First Monday Movies - His Kind of Woman - June 7th

Dan Milner (Robert Mitchum) is a hard-up gambler who accepts 50 grand to sell his identity to deported crime boss Nick Ferraro, who is anxious to get back to the U.S. Jane Russell plays Lenore Brent, a singer pretending to be an heiress, in order to get her hooks into a Shakespearean actor (Vincent Price). These and other shady characters wind up in a posh Mexican resort, where number of double-crosses, shootings, and chases culminate in an exciting confrontation aboard ship. Howard Hughes produced the film as a vehicle for his rising star Russell. Directed by John Farrow (1951/120 mins)

Monday, June 7th @ 6:30 p.m.

Rush Hour 3 - Teen Movie - June 1st

LAPD detective James Carter and Chinese Chief Inspector Lee are back with their own special take on serving and protecting. The two must travel to Paris to battle a wing of the Chinese organized crime family called the Triads. Starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Rated PG-13 (2007, 90 mins)

Movies for teens are shown every first Tuesday. Ages 12-18. Snacks provided. For more information, call Marla at (415) 355-2868.

Tuesday, June 1st - 4 - 6 p.m.

"What We Like"

Stop That Pickle! by Peter Armour

This is a very funny picture book story. A pickle tries to run away from a deli, because he just doesn't want to be eaten! Peter Armour is a San Francisco author.
Marianne Robatto

"What We Like" is a weekly feature on the Excelsior Blog, with recommendations from Excelsior staff and patrons for Library books, music, movies and audiobooks that we think you might like. If you have something you want to recommend, drop by and let us know!

Library Closed Monday, May 31st - Memorial Day

The Excelsior Branch and all other SFPL branches will be closed on Monday, May 31st for Memorial Day. Memorial Day, formerly called Decoration Day, honors those who have died in the nation's wars. It originated during the American Civil War (1861–64) when citizens placed flowers on the graves of those who had been killed in battle. The day has also come to signal the beginning of summer.

Adult Summer Reading - June 4th-July 31st

The summer reading program isn't just for kids this year. Adults can sign up for the Adult Summer Reading Program at Excelsior (or your local branch) beginning Friday, June 4th. As you read books, or listen to audiobooks, you check off the number read in the sign-up binder at the library. Watch the water gauge rise for each book read. The summer reading program is a competition between Oceanside Branches (including Excelsior) and Bayside Branches to see who reads the most this summer.

You can submit reviews online or in person if you want to. These reviews may be displayed in the branch or included in the "What We Like" feature on the Excelsior Blog. Happy summer reading! Click here for information about the summer reading programs for kids and teens.

June 4th - July 31st
In the spirit of this year's Adult Summer Reading Program theme, "Dive into a Good Book!," local artist Marlene Aron presents a slide show of paintings by artists who worked with water-based paints, such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Gauguin, Odilon Redon and Vincent Van Gogh. She will show how Monet created the effects of shimmering light in his Water Lily paintings. Aron will demonstrate how to create a watercolor painting using examples from her own paintings which will be available for the audience to see up close.

Wednesday, June 2nd @ 7 p.m.

"What We Like"

In Still Midnight, the great Scottish crime writer Denise Mina introduces a new protagonist. Glasgow police detective Alex Morrow is smart, brave, belligerent and a little paranoid. And in mourning. In this story of a kidnapping gone terribly wrong, Morrow uses her connections on the wrong side of the law to get results.
MH

"What We Like" is a weekly feature on the Excelsior Blog, with recommendations from Excelsior staff and patrons for Library books, music, movies and audiobooks that we think you might like. If you have something you want to recommend, drop by and let us know!

Speaking in Tongues - Arts & Culture Salon - May 26th

Winner of the Audience Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival, this film follows four students of diverse backgrounds who are enrolled in San Francisco public school immersion programs. We witness the challenges and delights they encounter as they become fluent in other languages, and see how the experience changes them, their families, their communities - and maybe even the world.

Wednesday, May 26th @ 7 p.m.

