Hillview Branch Library

More New Books

2009-09-24T10:26:00.001-07:00

More New Books
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

Our beautiful, green, hanging "new book" sign.

Library Lights

2009-08-22T09:43:00.001-07:00

Library Lights
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

One of the interesting light fixtures we have here at Hillview.

New Books

2009-08-22T09:42:00.001-07:00

New Books
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

Fiction Blur

2009-08-18T18:34:00.001-07:00

Fiction Blur
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

A strange, orange view of our fiction sign. Or, someone's finger got in the way of the camera lens. Either way, the light in our library can be interesting as the sun goes down....

Mona Lisa

2009-07-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

Mona Lisa
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

These are some of the really cool posters we have promoting our Summer Reading Celebration. See the books? I never realized that Mona Lisa was reading!

Tires, tires

2009-07-07T17:42:00.001-07:00

Tires, tires
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

This is a picture of the base of one of our rotunda pillars. They are works of art suggestive of the agricultural history of this area. You should check them out in person!

Be Creative

2009-07-06T12:30:00.001-07:00

Be Creative at your library
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

Another of our posters. This one promotes Children's Summer Reading Program. Be creative, and keep on reading!

Express Yourself

2009-07-06T12:28:00.001-07:00

Express Yourself at your library
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

One of the posters we have at Hillview promoting the Teen Summer Reading Program. Keep on reading!

Portholes

2009-07-02T12:28:00.001-07:00

Two plates
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

A couple of examples of our sumarine/porthole craft. Delicious!

Cocteles de Fruta

2009-07-02T12:16:00.005-07:00

Cocteles de Fruta 1
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

These are the "cocteles de fruta" (fruit cocktails) that were served the same day we had the Aztec dancers teach us about Aztec dancing, Aztec symbolism, and Aztec history. I think there was jicama, pineapple, watermelon, and cucumber. With chile and lime, of course. Que sabroso!

Feathers at the Library

2009-07-02T12:16:00.003-07:00

Feathers at the Library
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

Aztec Dancer with Conch

2009-07-02T12:16:00.001-07:00

Aztec Dancer with Conch
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

Aztec Dancer

2009-07-02T12:15:00.001-07:00

Aztec Dancer
Originally uploaded by hillviewlibrary

Francisco Jimenez!

2009-05-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

I am really excited about this coming Saturday, May 16. Hillview Library will be hosting Francisco Jimenez, the author of really great, accessible, popular literature. Most well known are his collection of biographical short stories, The Circuit, and its sequel, Breaking Through. We get lots of students asking for both of these, most likely assigned to read it by their teachers. But they all seem to enjoy reading them, and we've had many people asking for them simply because they've been recommended by friends, family, or teachers.

Mr. Jimenez is a really good, engaging speaker and this should be a really insightful talk; I can hardly wait!

His website

Remember, this Saturday, May 16, at Hillview Library.

12:00 - 1:00

Be there!

Stay and Play

2009-04-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of Stay and Play photos of wild animals:

Ping Pong Tournament!

2009-03-03T18:57:00.001-08:00

Ping Pong, interrupted
Originally uploaded by Fast Mikie

Ping. Ping. Ping. Smash!

Ah,the sounds of a ping pong game here at Hillview. What? Why do we have a ping pong table here? Why, to have a tournament, of course. We've been practicing, and there are plenty of people on our staff who are pretty good. This will occur on Friday, March 13. If you are a member of Hillview's TeensReach group, you can start at 3:30. If not, the open tournament begins at 4:30.

What is ping pong? Check this out:

Alright, we're not that good. Actually, not even close. But if you are, or especially if you aren't (like us), come on down to play some ping pong.

Yeah!

2010 Census is Recruiting!

2009-01-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

The Census Bureau is recruiting NOW for the 2010 Census. They are opening new offices in our area, and they offer great pay, flexible hours, and paid training. How about:

$22.00/hour - Lister/Address Canvasser
$23.50/hour - Crew Leader
$22.00/hour - Crew Leader Assistant
$25.00/hour - Field Operations Supervisor

!!!!Best of all, the test will be given here at Hillview Library on the following Fridays!!!!:

Feb 6
Feb 13
Feb 20
Feb 27

11am - 1pm, and 3pm - 5pm, each of the above dates

www.census.gov/rosea/www/emply.html

Dia de los Muertos

2009-01-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

Before: After (just a few minutes of playing around):

I found a few pictures from these past holidays that I'll be posting for curiosity's sake. Also, it gives me the opportunity to work with photo editing software that I just became familiar with. It's called Gimp, it's free, and it performs many of the functions that Photoshop does. It might be a little daunting, but if you're familiar with Photoshop, you should be able to figure this out. Even if you're not a Photoshop user, Gimp can be pretty fun to play around with.

