If you shop in the City of San Jose, beginning January 1, 2012 (that's about 4 months away) there will no longer be disposable plastic bags for your merchandise.  That means you will need to bring your own bags to put your groceries or other purchases in. 

Plastic bags are a convenience that just isn't worth the price on the environment.  Did you know that plastic bags are the most commonly found items during creek clean-ups or that Californians use 4 million plastic bags a year?   Plastic bags are considered to be dangerous to over 260 species of wildlife including sea turtles who mistake the bags in the ocean for jellyfish and then try to eat them.  Swapping out plastic bags for reusable ones is a change that everyone can easily make!

What can you do to get ready for the change?

Recycle your plastic grocery bags by turning them into "yarn" that you can then use to crochet a reusable shopping bag. This is recycling/reuse at its finest. I've made a couple of these myself - they are quick to make and they are flexible and strong!  This video shows you how to do it!

Purchase bags at your local store.   They are only a few dollars and if you start now buying one a week, you'll easily have enough for your weekly grocery run before the ordinance goes into effect.

Check out the book bags the library friends sell!  These bags are built for toting books, but they'll carry your canned goods and loaves of bread just as easily.  And you'll be supporting the library as well!

What do you do if you have a generous heart and some new or very gently used books, DVDs, videos, or CDs that you don’t need?

Of course, you should donate them to your local branch’s Friends of the Library, who gratefully accept these items at donation bins in all library locations.

But here is a tougher question — What do you do if you have a generous heart and some gently used magazines, National Geographic issues, encyclopedias, or textbooks that you don’t need?

The answer is that unfortunately, the library and its Friends groups cannot accept donations of magazines, including National Geographic; encyclopedias; or textbooks.

So, where can you donate these kinds of items, especially if you prefer that they be re-used rather than simply recycled?

Here is a list of organizations in the local area that may accept donations in these categories — provided that the items are in good condition. This list was compiled by searching recyclestuff.org. Please call each organization before donating, since it may no longer accept the kind of donation you are planning to give.

Magazines:

•Friends Outside in Santa Clara County - (408) 468-0100

•Saratoga Library Friends - (408) 867-6126

•St. Elizabeth's Day Home - (408) 295-3456

•Yu-Ai Kai/ Japanese American Senior Services - (408) 294-2505

National Geographic Magazine:

•Boys and Girls Club of Silicon Valley - (408) 957-9685

•Yu-Ai Kai/ Japanese American Senior Services - (408) 294-2505

Encyclopedias:

•Friends Outside in Santa Clara County - (408) 468-0100

•Friendship Church of God in Christ - (408) 258-5445

•Savers Thrift Store - (408) 287-0591

•St. Elizabeth's Day Home - (408) 295-3456

Textbooks:

•Goodwill - Donation Center - (408) 998-5774 ex248

•Goodwill - Retail Store - (408) 265-5692

•Salvation Army - (408) 286-3291

•Savers Thrift Store - (408) 287-0591
Note: The Friends of the Pearl Avenue Library, Friends of the Seventrees Library, and Friends of the Hillview Library will take gently used textbooks.

For where to donate other items that the Friends of the Library cannot accept, you can search the recyclestuff.org database yourself. Like, where can I donate my dust-accumulating classic computing books from the 1970’s?

Grab your smartphone and get ready to learn about the history of San Jose!  

Thanks to a Library Services and Technology Act grant and about a year's worth of hard work, we've created three walking tours of downtown San Jose that you can take using your smartphone and your feet! 

Go to www.scanjose.org to see images from our California Room Collection while standing at the locations that the photographs were taken. Think of it as a time machine in the palm of your hand!

There are three tours to choose from:
A Walk Around the Plaza - takes you on a loop around Plaza de Cesar Chavez
Tragedies and Calamities - a no holds barred look at some of the tragic events in San Jose history
Old Santa Clara Street - highlights some of the great architecture that has sprung up and come down over the years.

Don't have a smartphone?  Come join us on September 10th at 11:30 for a group tour using smartphones and iPads to take A Walk Around the Plaza!  We will meet in front of the Art Museum - 110 S. Market Street.  I'll be there and I hope you will too!

The origins of chess go back 1500 years ago to India where the precursor of the game was called chaturaṅga, which translates as four divisions of the military (infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots). The modern form of chess has its roots in 15th century Europe, though other forms of chess had been around much earlier, and was a favorite pastime of the upper classes of society. The game was even denounced by the church as being a source of revelry and violence!

If you want to know more about the stories behind the game, then join us on Saturday, July 23rd at 2pm at Santa Teresa Branch Library to listen to author Frisco del Rosario talk about his book Capablanca: A Primer of Checkmate. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the program.

And if you still can't get enough chess, we have plenty of books in the library:

• Chess Openings for Dummies by James Eade
• The KGB Plays Chess: The Soviet Secret Police and the Fight for the World Chess Crown 
• Knack Chess for Everyone by Al Lawrence

written by Robert D.