pacific Historian, among others. All
of Jane's articles are reproduced in a very special
compilation published as a 90th Birthday surprise
for her by her husband, Tom Apostol, a famous mathematician
in his own right. Jane
Apostol: Collected Works is obviously
a labor of love. It has beautifully reproduced photos,
a striking cover adorned with many photos of historical
figures, and a luxurious binding with a blue ribbon
book mark, but its chief value is the diligent research
and wonderful writing it contains. The book boasts
five impressive essays, including a very touching
memorial tribute to Ward Ritchie delivered at the
South Pasadena Public Library, a few nimble poems,
and even a couple of spirited limericks, including
one about a certain lady named Jane that was written
to her granddaughter Caitlin. |
| |
Although
the tome weighs in at more than 10 lbs, it's not "heavy
reading" at all because all of the pieces are
short and lively, including the one-page biography
of Jane that Tom has written. In it he reveals that
he prepared the book as a gift to honor his wife's
90th birthday and he wanted to share it with friends
and admirers. The unique book is not available in
any store, but Tom has donated 3 copies to the South
Pasadena Public Library, and one of them can be checked
out. The call number used for locating the book on
the nonfiction shelves is "979 Apostol."
A hold can be placed on it if it happens to be checked
out.
|
| It
should also be mentioned that the Friends are now
selling the expanded, updated edition of Jane's literary
maiden voyage, South
Pasadena: A Centennial History 1888-1988, Second Edition
With Chronology 1988-2008 in their
Bookstore for only $20. It sold about 1,000 copies
at $44.95 when it came out in 2009. The Friends dropped
the hardback to $20 for the Grand Reunion at South
Pasadena High School in June, selling about 50 copies
at the event, and it's still available in the Friends
Bookstore upstairs at the Library at the same discounted
price. All proceeds from the sales of the book will
help the Friends Bookstore as it steadily strides
toward the $2 million mark |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| NEWS |
| |
|
|
On
January 31, 2012, internationally-known conceptual
artist Mike Kelley died at his home in South
Pasadena at age 57. Kelley's passing was front
page news in the Los Angeles Times
and written about by journalists and art critics
around the world.
|
|
Mike
Kelley was a professor for Pasadena Art Center
College of Design's graduate program from
the 1980s until around 2010. His works were
exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art
in LA a total of 7 times and hundreds of times
in many of the world's most prestigious art
museums. In 2000 Kelley received the California
Institute of the Arts Distinguished Alumnus
Award and a Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Fellowship in 2003.
Some of Kelley's artworks sold for hundreds
of thousands of dollars and more. In the months
preceding Mike Kelley's death he had returned
from a London show and was installing a gallery
show in Los Angeles. In December 2011, The
Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts made a
$1,000 donation to the Friends of the South
Pasadena Public Library to improve the South
Pasadena Public Library collection. Half of
the amount was used to purchase 2011 Grammy®-winning
and nominated CDs, as well as CDs by Billy
Childs, a three-time Grammy®-winning jazz
pianist residing in South Pasadena, and three
more by Kelley's band, Destroy All Monsters.
The other half of the donation was used to
buy new art books which are now available
to be checked out from the Library.
When they are not checked out, the provocative
new books about California art and artists
can be found on the circulating nonfiction
shelves, among many more fascinating titles.
The new art books purchased with the Mike
Kelley Foundation donation are listed below,
followed by their call numbers. |
|
• A
Minimal Future: Art as Object, 1958-1968 (709.04
Minimal)
• Eden's
Edge: Fifteen LA Artists (709.794 Garrels)
• Nine
Lives: Visionary Artists from L.A (709.794
Subotnick)
• Pacific
Standard Time: Los Angeles Art, 1945-1980
(709.794 Pacific)
• Now
Dig This!: Art & Black Los Angeles, 1960-1980 (700.89
Jones)
• Giovanni
Frangi: Pasadena (759.5 Frangi)
• Three
Boys from Pasadena: A Tribute to Helmut Newton
(779 Three)
• Proof:
The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California
(759.9794 Proof)
• Walls
of Empowerment: Chicana/o Indigenist Murals
of California (751.7 Latorre)
• Blue
Four Collection at the Norton Simon Museum
(709.04 Barnett) |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
FRIENDS
NEWSLETTER
|
|
|
|
NEW
Online quarterly newsletter
|
|
FOL paper publication editions
2007 - 2012
|
|
FRIENDS
ANNUAL REPORT
|
|
|
|
SPPL 