Find Gimp here.

The text below is copied from CNET:

Editor's review of GIMP

5.0 stars

"Pretty things up a bit"
The volunteer developers of The GIMP have been working hard to develop a polished, user-friendly, and freely distributed image editor. Although the separated palette windows may disturb those users who are used to more traditional layouts, your comfort level should grow exponentially as you discover how pain-free the program is.
One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, the upgrades make the GNU Image Manipulation Program eminently comparable to Photoshop. Older features include channels, layers and masks, filters and effects, tabbed palettes, editable text tools, perspective clone, improved printing, and color operations such as levels. New improvements include GEGL integration for 32-bit color support, dynamic brushes, and more options for the free select tool. It even has regex-based pattern matching for power users.
The application provides professional tools that can stand against the big boys without the hefty price tag. Even the installation process has gotten simpler, with no need to download and install the GTX Runtime Environment separately. Extremely powerful and easy to work with, GIMP is ideal for both amateur and pro photographers, Web designers, or anyone who wants to create and edit professional-quality digital images on a budget.

Amadeus

2008-12-09T17:04:00.001-08:00

Don Giovanni ("Commendatore" or "Pieta"), Prague
Originally uploaded by ubichan

commemorative sculpture of Don Giovanni , Prague, blogged from "ubichan's" flickr photostream

“Amadeus,” a best picture Oscar-winner from Milos Forman, is dramatic and beautiful, like the music that plays throughout. I’ve seen this film a number of times, but hadn’t seen it in probably ten years or so. I was hoping that it hadn’t aged poorly, and I was more than a little surprised at how much I still really enjoyed it.
The opening, jarring notes and the subsequent human wail set the memorable initial stage of the story of Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Salieri, since he was a child, has prayed and bargained with God to make him a world-renowned composer whose music would last forever, promising to God “my chastity, my industry, my deepest humility,” and it seemed that God had bestowed this gift to him. Enter the “giggling, dirty-minded creature (Mozart),” who makes music fit for angels. Salieri recognizes Mozart’s genius, but is confused as to why God has infused this great talent into such a vulgar and pompous man-child. Salieri, initially grateful and indebted to God, now feels God is punishing him, taunting him with someone who has far greater talent and much less humility. He is so taken with Mozart’s music – with the sublime – that he views Mozart as a voice of God, as God’s instrument. As such, it is God with whom Salieri is at war, and God against whom he must plot; this is Salieri’s conceit. Ironically, although Salieri plots against Mozart as though he were God incarnate, Mozart displays his own lack of faith, suggesting to Salieri that maybe eternal fire does exist, but the clear implication is that he thinks it – and by extension, God - does not.
The film also shows the stark duality of Mozart’s persona, the competing impulses he has: the fun-loving, money-draining, pompous center-of-attention, and the serious, intense, perfect (!) musician/composer. This is fleshed out with appearances by Mozart’s stern, overbearing father, Leopold, who casts a long shadow over his son, and Mozart’s practical, grounded wife.
In the end, through certain excesses of vice and of overwork, and maybe helped along by Salieri, Mozart proceeds to an ignominious death and burial, his body dumped into an unmarked pit; such a departure from the majestic, sublime, timeless - even angelic - music that he created.
The music in the film is incredible, of course, provided by one of the world’s greatest, most well-known composers. The use of the music, though, is quite striking. (It reminds me of medieval madrigals: matching the words of text, or here, the film scenes, with musical settings that express their meanings.) The filmmaker uses the music to further the film, and Mozart obviously has such an extensive oeuvre that different pieces of his music are used for just about every scene, and they merge seamlessly with the director’s vision. For example, the attempted suicide scene in the beginning of the film: the bright red blood spreading across Salieri’s neck is so horrid and startling, and along with the music, so unexpected and powerful that I cannot imagine a more perfect match between music and scene.
The film also contains various styles of Mozart’s music. Opera, for one, with “The Magic Flute” (his self-described “vaudeville”) and “Don Giovanni.” ( I found it interesting how excited Mozart became after finishing one of his operas: “There are no recitatives!” he exclaims proudly about “La Nozze di Figaro.”) I also noticed plainchant, or plainchant influences, in the death mass he creates. Also, as he’s composing this mass, he explains to Salieri (who is taking dictation) what he wants and how he wants it. As he is giving instructions, his music is playing, giving the viewer the opportunity to hear the music that he is describing. Similarly, early in the film, Salieri is attempting to explain to a priest the perfection of Mozart’s music, and, as he describes it, (one flute, high above the others, then the clarinets, and finally an oboe, etc) it plays for us, the viewers. I found it very fascinating to have a description of the music as that same music played.
Although based in fact, this film seems to have taken much artistic license in the specifics of the relationship between Mozart and Salieri. The basics seem to be historically accurate: the period in which they lived, Mozart’s employment by the archbishop and his subsequent move to Vienna, his early years touring with his father and playing at royal courts around Europe, Salieri’s employment under the archduke, etc. The main plot line, though, of Mozart and Salieri, is probably not accurate. From what I’ve read, they both seemed to have worked together and gotten along quite well. There were persistent rumors, after the death of Salieri (which occurred thirty two years after Mozart’s death), that Salieri, on his deathbed, had admitted to killing Mozart. There is no evidence for this, and the three people who were with him throughout his last days (doctor, nurse, and servant, I believe) all deny that he ever said anything like this. So, the director is historically accurate in presenting a film about the rumors concerning Salieri and Mozart, but most likely none of this happened.
Whether rumor or conjecture or fact or fiction, I really enjoyed this movie. I found it incredible on many levels, including the music, the plot, the acting (wow, F. Murray Abraham really projects a deep love of music, especially as an old man), the religious/anti-religious theme, etc. I could go on, but I’ll just say that this movie is a must see for not only fans of classical music, but fans of any music, and anyone who likes good – no, great! – films.

