Jane Austen Tea Party set for Dec. 11 at Central Library

The Sacramento Public Library will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of 19th-century English author Jane Austen's beloved novel, Sense and Sensibility, at its second annual Jane Austen Birthday Tea on Sunday, December 11, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria at the Central Library. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. and seating is at 2 p.m. 

Teens and adults can enjoy delicious tea and pastries, live Regency Era (1795 to 1820) music by the Quite Carried Away musicians, and a performance of the novel's greatest scenes by two of Sacramento's Elly Award-winning actresses. During the tea, there will be a Sense and Sensibility trivia game to challenge Austen fans.

The classic literary celebration will include a book sale, a silent auction of Jane Austen-themed items, and door prizes of the newly-published book, Death Comes to Pemberley, by famed British mystery writer, P.D. James.

The Friends of Sacramento Public Library and the Jane Austen Society of North America, Greater Sacramento Region will have membership tables at the event. Attendance in Regency Era costumes is encouraged.

As seating is limited, registration is required by calling the Sacramento Public Library at (916) 264-2920 or visiting the Events page at www.saclibrary.org.  

Sacramento Public Library presents Colors of War art exhibition

The Sacramento Public Library, in partnership with the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, will present the thought-provoking art exhibition, Colors of War, through January 18 at its Central Library.

Colors of War, created by New York City-based artistTerry Rosenberg, is a collection of 100 digital paintings that feature loaded words whose incendiary meanings are challenged by provocative juxtaposition and dramatic typography.  Rosenberg has judiciously chosen words with clashing, contested meanings that, when paired together, illustrate how our contemporary moment seems to reverberate in a continual state of confrontation and war.  Pairing such oppositions in a shared, pictorial territory underscores the stereotypical understanding of the words' meanings and evokes the troubled relations and inherent power struggles between them: you/me; us/them; she/he; spirituality/sexuality; patriots/traitors; instinct/reason; black/white; master/slave; Democrats/Republicans; Israelis/Palestinians; democracy/terrorism; Muslims/Christians; etc.

The exhibition was originally organized in collaboration with Sacramento Public Library Director Rivkah K. Sass, when she served as director of the Omaha Public Library. "The cumulative effect of his digital paintings is intellectually and emotionally striking. Viewers are made abundantly aware of the insanity of conflict that is not only endemic to human culture, but also human language," Sass stated.

The Colors of War website features images as well as the essay Colors of War and the Colors of Words by philosopher Richard Shusterman, the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar Chair in the Humanities at Florida Atlantic University.  Visitors to the website may also post comments and engage in discussion with the artist and others.

The public may view the art exhibition at no charge during the Central Library's open hours. A portion of the exhibit will be on concurrent display at Sacramento City Hall, 915 I Street, during City Hall open hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Friends of the Sacramento Public Library have provided funding in support of this art exhibition at the Central Library.  

Librarians can suggest a "Great Read"

There are so many book choices among the nearly two million copies the Sacramento Public Library owns.  So, which book should you or your child read next?  The newly-launched Great Reads can provide suggested reading lists for all ages developed by library staff.

"The library is meeting the readers' advisory needs of our patrons in a variety of ways with this new online service," said Roberta Boegel, Collection Development Librarian.

When accessing the library's Great Reads web page, visitors will find recommended fiction and nonfiction titles for adults and school-age kids. Teen books will soon be added to the reading list.  Plus, subject bibliographies, to which the public can refer when choosing a library book, are available on the page for printing.

The Great Reads web page also features a link to the Sacramento Public Library staff  book blog, Book Rush.  "This is a book-centered blog that will be managed by an editorial board consisting of our librarians.  It will be a living, breathing blog with updated information regarding Sacramento Public Library and our community, along with excellent readers' advisory and recommendations," Boegel added.

Great Reads is a simple, streamlined service for our patrons.  According to Boegel, the library will continue its priority of providing excellent customer service in the area of readers' advisory."