These go to Eleven: Must-See Rockumentaries
Posted on Thursday, April 11, 2013 by JANE CRONKHITE
In honor of Coachella this weekend (no, I'm not going- while I've been before and it's awesome, the desert is so hot!), here are my partial list of rockumentaries and mock-rockumentaries to get the party started in your living room! Coachella: featuring some great performances of years past. Enough said. It's been said that the Altamont concert was the end of flower power. The Criterion . . . more »
The Los Altos Library Endowment is sponsoring an essay contest now through April 12. Essays are to be themed on the Virginia Whipple Collection of Teaching Company Great Courses, a gift of the Endowment. First place winner will receive $200, second place is $100! The contest rules include: You must have a Santa Clara County Library card. One entry per person, based on one or . . . 
We all know the old adage, but in these heady days of print vs e-media, one of the great pleasures of reading print is appreciating the artistry that goes into book design. There are many publishers, authors, editors, and designers who celebrate the many considerations that go into the presentation of a print book. Look anywhere on the internet and you'll find designers who have . . . 
photo by Aaron Colussi Check out a great photo essay of patrons at the New York Public Library branches. It's interesting to me to see that libraries are universal no matter where you live, and yet they provide such personal service. What do you do when you visit the library? . . . 
The Signal and the Noise If you're like me, you're a sucker for end of the year and best-of lists. Buzzfeed's list of 27 Science Fictions That Became Fact got me thinking about the year's best science books. Fortunately, the good people at Scientific American have put together a list of their top science picks. From the now famous Nate Silver's book on statistics to . . . 
The Library's We Are America K-8 art contest ended a few weeks ago, and the winning art works were announced. Congratulations to Rhee, Kimberly, Mary Jo, Archit, Poem and Phillip! Their art will be on display at Santa Clara County Libraries through the beginning of February. You can also view all of the art work by our talented Santa Clara County kids online! Thank you . . . 
The holidays are upon us. If you're like me, you may try to be thrifty and creative in your gift giving. Fortunately, there are great local options for unique, handmade gifts. If you're in the San Jose area, check out SJ Made December 1, 11- 6 at San Pedro Square Market. These are local makers, brands, labels, small businesses and artists. Also on December 1st . . . 
Do you have an opinion about fonts? Why do people hate Comic Sans so much? What's the difference between Arial and Helvetica, and why doesn't my Windows Office Suite carry Helvetica? There are now over 100,000 fonts in the world, so it's no wonder people have become curious and opinionated about them. Simon Garfield's Just My Type is a great introduction to the world of . . . 
Next week is Election Week, are you ready? We have voting resources that may help answer your questions, such as where to vote, ballot and proposition guides, fact checking and more. If you're a Facebook user, Like the Library's Facebook page and join our Facebook conversation beginning next Monday, November 5. What are your recommended books or movies on democracy and government? We want to . . . 
There's still time to enter the Library's We Are America art contest! Children in grades K-8 are invited to draw, paint, color, collage, or submit a photo up to 8.5 x 11 (a regular size piece of paper) based on the theme "We Are America," part of the Library's California Reads: Searching for Democracy program. The contest runs through Friday, October 26. Entry forms and . . .