News from the Library, by E-mail and RSS

If you have ever given the Library your e-mail address, like this newsletter editor did when he signed up for a Palo Alto Library card, you have probably noticed that they are sending you one to a few e-mails per month since the start of the pandemic.

The Library would like you to know that they can help you prepare to honor Native American Heritage Month, and that they've got Book Club Kits for folks who would like to form a book club, and some new titles for those Book Club Kits. You can read about these on their blog to which you can subscribe if you have got an RSS reader.

They would also like you to know that they'll be closed on Friday November 11 for Veterans Day and Thursday November 24 and Friday November 25 for the Thanksgiving holiday. These and many other library events can be seen at the Library's events page.

The City may also be sending you "Uplift Local" e-mails once a week or so. There is an archive of those e-mails here.

And if like yr hmbl newsletter editor you have not been paying attention and are wondering what is open and how much the Library has a Current Library Services page.

 
November 12th: FOPAL Sale & CASP Open Studios

One great location: the Cubberley Community Center! Two great events! November 12th, FOPAL and Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP) come together to offer bibliophiles and art connoisseurs an opportunity to shop/buy FOPAL's art books...and attend CASP's Open Studios! Look for more details on FOPAL's Facebook page. Please "like" and "follow" us when you visit. General info: CASP Open Studios - Wings E, F, and U, 11am-4pm. join the artists in their studios for art and art activities!

 
FOPAL Closings for November

In observance of Thanksgiving FOPAL will be closed for donations on November 24th and 25th.

 
FOPAL Members Get the First Pick at Members' Early Sale

A super big FUN FESTIVE FOPAL Members' Early Sale is scheduled for Saturday, December 10th. Twice a year, FOPAL holds a Members' Early Sale, at which members of the Friends of the Palo Alto Library are admitted early to the Main Room sale. Members enjoy a less crowded Main Room and get the first look at FOPAL's wonderful collection of materials!

Saturday, December 10th - At our Members' Early Sale, Life and Sponsor Members (and one spouse or guest) may enter at 9AM and can purchase up to 100 books per membership from 9 AM to 10 AM. Other Members enter at 10AM and are able to purchase 25 books at a time. General admission for all including non-Members begins at 11AM. The usual limit on purchasing 12 books at a time lasts until there is no longer a line waiting to enter. Remember, you may renew your membership, or join FOPAL, on the sale day. Renew, or join now at... www.fopal.org/join.

 
What's special for November '22?

Cashiers are moving inside- For the winter months this move will help if it's too cold or wet for the FOPAL volunteers to work comfortably outdoors and hopefully will facilitate better connectivity for the credit card devices. The tables will be in the back of the room as before, with the cashier spread out at each. The room capacity will still be 80 people including the cashiers, floor-persons and door-monitors.

A sizable number of books from a retired history professor's donation can be found in our History and History Special sections (on your right as you enter the Main Room) this November. FOPAL's History section continued to provide tons of great books at amazing prices! New volunteer Michele K. worked diligently to bring out all the seasonal Winter Holidays books and CDs FOPAL has been collecting these many months. If you are looking for seasonal fun inspiration on how to liven up your holidays, look no further. You are sure to find something you'll be excited to read, listen to or share with loved ones during this upcoming holiday season. Look for the festive display as you enter the Main Room on the right. You'll find a large selection of the Fall and Winter Holidays books and CDs in the Bargain Room/H2 as well.

The Movies/Entertainment section is in the north/west corner of the book room. It is always easy to find because a model of the African Queen is hanging overhead. This past month this popular section received a larger than normal number of books on a variety of subjects including TV, Movies & Entertainment, especially in the film production subsection. Look for full shelves in the Art & Architecture section as a result of a nice donation from several local donors that came through our sorting room late last month. In the Medicine section this past month a collection of pathology texts from the California Pathology Medical Group in Pleasanton were received. They include texts on Cytopathology, Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology. They are located in the Medicine red cart area, located across from the Medicine section just to your left as you enter the Main Room.

 
FOPAL seeks volunteer Assistant Treasurer

FOPAL is seeking a volunteer Assistant Treasurer to manage cash at monthly book sales, including filling cash boxes and counting cash on Saturday and Sunday of the sale. No financial experience required.

If you are interested please contact Janette Herceg via e-mail volunteer@fopal.org.

 
Art

Art section will have a special Artist's biography book sale this month. This will include biography books for Van Gogh, Picasso, Man Ray, Matisse etc.

-Fiona Wang

 
Medicine

In the Medicine section, we have an impressive collection of anatomy books, including Gray's Anatomy -- which is not just a TV show! There are medical dictionaries and Merck Manuals galore, and textbooks in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and every medical specialty to enhance your library.

