Trivia of the Month (Answer)...

This month’s question was easy if you remembered your high school algebra.  It was what does the equation of a parabola look like?  What, for that matter does a parabola look like?

The equation of a parabola takes the form 

 where (h, k) represents the vertex of the graphed equation and a impacts how "fat" or "skinny" the parabola is (or whether it opens up or down).

A parabola with the equation 

 looks like:

Note in this case h and k are equal to 0 and a is equal to 1.

The question (& answer) were taken from p. 731 of the Discover Science Almanac.  The book was published by Hyperion in 2003.

Events for the Week of December 31….

The library will be closed on Monday, January 1 for New Year’s Day.  Events going on at the library during the remainder of the week include:

• Circulo de Lectores on Tuesday (1/2) at 6:00
• Toddler Storytime on Wednesday (1/3) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (1/4) at 3:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (1/5) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (1/6) at 2:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches

Library Events in January…

(Mark your calendars accordingly)

The library has some interesting events planned in January.  As always, I thought I’d take a minute and give you a run down so you can plan ahead.  Let’s start with the non-repeating events:

- - - - - - - - - - 

1/2 @ 6:00
Circulo de Lectores
Hay café, pastel casero, ye conversación amena sobre el libro que estamos leyendo

1/8 from 2:00-4:00
LA DOT TAP Information Table
Questions about the transit system and TAP cards? Want to fill up your card? Swing by and talk to the folks from LA’s Department of Public Transportation.

1/8 @ 4:00
Gish Bac Restaurant Talks Oaxacan Food
Join us as we take a culinary journey into Oaxaca.

1/9 @ 3:00
My Own Lotería / Mi propia lotería
Teens assemble their own homemade lotería sets to play with friends and family.

1/16 @ 3:00
Teen Program
Join us for an exciting teen-centered program.

1/16 @ 6:00
Circulo de Lectores
Hay café, pastel casero, ye conversación amena sobre el libro que estamos leyendo

1/22 @ 4:00
Make it Monday: Building Blocks Club
Come show us what you can build.

1/27 @ 3:00
Arroyo Book Club
Join us for a discussion of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

1/29 @ 4:00
Make it Monday: Bubble Wrap Art
Join us for a chance to make lovely art out of bubble wrap.

- - - - - - - - - -

Each month the library also has a number of ongoing classes & events.  They are:

Grupo de apoyo para la familia - - - Mondays at 10:00

Toddler Storytime - - - Wednesdays at 10:30 
Little Ones’ 3 and under & their grownups are invited to join us for stories, music, & games. 

STAR Volunteer Readers - - - Available on Wednesdays at 3:00, on Thursdays at 3:00, and on Saturdays at 2:00
STAR readers present the fun of storytelling and reading to children one-on-one or in small groups. Kids earn a free book to keep after 3 visits. 

Drop in Computer Lab - - - Fridays at 3:30
Bring your questions about computers, tablets, eReaders, or other electronic devices.  We will do our best to help you figure out answers. 

- - - - - - - - - -

Please do not hesitate to call the library at 323-255-0537 if you have any questions or would like more information.  Remember that you can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches.

The Arroyo Book Club’s January Pick…

The Arroyo Book Club will be taking a look at a classic in January, specifically,  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  The catalog provides the following as a summary for the edition we are reading:

After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the aging Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine. This edition uses the text as it appeared in its first serial publication in 1859 to convey the full scope of Dickens's vision, and includes the original illustrations by H.K. Browne ('Phiz'). Richard Maxwell's introduction discusses the intricate interweaving of epic drama with personal tragedy.

Pick up a copy from the library, we are reading the Penguin version, and join us for discussion on January 27 at 3:00.

Best of 2017…

It’s that time of year again.  The time when everyone is busy putting together lists that in some respect summarize the year that is about to end.  The library is no exception and our annual best of 2017 lists area available for perusing.  

You can find the best in…

• Nonfiction here: http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/lapl-reads/book-lists/best-2017-non-fiction
• Fiction here: http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/lapl-reads/book-lists/best-2017-fiction
• Books for Teens here: http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/lapl-reads/book-lists/best-2017-teen-books
• Children’s books here: http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/lapl-reads/book-lists/best-2017-childrens-books

I tend to look on these lists less as comprehensive “best” lists and more as - of all the books we read this past year, which was not every book published, these are the ones that stuck in our minds as interesting, good, well written, and worth sharing with all of our patrons.  So check out the lists for some ideas for things to read, to see if your own favorites are covered, and to see what should have been mentioned that was not.

Events for the Week of December 24….

The library will be closed on Sunday, December 24 and Monday, December 25 for the Christmas Holiday.  Events going on at the library during the remainder of the week include:

• Toddler Storytime on Wednesday (12/27) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (12/28) at 3:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (12/29) at 3:30

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches

History of Highland Park...

This June 6, 1981 article (http://dbase1.lapl.org/webpics/calindex/documents/10/520393.pdf) titled "Since 1906, Boys Find Help at Optimist Home" gives the history of that institution which is still located on Figueroa Street in Highland Park.  The article includes a number of pictures. 

