March 2011 Vol. 42 No. 3 Presidio Branch Library 2011 Reopens March 26! Children’s Puppet See Page 2 for more about this beautiful historic renovation. Festival Returns he San Francisco Public Library hosts its 7th Youth Speaks Poetry Slam annual Children’s Puppet Festival in 2011, Come witness the brilliance of Bay Area teen poets at the Main Library, Twith puppet shows at 24 libraries. Catch as when they perform in school teams for the title of the Youth Speaks many as you can. Puppeteers this year include: Unified District Slam Champions! Youth Speaks is a leading literary arts Images in Motion organization offering education and youth development programs. As presenters of local and national youth poetry slams, festivals, reading This acclaimed duo is known for their professional series, and multimedia events, Youth Speaks gives urban youth the all- film and television work as well as their live shows. too-rare chance to be published and heard. At the annual Unified District Credits range from Fraggle Rock to Being John Slam, each school Malkovich, and they have won six regional Emmys is represented by Tonight and six national Tellys. Their original show, Water four to five poets. Open to public high schools beyond I accidentally shed tears created Works, offers a variety of beautifully crafted mouth, San Francisco and Oakland, this year’s event includes From tear ducts of what trust used to be rod, hand and shadow puppets. teams from San Francisco, the East Bay, North Bay, and The night of MLK’s birthday and I return To my sanctuary of questioning Magical Moonshine Theatre Peninsula. For more info about attending the Unified District Slam, e-mail [email protected]. On this very night Local treasures Michael and Valerie have been Exactly twenty-four days until my scary eighteenth performing nationally and internationally for San Francisco Unified Preliminary Slam:March 22, I have been inspired again to try and answer years. Little Elephant Has a Ball is a table-top pup- 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Koret Auditorium, Main Library. prayers of where I subconsciously come from... pet show created to be developmentally appro- Preliminary Greater Bay Area Slam: March 25, priate for pre-school audiences. - Shelby Williams, Oakland School of the Arts, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Koret Auditorium, Main Library. participant in 2010 Unified District Slam Randel McGee and Groak Back to the festival by popular demand, Randel and his pal, Groak the dragon, have been Climate Change in the Next 50 Years performing together for 27 Hear how climate change is altering weather patterns around the world and how it will impact local weather Randel McGee years, blending comedy, music in unique and unexpected ways in a fascinating conversation between science journalist Mark Hertsgaard, and storytelling. Groak may be the only guitar the author of Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, and Healy Hamilton, the director of the Center strumming dragon around, and Randel’s virtuos- for Applied Biodiversity Informatics at the California Academy of Sciences. ity as a ventriloquist is ably displayed as they Hertsgaard’s book takes an optimistic look at how to adapt to the al- interact with the audience and each other. tered state of life that comes with climatic changes. Learn about how plants and animals, including humans, are already beginning to shift in response Puppet Art Theater to the changing world around them. This Green Stacks event is sponsored Puppet Art’s humorous, fast-moving, live dia- by the Academy of Sciences and the Wallace Stegner Environmental Center. logue, hand puppet shows are a big favorite with Hot: March 23, 6 p.m. Koret Auditorium, Lower Level, Main Library. Book sign- San Francisco audiences. This year’s shows are ing to follow. Reservations: This is a free event held at the Library, but seating Mark Hertsgaard humorous takes on familiar tales. is limited. Reserve a seat online at calacademy.org or call (800) 794-7576. Sean’s Shadows Sean has been working as a storyteller, illustrator and musician for 20 years. Nine years M.F.K. Fisher Biography ago he discovered shadow puppetry as a medi- um to combine his talents. He will be presenting Anne Zimmerman believed there was more to the life of famed food writer M.F.K. The Cat Drum, a story from the Caribbean about Fisher than the stories she told in her autobiographical books and essays. Fisher’s how the cat got its purr. writings about food were ripe and evocative: she viewed meals as one of the cen- tral characters in the most profound moments in her life. Yet there was a sadness Check the calendar listing, page 6, to find out to her work too, pain that hinted at a life filled with darkness and despair. how you can enter the magical worlds these In An Extravagant Hunger: The Passionate Years of M.F.K. Fisher, Zimmerman performers