-Pam Parke

 
History

We recently received a large donation of books about British Colonial American and the early United States, most in very good condition. Check out the display case near the front door (next to the holiday books) for a wide range of them. We also have a large collection of books on the development of the US constitution on the red carts. If you're interested in the other colonial powers in the Western Hemisphere, we have Francis Parkman's classic histories of New France in a Modern Library 2-volume edition as well as a number of volumes from a late 19th century edition, in good condition. We have a recent volume on the colonial Spanish silver city of Potosi in the South American section, as well as a few general books on the Spanish in the Americas.

Don't forget to check out our red carts: we have some of our more unusual and hard to classify books there, as well as large volumes, maps, atlases, and various compendiums.

-Linda McAllister

 
Antiques & Collections

Antiques & Collections features: watches, furniture, rugs, ceramics, coins, baseball cards, and a Time-Life Collectibles series, among other books.

-Virginia Perry

 
Home & Crafts

Home & Crafts showcases: Chanel fashion and costume design; home, interior design, maintenance, and repair; origami, coloring books, pottery, sewing, quilting, needlepoint, and more.

-Virginia Perry

 
Children's Vintage

Non-fiction books are being highlighted this month in Children's Vintage. For the older crowd, there is an 18-volume set containing everything you want to know about WWII. Not as daunting as it sounds, the volumes are very readable at only 50-80 pages each, but they cover topics ranging from the War in the Pacific to European Resistance and everything in between. A real find for the WWII fan! Little kids, too, have a full shelf of fact-filled books just for their age group and a plumped-up section of religious books. Also special are two very nice fable and story books compiled by Richard Adams, both in dust jackets protected by mylar. They would look very nice on your library shelves at home! All of this, of course, is in addition to the usual fare of fine fiction, classics, and series books. Enjoy!

-Lisa

 
Children's Room

Ready or not, the holidays are just around the corner. The Children's Room can help, with a display of books for Thanksgiving just inside the front door, and books for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa on several tables throughout the room. Many are like new and gift quality and you can't beat our prices (50 cents up to a few dollars). We have a large selection of holiday DVDs, too.

Our Asian Languages section received another huge donation of Korean language picture books, chapter books, reference works, and study materials, all in good to very good condition and priced very reasonably.

In the Parenting Corner you'll find--among other topics--books on baby names, healthy menus for kids, and some brand new books for parents and grandparents to record their own and their children's and grandchildren's experiences. (Hint: very giftable!)

There are loads of Readers at all levels, from beginners to proficient readers, about animals, space, science, and biography, along with engaging stories.

The Activities section has many jigsaw puzzles including Ravensburger and floor puzzles; a Guitar Hero guitar for $1 and many Guitar Hero electronic games at "rock" bottom prices; and a boxed set of like-new Amulet graphic novels, numbers 1 through 8. We also offer many small, inexpensive items that would make terrific stocking stuffers-- including games, sticker books, coloring books, and maker project kits.

In School-age Fiction you'll find several beautifully illustrated, gift-quality classics; early chapter books galore; all the Wimpy Kid books; and a Popular Authors cart full of great reading choices.

Browse in the Children's Room and you'll be able to cross off many of the names on your list!

-Carolyn Davidson

 
Puzzles & Games

Get ready for winter and the holiday season in puzzles. For this month only, the shelves were stripped bare and restocked solely with dozens of festive holiday puzzles to get you in the mood. One in particular is a special work of creative art--a beautiful Liberty brand wood puzzle with many cute cut out winter shapes among the almost 500 pieces.

In games, come and see how many ways old time favorites like Monopoly and Risk are made new with limited editions. For each of these games we have at least four editions, from Deluxe Editions to the NFL, Star Wars and beyond.

In both puzzles and games there are gift possibilities. Check it out!

-Vicky Evans

 
Poetry

In the Poetry section, the top shelf features two local treasures: Janet Lewis and Eavan Boland. You will find many volumes of poetry inscribed to Eavan Boland by her fellow poets. On the second shelf, find a selection of audio tapes of poets reading their own work along with a companion book of poetry. On the second to the bottom shelf, discover a row of biographies of poets. The rest of the shelves are fully stocked.

-Mandy MacCalla

 
Science Fiction and Fantasy

In Science Fiction and Fantasy this month I have a small collection of m/m romances with sf/f backgrounds. Not something I get often, if it's the kind of stuff you're looking for this is your chance.

-Rich McAllister

 
Politics

I hope you're hyped for election day!! Which happens to be right before the sale!! Which means you're probably sick of all those texts and emails spamming you with who and what to vote for! So why not wind down from election season with EVEN MORE politics? You know you want to :)

-Margaret

 
Fiction Boutique

This is the perfect time to be thinking of holiday gifts for your friends and family! Be sure to look for an excellent selection of recently published HARDCOVER and PAPERBACK novels in the Section labeled FICTION BOUTIQUE!
P.S. Don't forget a book (or books) for yourself!

