NEED HELP?  Help is here: Social Workers in the Library

At King Library: Every 1^st and 4^th Mondays of the month, 6:00 – 8:00 PM.

Call: 1-408-808-2350 to schedule an appointment

At East Branch Library: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, 6:00 - 8:00 PM.

Call: 1-408-808-3075

Is something happening in your life that you have questions about concerning:

• Education
• Emergency Services- food/clothing/housing and crisis support
• Employment
• Family Matters- parenting, childcare, divorce, elder issues and domestic violence
• Health Improvement- mental, physical and health insurance
• Immigration
• Support Groups- men, women and teens

Make an appointment to get a FREE 20 minute session of information and referral or advice, from a member of the National Association of Social Workers. Everyone at some point in their lives could use the advice of a social worker. Our volunteer social workers are offering it - Free of Charge.

Social Workers in the Library, is a partnership between the San José Public Library, San José State University's School of Social Work,  National Association Of Social Workers - California Chapter, and the SJSU School of Library and Information Services.

Contact:                                                                                                          

Elizabeth Chavarin   

Office: 1-408-808-2175

Rock the Library – Enter San José Public Library’s "Battle of the Bands"

Celebrate Teen Tech Week 2013, “Check In @ your library”

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Are you a teen (age 12 – 18) that performs with your own band? Ready to move out of the garage and onto a wider stage? Enter San José Public Library’s online "Battle of the Bands," in celebration of Teen Tech Week 2013 (March 10-16).

To enter, have your parents or a friend grab that camcorder and record your best performance. Post the video online (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, etc.). Submit your entry by sending an email to sjplbattleofthebands@gmail.com that contains a link to your music online. Be sure to include the following information:

• The name of the band/performer, and names and ages of all members
• A brief description of the band, to be used on the contest webpage
• A name, phone number, and email where the contestants can be reached

Submit entry by February 9. Please note: No personal information will be posted online.

This contest is open to all musical genres, but no obscene or offensive lyrics are allowed. Inappropriate lyrics or behavior will result in disqualification. Participants may enter together as a group, or as a solo performer. Solo performers must play an accompanying instrument. No karaoke permitted.

What’s next? Your entry will be posted on the official "SJPL Battle of the Bands" site sjpl.org/battleofthebands. Music lovers will be invited to visit the page between February 25 and March 16 to listen in and cast their votes for their favorites. The top five finalists who receive the most online votes will be announced March 19.

The top five finalists from the online voting contest must be available to play at the live final concert on Saturday, March 23 at the new Bascom Library and Community Center (1000 S. Bascom Ave, San Jose). Each band will have up to 20 minutes to perform their set.  A panel of judges will evaluate the performers on their musical ability and stage presence. The decision of the judges will be final.

First, second and third place winners will receive the following prizes:

• First Place: $250
• Second Place: $150
• Third Place: $50

The library gratefully acknowledges the generous support of all its community sponsors, including Pin Up Productions, Live 105.3, Streetlight Records and San Jose Pro Drum. 

For more information, including full contest rules, stop by your neighborhood branch of the San José Public Library, or go online to sjpl.org/battleofthebands.   For additional Teen Tech Week activities, such as video game days, contests, and crafts, go online to sjpl.org/teens.

About Teen Tech Week:

Teen Tech Week is a national initiative sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association and is aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries such as DVDs, databases, audio books, and videogames. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use libraries' non-print resources for education and recreation, and to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology.

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The Office of Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen presents
Operation Prom Dress 2013

Don't let the tough economy discourage students from attending Prom. 

Donate a new or gently used dress today!

Donations are currently being accepted through March 3, 2013.

Stop by one of the following branch libraries to make your donation:

• Almaden Branch
• Berryessa Branch
• Cambrian Branch
• Rose Garden Branch
• Santa Teresa Branch
• Tully Branch
• Vineland Branch
• West Valley Branch
• Willow Glen Branch

For a full list of participating locations click here.

We have many tutoring programs available at the Evergreen Branch Library starting January 2013. All programs are free and are run by our very active volunteers.

Volunteer Manuel Beronilla will provide tutoring in Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Physics and Statistics for high schoolers. This program will be every Thursday (starting January 17) in Group Study Room A at 4:00 p.m. Please drop in, no registration required.

Volunteer Siri Balusu provides tutoring in Math and Science for kids in grades 3-6 every Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 5:00 p.m. in Group Study Room B. Registration is not required.

Volunteer Urvi Gupta will begin her OneInMath program at 4:30 p.m. in the Community Room on Tuesday, January 15. Kids in grades K-2 will learn simple ways to add and subtract. This will help them understand math concepts quickly. Video instructions and face-to-face tutoring will be provided. This program is also offered at the Berryessa and Hillview libraries. Registration is required, so please sign up online at the OneInMath website.

Tutoring for all grade levels is also provided online through tutor.com. All you need is your valid Library card number and pin number.

Congratulations BOTB 2013 Winners!

1st Place

Lizard Kingdom Progressive Rock

“Lizard Kingdom is heavily influenced by bands such as the Fall of Troy, Ricky Martin, Sha Na Na, Nickelback, Milli Vanilli, and Brian Wilson. In our spare time, we enjoy making balloon animals. Collectively our favorite food is pickles. Our pre-show ritual is we gather around, and run with scissors to display bravery.”

Video

2nd Place

Cactus  Experimental/Fusion

"Cactus is a group that plays for the sheer love of all different kinds of music, whether it be jazz, blues, alternative, classic rock, or Motown. Each practice is always different consisting of spontaneous new ideas every time. We enjoy the simple things in life, humor, and acting weird and crazy!"

Video

3rd Place

Half N Half   Indie Rock

“We have been together since Fall 2011, and started out playing covers. But with HALF of us wanting to play this, n Half of us wanting to play that, we finally decided to collaborate to write our own music! “

Video

Supporters:

The library gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of its community sponsors:

• Live 105.3 FM
• PinUp Productions
• San Jose Pro Drum
• Steetlight Records
• San Jose Rock Shop
• Music Village
• Music Go Round

Are you looking for a fun way to get your family or a group of friends outside for fun and some exercise? Go geocaching! Geocaching has been around for a little over a decade. Using a GPS unit or smartphone, you are given the hidden container’s coordinates, or the "X" marks the spot, and you are off on a new adventure. The fun is in finding the "treasure" but for kids it might be all about trading the goodies in the box with a small trinket brought from home. The idea is if you take something from the cache you should replace it with something you brought of equal or greater value. The cache typically has a log for you to record the date and your name or alias and a collection of miscellaneous items. Geocaches are located all over the world but the San Francisco Bay Area, in particular, has loads of hidden caches just waiting to be discovered!

To get you started, you can find more information about geocaching before you head out in the San Jose Public Library collections.

Other Resources

Geocaching.com – comprehensive site with information about geocaching, GPS coordinates of cache locations as well as upcoming events.

Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) – offers beginning classes to introduce you to geocaching. They also have a passport program, the Preserve Circuit Geo-challenge, where you locate the MROSD’s  hidden caches in a number of their preserves, stamp your passport with the official stamp then turn the completed passport into the district office for a limited custom District cache tag (while supplies last).