What's NewWhat's Newhttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/2012-05-24T18:25:31ZSquarespaceLibrary Closed on Memorial Dayhttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/library-closed-on-memorial-day.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-05-24T18:25:08Z2012-05-24T18:25:08ZThe libraries in San Rafael will be closed Monday, May 28th for Memorial Day. But the Digital Branch is always open!

]]>Download eBooks and eAudioBooks from home!http://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/download-ebooks-and-eaudiobooks-from-home.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-05-22T19:22:17Z2012-05-22T19:22:17ZHave a Kindle, Nook, iPad, iPhone, or Android phone or tablet?  You can download thousands of popular eBooks and eAudioBooks from the library, for free with your library card!

Check out our Downloads page for more info, new user's guides for your specific devices, and links to all of our eBooks.

And if you have any questions about how to use our eBooks, feel free to email library@cityofsanrafael.org or drop by one of our eBook help sessions, every Thursday from 2-3pm at the Downtown Library!

]]>Highlighted Events for Mayhttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/highlighted-events-for-may.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-05-08T18:50:20Z2012-05-08T18:50:20ZWe've got tons going on every single week at our two libraries!  Each week we have around a dozen different events for all ages -- story times, classes, cultural events, and lots more.  Here are just a few highlights for April!  For a complete list of our upcoming events, see our calendar.

  • Conversation Club in Spanish for Adults / Club de Conversacion en espanol - Thursdays May 10th and May 24th, 1-2:30pm, Pickleweed Library
  • Sing-Along with Sara Sonnet - Every Friday from 10:30-11am, Downtown Library Meeting Room
  • Family Storytime / Cuentos para la familia - Every Tuesday from  7-7:30pm, Pickleweed Library
  • Introduction to Bit Torrent and File Sharing - Thursday, May 17, 4-5pm, Downtown Library Meeting Room
  • Full Dewey Book Club: Professor and the Madman - Thursday, May 17, 7-8pm, Downtown Library Meeting Room
  • READ with Bumps (storytime with Bumps the dog!) - Sunday, May 20, 2-4pm, Downtown Library Meeting Room

]]>Spanish Conversation Clubhttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/spanish-conversation-club.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-04-05T18:58:49Z2012-04-05T18:58:49ZWant to improve your Spanish skills? 

The Pickleweed Library has a conversation club in Spanish and is always looking for new members!  This program is for adults who are looking for opportunities to practice and improve their conversation skills in Spanish.  

The club meets the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, from 1pm-2:30 pm in the Pickleweed Teen Room.

]]>Legal self-help books onlinehttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/legal-self-help-books-online.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-04-03T17:20:02Z2012-04-03T17:20:02ZEver need a little bit of help walking through a tough legal issue?  Perhaps it's setting up a living trust, or writing a will, starting a business, getting a patent, or getting a divorce?  

The Library offers hundreds of online legal self-help books from Nolo (the leading publisher of legal reference books). The best part is that you can access all of them from home with your library card!  Just go to the Library's Downloads page, and click on the link to the Legal Information Reference Center.

Here is a sampling of the popular titles you can access:

 

  • Every Tenant's Legal Guide
  • Plan Your Estate
  • Your Rights in the Workplace
  • U.S. Immigration Made Easy
  • Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home
  • Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce
  • Living Wills and Power of Attorney for California
  • Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business
  • Copyright Handbook

We also have many of these titles in print format if you prefer that.  And if you have any questions or aren't finding what you need, give us a call or an email!

]]>1.2 million free eBooks - all yours with your San Rafael Public Library cardhttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/12-million-free-ebooks-all-yours-with-your-san-rafael-public.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-03-29T20:36:32Z2012-03-29T20:36:32ZHaven't tried Open Library yet? Do it! Do it now!

The San Rafael Public Library participates in the Open Library project as a partner.  The project offers a total of 1.2 million free eBook titles to read online, download in a variety of formats, and enjoy.  That's right - 1.2 million free eBook titles.

