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Books Meet Art: Quick Hits

By on April 9, 2013 in Adults, Books and Authors, Garrett, Local, Movies, Music and Art, Sunnyvale

Need some book-related artistic entertainment/inspiration? Here are three blogs that are definitely worth a glance, and maybe even a follow.

a sample from Corpus Libris

Even if you don’t know Chip Kidd‘s name, you definitely know his work. Kidd is a prolific and prominent book cover designer. Among his many well-known designs are Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, Naked by David Sedaris, and 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. His blog is varied and interesting, with highlights of his work mixed in with observations (often humorous) about publishing and design in general.

A fun blog that I found linked from Kidd’s is Corpus Libris, where readers submit photos of themselves replacing parts of their bodies with the images from book covers. Equal parts creative and hilarious, perhaps you’ll be inspired to contribute with a book you find in our collection?

Another Kidd link referral, artist Thomas Allen does amazing photographs using books in creative ways, particularly with his cutouts from pulp novel covers, where the characters come bursting (literally) to life out of the pages of their books.

a Thomas Allen design

On another note, several months ago on this blog, I mentioned filmmaker and Sunnyvale native Bernie Su’s web video project The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Since that post, Bernie gave a talk here at Sunnyvale Library, wrapped up the series, and announced a follow-up project in one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever. The series has become wildly popular, as this article from WIRED describes. If you haven’t taken a look, I highly recommend it (be warned, the 100+ episodes are highly addicting).

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Sunnyvale Voices

By on April 2, 2013 in Adults, Genealogy, Michael, Sunnyvale

The Sunnyvale Public Library has been directed by the  Heritage Preservation Commission to collect stories from people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.    sunnyvale_voices

We have a small collection of videos available for the public to view on the Sunnyvale Public Library Youtube site.   We have enjoyed recording video stories.  Thus far we have stories of recent immigrants to Sunnyvale from India, Japan, Malaysia, Israel and Russia.   If you have a story you would like to tell please let us know.

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Moffett Field: Past, Present and Future

By on October 15, 2012 in Adult Services Staff, Adults, Michael, Science, Sunnyvale, Uncategorized

Join us Monday,  October 22nd at 7 pm at the Sunnyvale Public Library for a presentation by Capt. John Mascali, USNR retired, from the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum.  He will speak of  Moffett Field’s past, present and future, and help us become familiar with this well known landmark.  John Mascali  is the director of development at the Moffett Field Historical Society

In 1931, the city of Sunnyvale acquired a 1,000 acre (4.0 km2) parcel of farmland bordering San Francisco Bay, paid for with nearly $480,000 raised by the citizens of Santa Clara County, then “sold” the parcel for $1 to the US government as a home base for the Naval airship USS Macon.  The naval air station was authorized by an Act of Congress, signed by President Herbert Hoover on 12 February 1931. Construction of the original facilities was begun 8 July 1931.The base was originally named Airbase Sunnyvale CAL as it was thought that calling it Mountain View would cause officials to fear airships colliding with mountainsides.

In 2006, an offer to clean the hangar and coat its outsides with solar panels to recoup the costs of cleaning was floated by a private company, but the plan never saw fruition because it was too costly.

In August 2008, the Navy proposed simply stripping the toxic coating from the hangar and leaving the skeleton after spraying it with a preservative.  The Navy claimed that to reclad the structure would cost another $15 million and that this is NASA’s responsibility. This was regarded as a partial victory by campaigners.

In September 2008, NASA indicated that it was still urging the Navy to restore the hangar, but that it is willing to help save the structure; in particular, NASA is in favor of re-covering the structure at the same time as it is stripped.

 

In April 2011, the exterior panels began coming down, starting at the top.

View of the hangar’s skeleton in September, 2012

 

An episode of the Discovery Channel TV show MythBusters used one of the smaller hangars to disprove the myth that it is not possible to fold a sheet of paper in half more than seven times. The sheet of paper covered nearly the full width of the airship hangar. Other episodes of Mythbusters have utilized the hangar to test myths such as “Inflating a football with helium allows longer kick distances” and “Airworthy aircraft can be constructed of concrete.”

The effort to save Moffett Field‘s Hangar One appears to be bearing fruit. Google execs are offering to pay for the restoration costs of the landmark, which is in dire need of some TLC.

Toxic panels on the historic hangar are in the process of being removed. Total cost of repairing the hangar is estimated at $33 million.

 Please join us for this free event in the Sunnyvale Public Library program

665 W. Olive Ave.  Sunnyvale, CA 94086 ph. 408.7300.7300.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sunnyvale Bag Ban

By on May 21, 2012 in Friends of the Sunnyvale Library, Sunnyvale, Wendy

Friends of the Library BagYou may have heard by now about the single use plastic bag ordinance that the City of Sunnyvale adopted in December, 2011. Beginning June 20, 2012 — in only a month — large retailers will not be allowed to give out free single use plastic bags at check-out. Instead, they must provide an alternative paper bag that is made from at least 40% post-consumer recycled content paper, as well as charge $.10 per bag that consumers take from the store. The fee will increase to $.25 per bag in 2014. Stores such as supermarkets are still allowed to provide plastic bags with no handles for produce. And beginning March 20, 2013, the same rules will apply to small stores, too.

Sunnyvale is one of a growing list of at least 25 California cities or counties that have either already adopted the ban or will be by the end of 2012. If you’ve already visited shopping centers such as Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, you’ve probably already experienced what will begin happening in Sunnyvale.

How can you avoid paying $.10 per paper bag that you bring home from a store? Invest in some reusable bags! Many supermarkets and retailers already have reusable bags available for a small fee. In fact, our own Friends of the Sunnyvale Library has made brand new reusable bags available at the Customer Service Desk at the front of the Library for $2 each. Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Sunnyvale Library and, in turn, the Library itself.

And how can you remember to bring your own bags to the supermarket, other retailers, or even the Library? Here are some tips:

  • Leave 3 or 4 bags in your car at all times — if possible, in a visible location, such as on the floor of the front passenger seat. Then, when you unload your purchases at home, leave the bags by the front door so that you remember to return them to your car the next time you leave the house.
  • Carry a small reusable bag in your pocket or handbag for unplanned trips to the store.
  • Hang several bags on a hook near the front door or in the garage so you will see and grab them anytime you leave the house.

Do you have other ideas for how to remember your own bags every time you go shopping?

For more information about the ordinance and what it means for you and for Sunnyvale retailers, please visit the City’s website regarding the single use plastic bag ordinance. The site has a useful FAQ that discusses any concerns you may have about the new rules.

[Edited 5/24/2012: To clarify regarding the Westfield Valley Fair statement above, the ban currently only applies to the part of Westfield Valley Fair located in San Jose and not in Santa Clara. For example, Men's Macy's and Old Navy are in San Jose, while Women's Macy's is in Santa Clara. Men's Macy's and Old Navy are not giving out plastic bags and are charging $.10 per paper bag. Women's Macy's is still giving out plastic bags.]

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