HelpScc.org

2008-11-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

I'd like to enthusiastically introduce this website: http://www.helpscc.org/. Here is a brief description, as taken from their site:

"HelpSCC is Santa Clara County's newest, most comprehensive, and up-to-date online, searchable database of health and human service providers in Santa Clara County. On HelpSCC, which stands for Help Santa Clara County, users can search for information by performing a quick search using icons at the top of the home page, by entering keywords or phrases, by choosing a regional or city geographical area, or by category of service.
Search results are presented to the user alphabetically by organization name as an abbreviated list. From this list, users can read a short description about the service provider and click on the organization name to proceed to a fully detailed page of information about that provider. "Health and Human Services" is defined as widely as possible so that as much helpful information as possible is made available residents of Santa Clara County.
The HelpSCC Team is a group of community leaders representing nonprofit and government agencies, libraries, city governments, information/referral specialists, and online communication experts. "

They have information about providers that can help with:

Affordable Housing
Transitional Housing
Homeless Services
Food Stamps
Meals
Substance Abuse
Senior Transportation and Housing
Job Training
Child Care
Health Clinics

and much, much more.

I would encourage everyone to take a look; there might be something there that you or someone you know could use....

We're Open

2008-11-10T17:25:00.001-08:00

Open Sign
Originally uploaded by tahitiantreat

Vote Here!

2008-11-10T17:24:00.001-08:00

Vote Here!
Originally uploaded by tahitiantreat

HIllview's Polling Place

2008-11-10T17:23:00.001-08:00

HIllview's Polling Place
Originally uploaded by tahitiantreat

Vote! Vote! Vote!

2008-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Shinkansen, a Japanese high speed bullet train

You keep hearing it: This is the most important election in years (ever? in our lifetimes?). The deadline to register to vote was this past Tuesday, October 21. Here at the library, we had a large number of people asking for voter registration forms, asking how to change party affiliations, and asking about polling places. For us, it is very satisfying to work in a place like Hillview Library that can assist people with these questions and help them participate in our democracy. It was great to see 18-year-olds registering to vote for the first time, and older people also taking an active interest in this election.

