The American Resting Place - Arts & Culture Salon - October 28th

Just in time for Halloween, cultural historian Marilyn Yalom discusses her definitive history of the American cemetery, The American Resting Place: Four Hundred Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds. Her book illuminates gravestones, graveyards, and burial practices found throughout the United States, including those of the Spanish Catholic missions of California, along with vivid and poignant descriptions. Photographs by her son, Reid S. Yalom, a San Francisco resident.

Wednesday, October 28th @ 7 p.m.

TUESDAY TIPS (Genealogy Class Saturday 10/17)

TODAY'S TIP: Genealogy Resources at the Library

San Francisco Public Library can support you in many of your hobbies, from crafts to sports to family history research. With databases offered by SFPL, you can do much of your genealogy research online for free.

From the homepage, click on e-Library and then Articles & Databases, then choose the History & Genealogy category from the pull-down Category menu. You can choose either Ancestry Library Edition or HeritageQuest Online.

Ancestry Library Edition contains a massive amount of genealogy data, including all available US Censuses with name and other indexes, military records, passenger ship lists, and vital records. You can begin your search by entering whatever information you have on the person you are seeking, including name and birth information. After finding relevant documents, facsimiles can be viewed, printed and saved to your USB drive as a JPEG file. Ancestry Library Edition is only available in the library, not from home.

HeritageQuest Online is a collection of databases that include the PERSI periodical index, Revolutionary War records and the US Census with some name indexes. The PERSI index includes citations for over 2 million family and local history articles. Facsimiles of original documents can be viewed, printed and saved to your USB drive or home computer, generally as a PDF or TIFF file.

If you are interested in starting your family history research or would like to brush up on your skills and knowledge of online genealogy resources, join us at Excelsior Branch for a class on Genealogy Research Basics on Saturday, October 17 at 3:30 p.m. In addition to basic online research principles, detailed instructions on downloading from HeritageQuest and Ancestry Library Edition will be given in this class.

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!

Ghost Hunting for Teens! - October 21st

Ever wonder if ghosts are real? If they are, how can you tell a real ghost from a fake? Is it true that teens tend to experience poltergeists more than other age groups? A real ghost hunter from SF Ghost Society, Tommy Netzband, will talk about his experiences investigating ghosts and hauntings. He will also show you how to use ghost hunting tools and share some ghostly images and sounds he has caught on DVD. Get the info, then you decide what to believe! http://www.sfghostsociety.org/.

For more information or to register, contact Marla Bergman at (415) 355-2868.

Wednesday, October 21st @ 4 p.m.

Columbus Day - October 12th - Library Closed!

All San Francisco Public Library facilities, including the Excelsior Branch, will be closed for Columbus Day on Monday, October 12th. We will be open again Tuesday, October 13th, at 10:00 a.m.

TUESDAY TIPS

TODAY'S TIP: Suggest a Title

Have you checked the catalog for a book and discovered that San Francisco Public Library doesn’t have it? Or maybe you’ve been checking out a television series and SFPL doesn’t have the season you want to see. If you know that other patrons would be interested in these items and want to suggest that we purchase a book, or dvd, or other item, you just need to fill out a simple online form.

From the homepage (sfpl.org), click “search catalog”. Above the search box, you will see a link for “Suggest a Title.” Click the type of item you are suggesting - book, film, music, etc. Then fill out the form with your name, library card number, and as much of the information we request about the item as you can give us.

If it’s a book you are looking for, please remember to check with a librarian to see if it’s available through Link+, our partnership with 47 other library systems. Or you can do Link+ searches and requests yourself; this earlier Tuesday Tip tells you how to do that.

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!

Do-it-Yourself Disaster Preparedness - October 14th

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey predicts that a catastrophic earthquake will occur in the Bay Area sometime within the next 25 years. The American Red Cross Do-it-Yourself Disaster Preparedness Course provides you with the information you need to make an emergency communication plan, build a 3 day disaster supply kit for your loved ones, and safely respond to earthquakes, fires, and other disasters. For more information visit The Big Rumble (thebigrumble.org).

Wednesday, October 14th - 7 p.m.

SENIOR COMMUNITY FAIR @ EXCELSIOR - Fitness for Adults Who Are 50+

Come meet representatives of non-profit organizations and agencies that serve seniors, including the San Francisco Public Library, the Mission YMCA, the Department of Aging and Adult Services, the Elder Financial Protection Network and more.

Get information and advice on how to stay active, become engaged in the community, avoid financial scams and invest wisely. Obtain a benefits checkup. See a demonstration of fitness video games on a Wii console. The first 50 visitors aged 50 and over will receive a free tote bag! Free information and light refreshments provided.

This event honors Excelsior resident Dolorous Knight, age 95, avid reader and long-time library patron and supporter, on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons.

Saturday, October 3rd - 2:00-4:00 p.m.

TUESDAY TIPS

TODAY'S TIP - LANGUAGE LEARNING – Rosetta Stone, et al.

Want to learn a new language? Would you like learning online or listening on CD or other formats? Short of providing you with a teacher, San Francisco Public Library supplies you with a variety of options to meet your language learning style.

To study online with an interactive course, use the Rosetta Stone series, available from SFPL through our collection of databases. From the homepage, click on Articles & Databases, then choose the Education & Social Science category on the left and click on Rosetta Stone Online Language Learning. If you are a first time user, you will need to register. Then choose which language you would like to learn and start an interactive course. You may have to install Adobe Shockwave if it is not already installed on your home computer.

To find language learning CDs, use the Advanced Search feature of the SFPL catalog. Go to the catalog search page, click on Advanced Search. Type the name of the language and “language instruction” in the search box. Then, choose the material type “Spoken CD.” For example, if you would like to learn Italian, you would type “Italian language instruction” in the search box and limit to “Spoken CD.”

If you would like to get a book instead of - or in addition to other formats, you can do the same search as above, limiting the material type to “book.” Also available are video courses on DVD or VHS.

To download a language learning audiobook from NetLibrary via the catalog, follow the same instructions as for a CD, but chose the material type “Spoken eBook.” First time users will have to register. For more information on NetLibrary, see the Tuesday Tip on this Blog.

To download a language course via OverDrive, you can search for a title or browse for one by looking for “language learning” under Audiobook Nonfiction on the left side of the page. For more information on OverDrive, see the Tuesday Tip on this Blog.

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!

Coraline - Teen Movie Day - October 7th

Coraline is a curious young girl who unlocks a mysterious door in her family's new home and enters into an adventure in a parallel reality. On the surface, this "Other World" eerily mimics her own life - though it is much more fantastical. After encountering different versions of her own life, Coraline must ultimately rely on her resourcefulness, determination and bravery to get back home. Animated feature (2009, 100 mins)

Movies for teens every first Wednesday. Ages 12-18. Snacks provided. For more information, contact Marla at (415) 355-2868.

Wednesday, October 7th - 4-6 p.m.

First Monday Movies - This Property is Condemned and Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Shorts - October 5th

In this Depression-era drama, Owen Legate, a railroad executive, comes to Dodson, Mississippi to shut down the railway, leaving most of the town unemployed. Natalie Wood plays Alva Starr, a young woman with big dreams and nowhere to go. Alva can't help falling for Legate (Robert Redford) and their affair ignites the town's revenge. From a one-act play by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Sydney Pollack. (1966, 110 mins.)

Special co-presentation: Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema shares its version of Leading Ladies with a line-up of locally produced shorts by independent filmmakers prior to this evening's feature. Note start time @ 6 p.m.

Monday, October 5th @ 6:00 p.m.