Castro Valley Library News

Construction is going full steam ahead.  June activities included completion of layout and footing evacuation, beginning work on foundation rebar, and installation of foundation embeds for steel.  July construction activities will include ongoing pouring of concrete foundations, continuation of underground electrical and plumbing work and continued excavation  of 11,000 tons of soil from the building pad.   And soon you will be able to watch ongoing progress through a webcam link from the Castro Valley Library website.

Science magic with the Astro Wizard

There are just a few more weeks left in the Summer Reading Game. Hurry in to claim your prizes!

I’m sure many of you were here recently for the Astro Wizard and for “Insect Songs” with Sandi and Stevie. We have a fun lineup of shows still to go on Mondays at 2pm.

July 28 - Magic Alex
August 4 - Wild Things, Inc. (Rescued Animals)
August 11 - Owen Baker-Flynn

Reading Buddies are here Thursday afternoons from 3:00-5:00pm. (Hint: you can count the minutes toward your “Catch the Reading Bug” game!) Just drop in!

We also have a special program with nine-year-old guitarist Roberto Granados on Saturday, July 26th at 2pm that will entertain and amaze you. Roberto is scheduled to be on National Public Radio’s From the Top this fall. Join us!

Are you using 1-800-GOOG-411?  In late spring search engine giant Google launched a free service that will find and connect you with any U.S. or Canadian business. Dial 1-800-GOOG-411 from any phone, land line or mobile, and you will be prompted for a location. You may then find any business by type or name. Select from the computerized voice list and you will get the name, address, phone number and an offer to connect you for free. They even offer repeat the phone number in case you miss it! 

Currently the only language available it English.  According to articles and bloggers, GOOGLE is doing this in order to collect voice data such as phonemes, speech patterns, accents & dialects to enhance the capabilities of voice recognition software.

Preschool Storytime

You’d think with school out that it would be a quiet summer at the Library but just the opposite is true! Here are just some of the things that are happening:

• Reading games for children, teens, and adults
• Family entertainment every Monday at 2pm
• Storytimes Wednesday mornings at 11 am throughout July
• Reading Buddies available on Thursday afternoons from 3-5pm
• Adult and teen programs are scheduled throughout the summer
• The Adult Book Club is reading and discussing the Old Man and the Sea this month

More and more students are getting a jump start on the school year asking for math review books, and CVHS students entering AP English are coming in with book lists of Classics they must have read before school even starts!

More than 85 tween (6^th through 9^th grade) Kid Power Volunteers are helping with the Kids’ Summer Reading Game. Over 1,200 children are signed up to play, and as of today at least 264 may have enjoyed their first level prizes of a free Round Table pizza, or taken a trip to the Lawrence Hall of Science or the Schulz Museum! 

Twenty-five high school students have volunteered for community service and show up at regular one to two hour shifts to help with simple shelving and straightening up. And, you know what else? Community members are finding it’s nice and cool in here compared to the scorching outside temperatures this week!

On Saturday, racers buckled up for almost 2 hours of shell shooting, mushroom zooming, high octane action as local teens challenged eachother in our Mario Kart Tournament.  The action was fast and furious as the teens battled it out, 1 on 1, in a best of 3 competition before advancing to the next round.  The “Moo Moo Meadows” and ”Rainbow Road” courses proved to be the most popular choice amongst courses, the latter of which often offered very entertaining races due to the fact that the racers kept falling off of the track and plunging to their doom. 

When the tournament was over we set up some 4 player racing action that was an absolute blast.  There was a lot of hoot and hollering and playful trash talking, and if the noise coming from the room was any indication, everybody had a lot of fun.

We’ve moved on.  Rebar is going in, and concrete is being poured.  I’m told by construction Management West’s, Project Field Adminstrator Amy Chrzanowska that Castro Valley community members walk by and watch construction on a regular basis.  She told me that recently a group on moms with kids in strollers came over and watched for an hour.

For those who haven’t been by lately here’s a picture.

Kid Power volunteers are ready and waiting for you to sign up for our Summer Reading Game “Catch the Reading Bug”. They will give you a game board and explain what you need to do to win prizes! Go “Bingo” and win a “Don’t Bug Me–I’m Reading!” door hanger, free passes to the Lawrence Hall of Science and to the Charles M. Schulz Museum (where you can walk the Snoopy maze and see Charlie Brown’s kite-eating tree), a coupon for a personal size pizza from Round Table, and a temporary tattoo from Eden Bikes. Continue reading until you have blacked out all the spaces on the board and win a book bag, a book, a San Francisco Giants squishball or a “Wall Art” removable bug sticker, and a poster from Eden Bikes.

We also have a fun lineup of children’s events every Monday at 2pm from June 16th through August 11th. This Monday, come see ventriloquist Randel McGee & Groark, and pick up a flyer with the full listings!

Signups for the Summer Reading Game “Catch the Reading Bug” start on June 9th.  If you are going into the 6th, 7th, 8th or 9th grade we would like you to help children sign up and play the game this summer. All you need to do is get permission from your parents and attend a training session on either Thursday, June 5th or Monday, June 9th at 3:30pm in the Children’s area of the library. Information and application forms are available at the library. Call 670-6280 if you have any questions.

We had a strong showing from last year’s Kid Power volunteers at the first training session on June 3rd. Thank you for returning–we look forward to seeing you again as Kid Power PLUS helpers!

New this year is an online calendar of available openings to make it easier to sign up! You will find the calendar at http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=7ohaptfvps04nhb6sufhac3ass%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles . Just click on the “Week” tab to see what days and times are available for the current week.

Prince Caspian is making a brief visit to the Castro Valley Library this week in the form of a huge movie standee. He is here to encourage kids to “read the books that started it all”. Hurry on down to check out a title in the Chronicles of Narnia series, or to enjoy a photo op with Prince Caspian (played by Ben Barnes). Cardboard never looked so good!

After the groundbreaking, many people asked us when construction would really get started.  People would tell us they drove by the site and didn’t see very much going on.  All that has changed.  Last Thursday, on May 15th construction began in earnest.  There are many workers, and much equipment leveling and digging.  Drive by Norbridge Ave. and take a look.