-Marian Knox

 
HV Sale in December 2022

To celebrate the holidays and add a special event to our Members' Early Sale on December 10th, 2022, FOPAL will be making available a selection of its high value books (usually sold online) for the bargain price of $10. Several hundred books covering every topic, from art to zebras, new and vintage, small and large will be available. There will be an area dedicated to children's books. Also we will have a table of material entirely from our ephemera archive, all of which will be individually priced.

Location: Outside the Children's Room in the south west corner of the Cubberley Community Center (CCC)

Time: Saturday, December 10th, 2022, 10am to 4pm

Weather Permitting: If bad weather is forecast the sale will be postponed until Saturday, January 14, 2023 and will be indoors at a reserved room at CCC.

-Nigel Jones

 
Health

With over 700 books available to our patrons, Medicine and Health, have plenty of reading choices. Hidden Valley Road is the fascinating account of a family's twelve children, six of whom were diagnosed as schizophrenic. Another fascinating read is Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty....a mind- blowing account of the Oxycontin furor of the past two decades. Autograph hounds may want a copy of Linus Pauling's How to Live Longer and Feel Better. There are many diet book choices, plus plenty of Yoga volumes, and The Autism Encyclopedia by Neismith and Wolfe are just a few of the surprises awaiting you.

-Suzanne Cholko

 
Classic and Modern Fiction

In additional to our usual selection of about 1400 classic and modern novels, we are having a special this month with a group of classic novels published in hardback by Konemann. They are in perfect condition with nice dust jackets ($3 each). We also have a shelf of classic novels published by Modern Library at $2 each. And we have added a shelf of literary criticism, which includes several books on the novels of Russian authors.

-The Classic and Modern Fiction Team

 
Computers

Donations to the Computers section have been light but there are useful and interesting books still. Remember each shelf has a unique interest focus, and that the newer arrivals are usually on the right.

-David Cortesi

 
Judaica

Browse the Judaica section for books on the Jewish religion and culture including editions of the Torah and other basic texts, Kabbalah, Jewish history, the Holocaust, memoirs, Israel, Jewish Women, the Jewish American Experience and other related subjects.

New this month - A Bintel Brief; Minding the Temple of the Soul; Art of Torah Cantillation, Vol. 1; The Peddler's Grandson: Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi; Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel; Israel: Past and Present (Monuments Past & Present); Small Miracles of the Holocaust

Most fiction with Jewish themes will be found in Classic and Modern Fiction or Current Fiction. Books entirely in Hebrew are shelved in the European Languages section.

-Charlotte Epstein, section manager for Judaica

 
Curious Books

It's "Choose Your Own Catastrophe" month at Curious Books. Works of history, science, cookery, fiction, and humor provide accounts of danger and disaster and the survival thereof. Or not. Read, in the comfort of your home, which venomous animals are best avoided. Consider the lessons of the Titanic and 1906 San Francisco. Plan a "Hunger Games" based meal. As always, there is plenty of variety at Curious Books!

-Donya White

(Yr hmbl newsletter editor with a late addition: there is a Curious Books section photo at https://fopalbooks.com.)

 
Science & Technology

Our donation volume has increased somewhat this month. Shelf pictures are at https://fopalbooks.com.

-Edwin El-Kareh

 
Sheet Music

New donations keep pouring in. Main instruments this month are Banjo and Ukulele. There is now a very large selection of sheet music in the bargain room. Every sheet music item in the main room is individually pictured by instrument at https://fopalbooks.com.

-Edwin El-Kareh

 
Philosophy

The major news for November is that for a first time we have received a significant collection of books on the topic of Phenomenology, starting with Hussell and Jasper as well as Merleau-Ponty and others. Besides the overall collection we have not seen most of the individual titles either. Some are in excellent condition, some mixed, and a few have been sent to the Bargain Room.

-Nigel Jones

 
Mysteries and Thrillers

Mystery has multiple books by Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Joanne Fluke, Sue Grafton and Simenon to mention a few. New authors and ones that have been telling stories for 50 years. Come and have a look--

-Cathy

 
Donations

We have made it past Drop-off Donations 3.0 and have returned to accepting donations without the need to make an appointment.

HOWEVER....

We are closed for donations from Sunday November 5 through Sunday November 13 to prepare the Main Room for this weekend's sale. Please hold your donations until Monday November 14.

Also we are closed for Thanksgiving on the Thursday and Friday, November 24 and 25. We will be open for donations on Saturday November 26.

Please read our donation guidelines before you bring materials to us.

All that said, our normal hours for drop-off donations are Monday through Saturday, 3pm-5pm. (But not the week before the sale.)

 
Suggestions?

We're always eager to hear your suggestions for ways to improve our book sale. Please email us at suggestions@friendspaloaltolib.org.