If you think that the presidential election is unimportant, or if you think that your vote will not make a difference in the federal process, that certainly is your prerogative. But, we'd also encourage you to vote because there are many state, county, and city initiatives that need to be decided. Exciting things, like high speed rail (similar to those found in France, Germany, and Japan) which promises to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in about 2 1/2 hours at speeds of up to 220 mph. Wow, that's fast!

Also, Hillview Library is a polling place this year(!), so if you live nearby, you may be coming in to our library to vote. Have you forgotten where you vote this year? Check here:

http://eservices.sccgov.org/pollingplace/prepare.do?action=begin

Just type in your street number, street name, and zip code, then press submit, and Voila!, your polling place appears. Pretty, pretty cool.

Are you unsure of whom to vote for, or what the initiatives mean? Go to The League of Women Voters website. The League provides nonpartisan political information in order to encourage and increase the active participation of citizens in government. Here you'll find plenty of information about candidates, propositions, and initiatives.

The Wire

2008-10-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Seagirt Marine Terminal, Baltimore

I’m almost done watching the fourth season of the very entertaining, very intense HBO show The Wireand I highly recommend it. It seems to give an authentic, in-depth look at many components of a large city. The police department is one of the aspects it covers, and it shows how politics can infiltrate and impact police work. But the show also gives equal time to the criminals, city politicians, and even union dockworkers (see above, a photo of the Seagirt Marine Terminal, where much of the second season was filmed). You'll start to become familiar with many of the characters from this huge cast: Stringer, Avon, McNulty, Bodie, Carcetti, Burrell, Bubbles, and on and on. A couple of us here at work have watched it from season one and we’ve all really liked it. Also, SURPRISE! We’ve just received (yeah!) season 5, the final season. Each season has been better than its predecessor, and the fourth season, for me, has been by far the best yet. I can’t wait to finish this!

But I’ll be sad when it’s over. :(

Now, I may not have convinced you, but check out these reviews:

In SF Chronicle

In NY Times

Of course, like many shows on HBO, The Wire is intended for mature audiences.

Find the first season here, at our libraries!

ABC for Adults graduation!

2008-10-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

Left to right: Branch Manager Kim , student Leticia Sandoval & teacher Cris
Left to right: Kim, Irene Hernandez, Cris
Left to right: Kim, Jose Sandoval, Cris
Left to right: Kim, Carolina Sandoval, Cris
Left to right: Kim, Luis Sandoval, Cris

Hi everyone, while summer sizzled, so did our students for ABC English for Adults. They came diligently and no amount of heat wave stopped them from attending. The two month course, which started July 8th and ended August 30th, was off to a good start. Initially, there were a total of about 25 students for the morning and afternoon session. However, we think the heat wave got to most of them until only a core of five students remained. Hooray for the Sandoval siblings, Leticia 20, Jose 18, Carolina 15 and Luis 13 and Irene Hernandez. (see photos) They all received a certificate of completion, a bag of goodies and some cake and punch to celebrate their achievement.

These students are now attending level one of ESL class and are doing very well!

Family Learning Center subscribes to the idea of all work and no play …. So on every second Tuesday of the month we play BINGO for ESL students. This is no ordinary bingo game. The bingo cards are words instead of numbers. The students are asked to repeat the words called, and then cover that word until they have a horizontal, vertical or diagonal bingo. Winner receives a prize. This activity reinforces speaking, listening and reading skill areas. This is one game with a good purpose!

Stay tuned for more ….

In-Service Day - Yay!

2008-09-18T13:21:00.002-07:00

As some of you may know, we were closed for the first half of Friday. We had an all-staff in-service. Yeah!

So, what is a library in-service? Well, three times a year the entire San Jose Public Library staff comes together around a certain theme, with speakers, panels, and, of course, coffee and tea. As always, my favorite part of the in-service is seeing coworkers from other libraries that I rarely get to see. Today’s theme was “The Future of Libraries” or something to that effect. Past topics have been things like “Library Safety,” “Serving Youth,” and “Customer Service.” Our keynote speaker today, someone from the California State Library, was kind of boring but showed us a number of examples of emerging technologies, e.g. ebook readers, social networking sites, and most cool, Hello Kitty robots.