"What We Like"

Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street

Who doesn't love Sesame Street? As a member of the Sesame Street generation, I loved learning about the backstory to my favorite childhood TV show.
Cristina

"What We Like" is a weekly feature on the Excelsior Blog, with recommendations from Excelsior staff and patrons for Library books, music, movies and audiobooks that we think you might like. If you have something you want to recommend, drop by and let us know!

In the Neighborhood - Vincent Ng, Library Volunteer

Vincent Ng presides over the Chess Club for kids at the Excelsior Branch on Saturday afternoons. He started the Chess Club in June 2003 and it's been a weekly program at Excelsior ever since. When the library was closed for renovation, he moved the club to the Boys & Girls Club. I got a chance to talk with Vincent on a recent Saturday to find out a little more about him.

Vincent started the chess club because he learned how to play chess at a public library in New York. He wanted to give other kids the opportunity to learn a game he loves. The Excelsior Library was his neighborhood branch until a recent move to Daly City. He headed the Balboa High School chess club before starting the Library club.

According to Vincent, the Bay Area has some of the most competitive kid chess players, but very few of them are from San Francisco. Nonetheless, at the California State tournament in Santa Clara in April 2010, the Excelsior Library Chess Club won two trophies. More than 1200 kids competed in 15 divisions.

Sometimes Vincent's old teammates help out with the Chess Club, and recently the 8th Grade National Master approached him at an event in Chinatown and now he also volunteers at Excelsior. Vincent knows that there may be more demands on him as time goes by, and his goal is to find others to carry on with the club when that happens.

Kids who want to learn and/or play chess should come to the Excelsior Branch Saturdays from 1-3. On top of his chess skills, Vincent speaks three languages. He spent his first 12 years in the Dominican Republic, and Spanish is his first language. He speaks Cantonese at home.

We want to thank Library Volunteer Vincent Ng for his generosity to the kids at Excelsior Branch.

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

Excelsior Branch News - Branch Manager Presentation at the Library of Congress

On Friday, May 7th, the Excelsior Branch Library manager will be participating in a Symposium on the First White House Library at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Elizabeth Thacker-Estrada (Liz) will be presenting her research on Abigail Powers Fillmore who established the first official library in the Executive Mansion. Those of you who attended Liz's presentation at the March Arts & Culture Salon got a preview of her talk at the Library of Congress. Click here for the Library of Congress website with more information about the Symposium. Liz also contributed a chapter to The First White House Library: A History and Annotated Catalogue, published by Penn State University Press.

Congratulations Liz!

"What We Like"

The Clash - As a fan of “the only band that matters,” I thought I had heard and knew everything about The Clash, or at least enough that I couldn’t be surprised anymore. The live recording from 1982 (Live at Shea Stadium) shows a band at the height of its talents and steps away from disintegrating. The documentary about Joe Strummer (The Future is Unwritten), directed by Julien Temple, is more about the evolution of the man and not just the musician. It has rare early footage shot by Temple as a part of the London Punk scene in the 1970s and interviews with friends and family after Strummer’s too-early death in 2002.
Kit

"What We Like" is a weekly feature on the Excelsior Blog, with recommendations from Excelsior staff and patrons for Library books, music, movies and audiobooks that we think you might like. If you have something you want to recommend, drop by and let us know!

TUESDAY TIPS

TODAY'S TIP - Preferred Searches

If you have a favorite author, musician or subject, and you would like to be notified by email whenever the library gets new materials related to your interests, Preferred Search is the catalog feature for you. You can have as many as 25 Preferred Searches stored in your account.

To create a Preferred Search, simply login to your library record at sfpl.org and then search the catalog. For example, if Bjork is your favorite musician, type Bjork in the author field and click Search. When your search results are returned, click the button called Save as Preferred Search next to the regular search box. Then look at your library record - preferred searches - and put a checkmark in the column "mark for email."

Excelsior Librarians and Staff share tips & tricks to help you make the most of the San Francisco Public Library catalog, databases and website. New tips posted Tuesdays on the Excelsior Blog. Watch this space!