When your library (along with the many other participating libraries across the world) has to weed older books off of our shelves to make room for the new ones, we box them up and send them to the Open Library folks at the Internet Archive.  They scan and digitize the book and put it online in the Open Library collection--thereby keeping it accessible for not only San Rafael residents but for any other member library's residents too!

Open Library is a completely "open" project -- the data, software, and documentation is all open for review and contributions.  At the library, we prefer to support open projects...ensuring that information will continue to be accessible to future generations.

So how do you use it? Just go right to this link for Open Library, and you can always go to the library's Downloads webpage and click on the link there.

]]>Highlighted Events for Aprilhttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/highlighted-events-for-april.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-03-27T23:30:54Z2012-03-27T23:30:54ZWe've got tons going on every single week at our two libraries!  Each week we have around a dozen different events for all ages -- story times, classes, cultural events, and lots more.  Here are just a few highlights for April!  For a complete list of our upcoming events, see our calendar.

  • Wednesday, April 4th, 1pm: Art Talk - From Calder to Warhol: The Fisher Collection (City Council Chambers)
  • Saturday, April 7th, 3-5pm: Travel Talk - In the Footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh (City Council Chambers)
  • Tuesday, April 10th, 3:30-4pm: Children's Sing-Along with Pierina Dell'Avo (Downtown Library Meeting Room)
  • Thursday, April 12th, 1-2:30pm: Conversation Club in Spanish for Adults / Club de Conversacion en Espanol (Pickleweed Library)
  • Thursday, April 12th, 2-4pm: Online Business Resources Class (Downtown Library Meeting Room)
  • Saturday, April 28th, 10am-2pm: SAT Practice Test (Downtown Library Meeting Room)

]]>Write-On!: Free College Application Essay Workshopshttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/write-on-free-college-application-essay-workshops.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-03-02T18:42:10Z2012-03-02T18:42:10ZThe college application essay is important enough to spend time brainstorming, selecting, and developing the topics - why you are worthy of admission and what makes you a real-life intriguing personality.

Robert-Harry Rovin of WRITE ON! will facilitate a series of five FREE workshops aimed at helping you discover what you feel passionate about and writing it down. 

We are limited by the number of seats available. Call now to reserve your seat! (415) 485-3321.

Dates (Wednesdays):
March 21, 2012
March 28, 2012
April 4, 2012
April 18, 2012
April 25, 2012

Times:
3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Location:
San Rafael Public Library
1100 E Street, San Rafael, CA 94901

]]>Legal self-help books any time, anywherehttp://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/legal-self-help-books-any-time-anywhere.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-02-16T21:19:36Z2012-02-16T21:19:36ZLove those Nolo legal self-help books? We do too!  We love them soooooo much that we have a full online collection of Nolo titles for you to access any time from anywhere with your library card.

Check out the Legal Information Reference Center: Legal guides and eBooks from Nolo on topics from divorce to real estate law, business, wills, and more.

You can access this eResource as well as dozens more from our eResources webpage.  If you need any help logging in or figuring out how to search one of these resources, contact our Reference Librarians at 415-485-3321 / library@cityofsanrafael.org / @srpubliclibrary

]]>Save money on newspapers and magazines!http://srpubliclibrary.org/whatsnew/save-money-on-newspapers-and-magazines.htmlSan Rafael Public Library2012-02-15T21:43:45Z2012-02-15T21:43:45ZWe're all feeling the financial crunch and looking for ways to save money.  A little here, a little there, and poof! You've got money for your favorite brand of ice cream.

One way to save money is to use the library's subscriptions to your favorite magazines and newspapers.  Both of our libraries have extensive collections of your favorites.  Better yet, we have online subscriptions you can use to popular magazines and newspapers too!  You can access them from anywhere by logging in with your library card number.  Easy peasy!

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