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Pauline Murillo at Feldheym Central Library

Pauline Murillo will discuss her new book, We are Still Here Alive and in Spirit, at the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library, Monday, August 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Kellogg Rooms.

We are Still Here Alive and in Spirit is the pictorial sequel to her autobiography that documents her life growing up on the San Manuel Reservation in the twentieth century, Living in Two Worlds. Her new book contains nearly 1500 photographs and other images that tell the story of more than 100 years of life on the San Manuel Reservation.

Following her presentation, which will include reading passages from her new book and a discussion, both books will be available for purchase and signing.

Born in 1934, Murillo is now a respected Elder of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. She has been married to her husband George for more than fifty years. She has three children, eight grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.

For more information, please call 909.381.8215.

Author Event at Feldheym Central Library

"Why was my novel rejected?" Millions of writers don't have a clue, says Chris Roerden, a veteran manuscript editor. She bases her figures on Bowker's report of 42,076 new adult fiction titles published in 2006, and on interviews with agents, who say one in a hundred manuscripts becomes a published book. Writers she polled admit to having an average of four copies of a work in circulation at a time.

Chris Roerden will answer that question and many more when she speaks about her new book, Don't Sabotage Your Submissions: An editor tells writers / save your manuscript from turning up D.O.A., at the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library, Tuesday, August 5, at 6:00 p.m. in the Kellogg Rooms.

"The reason for rejection in most cases is average writing," Roerden says. "Take dialogue. Just because you put quotation marks around something doesn't make it dialogue." Editors and agents spot such clues immediately and read no farther.

After more than 40 years of seeing identical writing habits sabotage the majority of submissions, this former university writing instructor wrote two books examining the clues to instant rejection that writers can learn to find and fix.

In June 2008 a small royalty press, Bella Rosa, released Don't Sabotage Your Submissions: An editor tells writers / save your manuscript from turning up D.O.A. In it Roerden reviews 260 excerpts from 240 writers to show how they got right the techniques most writers get wrong, such as prologues that lead to low-tension, backstory ache, body language illiteracy, and buried agendas-which she calls a tension deficit disorder.

The book's 2006 predecessor, Don't Murder Your Mystery, was a sleeper that received no major reviews. But buzz spread through the Internet. CozyLibrary.com (a site for mystery readers) called it a "well-written and often funny lesson in 'author appreciation.'" It won the Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book and became a finalist for three other awards. New York Times best-selling author P.J. Parrish says that after reading Don't Murder Your Mystery, "I went back and rewrote an entire first page."

When its ranking on Amazon led to acquisition by the Writer's Digest Book Club, Roerden knew she was reaching thousands more writers than she'd reached in 44 years of editing, 6 years of teaching writing, and more than 200 workshop presentations.

The Friends of the San Bernardino Public Library will sponsor a reception following the presentation where books will be available for purchase and signing.

For more information, please call 909.381.8235.

Catch the Reading Bug and Metamorphosis Summer Reading Games

The San Bernardino Public Library's 2008 summer reading game for children, "Catch the Reading Bug" and summer reading game for teens, "Metamorphosis," kick off Monday, June 16, and end Saturday, August 9.

Everyone who signs up for the reading game will receive a free book bag.

Children and teens may sign up for the summer reading program at the Feldheym Central Library or at any of the three branches. As children read books, they earn points for great prizes.

Preschoolers can participate by having a parent or older brother or sister read to him/her.

Prizes include reading game themed prizes such as bookmarks, stickers, pencils, finger puppets and coupons for food, drinks, and games from the following sponsors: AMF Arrowhead Lanes, Fiesta Village Golf, Home Town Buffet, Rainforest Café, Jose's Mexican Food, Del Rosa Lanes, Elephant Bar Restaurant, Pat and Oscar's Restaurant, Mimi's Café, In-N-Out Burger, and Baker's Drive-thru. The San Bernardino Sun is also a sponsor.

There will be special activities throughout the summer beginning with Space Bug, a new Swazzle puppet show Saturday, June 28, at the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library in the Bing Wong Auditorium at 2:00 p.m. Swazzle, formerly known as the L.A. Puppet Professionals, is a performance company dedicated to the art of live puppetry. Each show includes a special behind the scenes presentation. Swazzle was founded by twins Patrick and Sean Johnson who began building puppets and performing puppet shows at the age of 13. They are active members of The Puppeteers of America and have served on the board of both the San Francisco and Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry.