so imaginatively create. seeks to illuminate the most colorful years of M.F.K. Fisher’s life. Relying on unpub- lished letters and journals, Zimmerman explores Fisher’s time in Europe with her first husband, her re-marriage, her second husband’s suicide, and the pleasures of cooking and table that made Fisher’s life transcendent. An Extravagant Hunger reveals the personal story behind some of M.F.K. Fisher’s most beloved gastronomical writings: Serve it Forth, Consider the Oyster, How to Cook a Wolf, and The Gastronomical Me. This program is in conjunction with the exhibition, San Francisco EATS. For more programs, see the calendar, pages 4-5, or visit sfpl.org/sfeats. Author Talk: Anne Zimmerman, March 9, 6:30 p.m., Main Library, Latino Hispanic Community Meeting Room. Coming Up: APRIL 7 APRIL 9-JUNE 12 APRIL 14 APRIL 17 Kay Thompson: From Public Library: An American Stories from the Mark Twain San Francisco Girls Chorus Funny Face to Eloise Commons Photography exhibit Project Panel Discussion Main, Koret, 2 p.m. Author Sam Irvin by Robert Dawson Main, Koret, 6:30 p.m. Main, Latino Room, 6 p.m. Main Library, Jewett Gallery SFPL.ORG AT THE LIBRARY MARCH 2011 1 Branch Library Improvement Program (BLIP) Presidio Branch Library: Historic Restoration of a Neighborhood Gem oin us on March 26 as we celebrate the reopening of the beautifully renovated Presidio Branch Library at 3150 Sacramento St., between Lyon and Baker streets. City Librarian Luis Herrera, District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell and Library Commission President Jewelle Gomez will be on hand to cut the ribbon and welcome patrons back inside this neighborhood gem. The celebration begins at 1 p.m. and will feature lion dancers and other entertainment; library services will start at 2 p.m. JEstablished in 1898, Presidio was the sixth branch of the San Francisco Public Library system. The current Italian Renaissance-style building was completed in 1921, designed by G. Albert Lansburgh and funded by Schatz Andrew Carnegie. The completed historic renovation includes a restoration of the building’s beautiful, ornate Mark exterior façade and stairs. Interior renovation highlights include new pendant light fixtures that fit with the historic grandeur of the building, refurbished original wood shelving, and a new teen area. Other features of Photo: the project include an interactive learning area in the children’s room From the elegant, light-filled and the refurbishment of the downstairs community meeting room. reading room with its New restrooms, more computers and more functional and ergonomic arched window frames staff work areas were also part of this project. to the inviting and “I’m certain the neighborhood will be thrilled to see this expansive children’s room, magnificent library return to service. From the elegant, light filled this library is a treasure reading room with its arched window frames to the inviting and to its community. expansive children’s room, this library is a treasure to its community,” said Herrera. “Now all can enjoy modern library resources in a technologically updated branch that will serve its community for generations to come.” The renovation, designed by Field Paoli and Joseph Chow & Associates, has been completed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification standards or greater, as set by the U.S. Green Building Council. The project conformed to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation & Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Above: The careful restoration retained the Library’s beautiful historic details while adding new light fixtures that reflect the branch’s history. At left, top to bottom: the restored façade; the main reading room; the entranceway to the children’s room. Temporary Services Schedule BLIP Update The Library provides the following services during branch renovations. Branches under construction and Bookmobile Locations: projected opening dates: Anza Merced (Balboa St., at 31st Ave.) (Buckingham Way, near Stonestown Presidio – March 26, 2011 Tuesday: 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. movie theater.) Merced – 2011 Saturday: 1:30–5 p.m. Monday: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Ortega – 2011 Golden Gate Valley Anza – 2011 (1700 Green St., alongside Allyne Presidio Bookmobile hours subject to change; Park.) (2715 California St. at Scott St.) call (415) 557-4343 or visit sfpl.org for Visitacion Valley – 2011 Tuesday: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Wednesday: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. updated information. Golden Gate Valley – 2011 Friday: 2:15–5:30 p.m. Friday: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. The largest building campaign in San Francisco Public Library history is in full swing. We are now seeing the fruits of the $106 million bond measure passed in November 2000.