Check it out.

Events for the Week of December 17….

Events going on at the library during the week include:

• Music! Holiday Lights, a choral group, performs on Sunday (12/17) at 3:30.
• Grupo de apoyo para la familia on Monday (12/18) at 10:00
• Holiday storytime & craft on Monday at 4:00
• Circulo de Lectores meets on Tuesday (12/19) at 6:00
• Toddler Storytime on Wednesday (12/20) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (12/21) at 3:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (12/22) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (12/23) at 2:00
• Arroyo Book Club meets on Saturday at 3:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches

Trivia of the Month...

This month’s question will be easy if you remember your high school algebra.  What does the equation of a parabola look like?  What, for that matter does a parabola look like?

Just One Damned Thing After Another

In Just One Damned Thing After Another Jodi Taylor tells the tale of St. Mary’s.  St. Mary is an academic institution whose mission is to “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.”  In other words its historians actually go back in time to witness the events they’ve been studying.  Sounds interesting enough but unfortunately the author couldn’t really decide what type of book she was writing so she’d start with one premise “history punishes those who change it --- quite violently” only to abandon it to move on to a “crazed ex-employee is seeking revenge and taking everyone down” plot but not without providing a paradox that her first pass at premise would have choked on.  She also makes similar 90 degree turns with characterization and style (notably moving abruptly from a “polite” sex happens off page book into a shockingly, raunchy let’s all read this explicit sex scene with no warning.)

All in all this is a book I wanted to like but in the end I couldn’t.  The author needed some help that her editor failed to give her.  If you’re seeking a good time travel book seek elsewhere.

Sixth Watch

Sergei Lukyanenko concludes his long running Night Watch series with Sixth Watch .  The Night Watch series is a Russian take on a world that while the same as ours on the surface actually has an underground world of magicians and witches and vampires and just generally others.  This underworld is “watched” by the night watch (forces of ostensible good) and the day watch (forces of ostensible evil).  In this volume we meet all the characters we have met previously and watch all the storylines tie off in an interesting (and final) way.

While I definitely recommend this book quite highly, if you are new to Lukyanenko’s work you’ll want to start with the first volume of the series, Night Watch.

Events for the Week of December 10….

Events going on at the library during the week include:

• Music! The UCLA Gluck Cello Quartet performs on Sunday (12/10) at 3:30.
• Grupo de apoyo para la familia on Monday (12/11) at 10:00
• LA DOT Tap Card Information Table on Monday from 2:00-4:00
• Toddler Storytime on Wednesday (12/13) at 10:30
• STAR Reader on Wednesday at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (12/14) at 3:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday (12/15) at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday (12/16) at 2:00
• Shrinky-Dink Craft Program on Saturday at 3:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches

My Own Lotería / Mi propia lotería

Using image and language to describe the world… Sierra Zapotec writer Pergentino José teaches teens to assemble their own homemade lotería (bingo) sets to play with friends and family. Participants will leave this workshop with a homemade lotería card to keep and will have learned a few phrases of Sierra Zapotec!  

The program is part of Visualizing Language: Oaxaca in LA and will take place on Tuesday, January 9 at 3:00. 

Gish Bac Restaurant Talks Oaxacan Food

As part of Visualizing Language: Oaxaca in LA, join us as we take a culinary journey into Oaxaca, tasting and learning about Gish Bac's multi-generational specialty of barbacoa & mole negro.  You will get an historical and cultural background of the food and, most importantly, there will be samples.

The event will take place on Monday, January 8 at 4:00.

December’s E-Resource of the Month…

We are featuring the Vogue Archive as December’s e-Resource of the Month.  The Vogue Archive is a complete, searchable archive of every issue of Vogue from its first issue in 1892 right up to the current month.  It is available in high-resolution, full color page images.  You can use the search feature to find articles on specific topics across the entire run of the magazine or browse into a specific issue to look at that particular full magazine.

You can access the Vogue Archive from the Library’s Research & Homework page (http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/research-and-homework#V).  Have your library card & PIN handy and enjoy!

Events for the Week of December 3….

Events going on at the library during the week include:

• Highland Park Holiday Parade on Sunday (12/3).  We’ll meet up at 12:45 in the Library Parking Lot & march.
• Grupo de apoyo para la familia on Monday (12/4) at 10:00
• Make it Monday features a color & light program on Monday at 4:00
• Teen Program on Tuesday (12/5) at 3:00
• Circulo de Lectores meet on Tuesday at 6:00
• STAR Reader on Wednesday (12/6) at 3:00
• STAR Reader on Thursday (12/7) at 3:00
• Community Birthday Party on Friday (12/8) at 3:00
• Drop in Computer Lab on Friday at 3:30
• STAR Reader on Saturday at 2:00

You can always check the Branch Page (http://www.lapl.org/branches/arroyo-seco) on the LAPL website for upcoming events or check out the Master Calendar (http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/calendar) where you can search for something specific across multiple branches