Dates will be announced for more special events including crafts, a Balloon Show and a Cartoon Workshop.

For more information about this FREE program, please call 909.381.8235.

Ask Now - Free 24/7 Reference Service Available at San Bernardino Public Libraries

Experienced reference librarians are available to answer your questions at the San Bernardino Public Libraries 24/7 - 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

AskNow is a free live online interactive reference service, available to library users 24/7. AskNow combines the speed and convenience of the Internet with the information savvy of experienced reference librarians.

When you connect to AskNow, the librarian online may not be from the San Bernardino Public Library and will not have access to your personal library account information. The librarian may be from any of over 100 California libraries or elsewhere in the national 24/7 reference cooperative.

For more information, please contact Ed Erjavek, Information Technology Manager, at 909.381.8216.

Meeting of Academy of Public Scholars at Feldheym Central Library

Are you deep into a career, which doesn’t give you much of a chance to think? Are you a student who’d like to read a truly great book without having to write a paper on it? Are you sick and tired of TV, print, and radio pseudo-intellectuals telling you how to think? Then the Academy of Public Scholars is for you. The next meeting is Tuesday, July 8 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Administration Board Room of the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library. Under interrogation: Martin Heidegger, Introduction to "Being and Time".

Eric Kessler, former owner of the Left Bank bookstore in Redlands, will guide readers through this rewarding text. According to Kessler, “The Academy of Public Scholars is for those interested in participating in challenging discourse, in a welcoming environment, on topics at the intersection of philosophy, culture and critical thinking.” Newcomers are always welcome. It’s not necessary for newcomers to read the material before the meeting.

View the survey of authors to be covered in the future. For more information, please call Eric Kessler at 909.997.3726.

Articles about the Academy:

Press Enterprise, May 2008
Press Enterprise, 2007
The Sun, July 1, 2007

Academy of Public Scholars Announces "Caffeinated Critique"

The Academy of Public Scholars announces an informal "Caffeinated Critique," Thursday, July 24, starting at 6:00 p.m. at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, 526 Orange Street, in Redlands.

(Plato's) "Timaeus" from the beginning all the way up to section 44d will be the texts under interrogation. This event is open to the public. No prior knowledge of text is required--curiosity is.

Drop in for half an hour or half the evening.

View the survey of authors to be covered in the future.

Library Cards Available to Foster Children at San Bernardino City Libraries

The San Bernardino Public Library and the San Bernardino County Department of Children's Services have worked out a unique plan where foster (out-of- home-care) parents can receive special library cards for the children they care for. Children will be encouraged to be responsible and to return all library materials on time. Foster parents don't have to worry about being stuck with huge library bills. The library will forgive overdue fines and the county will pay for missing or unreturned books.

The costs of this program are underwritten by the Department of Children's Services (DCS). Therefore only children that are a part of this program are eligible. Foster parents will need to show their agreement for the child to verify that they are eligible for the program.

According to Library Director Ophelia Georgiev Roop, "We are pleased to collaborate with the Department of Children's Services so that we can make it easier for foster children to have access to the benefits of a library."

For more information, please call 909.381.8201.

Volunteers wanted for Arda Haenszel California Room

The San Bernardino Public Library is seeking volunteers to work in the Arda Haenszel California Room, located on the second floor of the Norman F. Feldheym Central Library. Docents should enjoy history and/or genealogy and enjoy sharing that knowledge with library customers. Docents are needed to work at least once a week for a minimum of three hours. New volunteers will work with a more experienced docent.

The Arda Haenszel California Room is a treasure trove of priceless materials about the City of San Bernardino, the County of San Bernardino, the Inland Empire and the state. There is no other facility like ours that maintains such a complete history of our area that includes people, homes, farms, railroads, lakes, springs, businesses, lost buildings, roads, wildlife and fun things to do.

There is no librarian assigned to the Arda Haenszel California Room. Budget cuts forced its closing. It is open only when docents are available.

Fortunately, there is a group of dedicated volunteers who are truly living treasures and living encyclopedias of this area, but they are looking for people to train.

For more information, please call Millicent Price, Principal Librarian at 909.381.8226.

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