We were challenged to come up with how we thought libraries of the future would be. What kind of services and help will we offer? What kinds of materials will we have? What will our buildings be like? What will our customers want in the future? What will our organizational values be? Will the internet continue to change libraries and users? How?

Free2

2008-04-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

Free 2 tell scary stories. Free 2 go barefoot. Free 2 dye your hair. Free 2 play “Runescape.” Free 2 hit a home run. Free 2 dream. Free 2 wake from a dream. Or nightmare. Free 2 run a marathon. Free 2 ponder unusual ideas. Free 2 fly high. Free 2 differ. Free 2 travel in time. Free 2 agree 2 disagree. Free 2 watch “Darjeeling Limited.” Free 2 mistrust your horoscope. Free 2 celebrate differences. Free 2 eat Korean food (mmm… Jjigae…). Free 2 make a film, paint a picture, take a photograph.

Free 2 visit your local library.

Free2?

Have you visited us?

2008-02-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

If you haven't come by yet, please do. If you remember only the old Hillview Library, this new one will blow you away. Aside from having more books, movies, and CDs, we have twice as many computers as we did before.

But even more interesting, I think, is our new building. There are a lot of pretty cool spaces inside, but most impressive are two things: the view from the windows of the east hills, and the art by Amy Trachtenberg.

Ms. Tracthenberg is an artist based in San Francisco that has done some impressive work here at Hillview. Check out these pictures on her website, and check out some of her other work, too.

Whew! What a year!!!!

2008-02-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

So, we've now been open a little more than a year, and what a busy year it's been....

Two weeks old and growing...

2007-02-05T21:37:00.000-08:00

Hillview is now two weeks old.

Our Librarian, Ginger, performed her first Storytime at new Hillview. Way to go, Ginger!

First Movie and Popcorn Program for our little customers was successful. Thanks to Hillview librarians, Alejandro and Ginger.

"Movie and Quesadilla!" will be next month's feature.

We had given our first full week of library tours and presented many brief introduction to library catalog and databases to our students at Fischer Middle School. We will be busy for the next few weeks to provide this service to all Fischer Middle School students. Renaissance Academy students will start their library tours in a week from today. We can't wait to see all of you from FMS and Renaissance Academy!

Reading Buddies Orientation is on Thursday from 3 -4:30. Teens, don't forget to bring signed TeensReach applications to the meeting.

Come and see for yourself

2007-01-22T10:04:00.000-08:00

Everyone is welcome. Please come in and check us out!

Family Learning Center is the place to try interactive software in English Language Acquisition: pronunciation, reading, and writing.

ESL Conversation Club is your time to meet, practice and make new friends.

Learn, Enjoy and Explore in the Children's Area.

Joining our Story time and Stay & Play program to help your children preparing for school.

When you have a long day at work, please consider visiting our living room area to relax or curl up with your favorite books or magazines.

Teens,

We welcome you with our library resources to help you succeed in school along with Wi-Fi capability, and a very special and relaxing place just for you.

We are open!

2007-01-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

Hillview Branch Library

1600 Hopkins Drive

San Jose, CA 95122

(408) 808-3033

hb.sjpl@sjlibrary.org

Hours of Operation

Monday 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Tuesday - Wednesday 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

Thursday - Saturday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

HillviewBranchLibrary

2007-01-12T14:54:00.000-08:00

New Hillview Branch Library, adjacent to Fischer Middle School and Renaissance Academy, will open its doors on January 20, 2006. The new 21,035 sq. ft. library is significantly larger than the old library, offering more space for seating, collections and computers. It offers the community numerous enhancements including an expanded children's area, group study rooms, a quiet study area, a community room that will accommodate 65 people, a teens' center, and an Internet Café. A new unique area of the library will be the Family Learning Center where families and individuals can make strides in personal growth and learning. Materials and programs in the Center focus on English language and literacy skills for people of all ages, Citizenship, Job Skills and other areas based on community needs. The new Tech Center will make possible programs such as Bilingual Internet Instruction classes, and email for seniors. Programs supporting early childhood development such as story times and parenting classes will be available. The homework center will be open during the after school hours for homework assistance, and Reading Buddies will support the early literacy development of children in grades K-2. The library will be also be a community destination for enrichment programs such as author visits, and recreation and entertainment activities including puppet shows, game nights, and a variety of family events.