Over 100 children entered the Monterey Public Library's Martin's Big Words  art and writing contest.  All the entries showed thoughtful effort and inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr. and the award-winning book by Doreen Rappaport.  It was a tough job to choose just a few to receive special recognition.  However, now the job is done. In no particular order, the first prize winners are:

  Elijah Gomes, 7                             Catherine Buonaguidi, 7

All of the entrants received a small prize.  These special winners' work is published on the Library's Kids Page and on the Youth Services bulletin board.  In addition they may come in and pick up a prize at the Library Help Desk.  Congratulations to all the winners!

Last weekend, the Library participated in Whalefest Monterey by hosting a table with books and information about library resources for anyone looking for more information about the gentle giants of the ocean.  The event was organized by the Old Fisherman’s Wharf Association to promote whale watching boat tours as well as to raise awareness about ocean and marine life conservation.  We were in good company, alongside such organizations as the American Cetacean Society, Camp SEA Lab, Marine Mammal Center, California State Parks, Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey Bay National marine Sanctuary, Save the Whales, and many other distinguished participants.  During the course of the day, we spoke to hundreds of people about the Library, library resources, reading, and creating a general awareness that libraries are relevant no matter what the focus of an activity or event.  Thanks to our friends at the Old Fisherman’s Wharf Association for their good work in bringing the community together for this special day!

Last Friday, I attended a workshop on electronic books and the challenges and opportunities they present for libraries.   Let me make clear that the topic wasn’t about the challenges and opportunities that e-books might present, when and if they ever catch on.  No, the presenters were very clear that the e-book’s place is here and its time is now. 

This did not come as a complete surprise to me, because I do read the news.  But I am one of the few people on the planet who has not even considered window shopping for an e-reading device, let alone buying one.  So Friday’s workshop really was quite a bullet train ride to Tomorrowland for me.  For the first time it dawned on me that the day might come – and maybe sooner than later- when I find myself cozying up for a good read using a plastic gadget.

This is a harsh reality in a way, because I am not just an avid reader – I love books.  I love the way they look, smell, and feel.   I took some comfort in the words of one presenter who said that print books aren’t going to vanish overnight, but he also predicted that, in time, they will.  So, I listened carefully, took some notes and even tried to made friends with some of the e-reading devices that were made available during the “hands- on” part of the workshop.  

E-books and e-readers are something that all libraries will be talking and thinking about a lot in the coming months, because the world of reading is rapidly changing, and that means we will change with it so that we continue to strengthen our communities with resources for literacy and lifelong learning. 

If this is a topic that you’d like to learn more about, here’s an interesting article from Digital Book World.comwhich contains some of the same information cited at last week’s workshop, and which has links to even more information on this topic.  Eventually, I’ll wrap my head around this new reality, but in the meantime, I’ll probably be stockpiling a good assortment of hardcovers.  

The deadline for the Martin' Big Words contest is Wednesday, January 26, 7:00 pm. 
Read the book, watch the movie, or watch Youth Services Librarian, Dina Stansbury,  reading the book on the MPL Kids Page.  Get the entry form there too.  Then write or draw about what Martin’s words (or some other “big words”  you think Martin would like) mean to you.  The contest is open  to students in Kindergarten through 6^th grade.  There is a  prize for everyone who enters and bigger prizes for winners in several age and other categories.

Last week, a few of us were treated to a sneak peek inside the soon-to-open Restaurant 1833 located right next door to the Library in the historic Stokes adobe.  Built in 1833 (hence the name) the house was home to Dr. James Stokes, and his wife Josefa Soto de Cano for many years. During the period between 1844-1848, the house was greatly enlarged by Stokes and it quickly became one of Monterey’s “hot spots”, in fact, the site for most of Monterey's social functions and balls. 
Around 1950, the adobe was converted from a private home into a first-class restaurant owned and operated by Gallatin Powers.  The newest owners, Coastal Luxury Management have put many, many months of time and effort into a major upgrade to the Mexican era structure. They have also installed a new outdoor seating area, the interior décor can only be described as gorgeous, and wait until you get a look at the bar – it looks like (and may be) onyx, and it literally glows!  All this, with the promise of cuisine described as “peasant chic”, Restaurant 1833 in the old Stokes adobe has “hot spot” written all over it! 
 

Did you get an eReader or tablet computer for the holidays? With the wide variety of eBook formats, readers, and computers, it can be difficult to figure out how to get the books you want to read onto your device--especially if you want to borrow books from the Library or download free books instead of buying books from a store. For an introduction to the strange new world of eBooks and eBook readers, check out the Library's Digital Books Show and Tell Subject Guide. You'll find a user-friendly guide to hardware, software, and file formats, links to sources of digital books, and a how-to video on Library text eBooks.

The Friends of the Monterey Public Library and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation invite you to help raise funds for the Friends by pledging one cent or more per birdie scored by the PGA TOUR players during the competitive rounds of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, February 10-13, 2011.  For example, if you pledge one cent and 2,000 birdies are scored, you would owe $20.  Or, if you prefer, you can make a flat donation.  Monterey Peninsula Foundation will invoice you for the amount you pledged and MATCH YOUR DONATION BY 15%.&bsp; When you select the Friends of the Monterey Public Library as your charity of choice, the Friends will receive 115% o the funds collected in their behalf! 

To participate, find the official pledge form at attpbgolf.com.  Click on the Birdies for Charity logo, and read more about it.  You may download an official pledge form and mail it in, or pick one up at the Library.

For more information contact Inga Labeaune at 831.646.5602 or e-mail labeaune@ci.monterey.ca.us.

The Monterey Public Library is located at 625 Pacific Street, Monterey.

New Year's Day brought sunshine and showers to Monterey today.  And the promise of another year of reading, learning and inspiring new readers and learners of all ages at the Monterey Public Library. 

"A library is a hopeful thing" I thought as I visited the Gresham branch of the Multnomah County Library system in Oregon last week. I had the rare, and delightful, opportunity to visit this nearly new and well-used community place as a customer, a patron, a doting auntie with her two voracious reader nieces. How proud I was to see my sister's daughters know the place as though it were their own. They visited "their" shelves, carefully chose from old favorites and enticing new titles and then expertly swiped their cards and checked out via automated machines.

I could see my sister and myself, as young eager readers in the last century, moving through a basement room with the confidence that familiarity and feeling welcome bring. My sister loved Curious George - "my monkey" as she called the books held in her toddler arms. And I found competence and courage in biographies of Florence Nightingale and Eleanor Roosevelt, and the lovely lilting language of Robert Frost and Edna Saint Vincent Millay. Libraries helped build the foundation for growing up, and into our rapidly changing selves.

I know that still holds true. As do the hundreds of library customers who pour through our doors every open day. (And even wait outside on closed days, such as today, leaning against the wall with an open book, in rapt absorption, pages turning with an easy cadence. Ma'am - I'm so sorry today was a holiday - and I hope you'll visit again on Monday when we're open again.) And the many library donors who send gifts of $25 to $500 or more to help buy more books and materials, support summer reading programs and laptop computers, or just keep the library running and the doors open. We are more grateful than words can tell for your support!

My heart lifts when I think of another year of reading, learning, and hope for our Monterey community. 162 years of library service - now that's something to look forward to in 2011.

See you in the Library!