Tag Archives: el paso public library

The El Paso Zoo and the El Paso Public Library have teamed up to create “Wild Things at Your Library,” a family-friendly, interactive storytime activity that celebrates the joy of reading and learning about wild animals.

“The El Paso Public Library is very excited to start this brand new partnership with the El Paso Zoo to inspire wildlife conservation and reading at the same time,” said Norma Martinez, Interim Library Director. “We hope to provide many more programs of this type in the future.”

For the next three months, zoo education staff will bring different zoo animals and will visit various library branches. Zoo educators will talk about the animal of choice and then read a book or two with library staff about the animal.

The unique storytime allows children to interact with various zoo animals while learning more about wildlife. The show and tell experience also give children an opportunity to check out books and read more about animals.

Each month will have a theme with a featured zoo animal. The themes are as follows:

• September Slithery Snakes. Readings include children’s books about snakes along with a visit from an El Paso Zoo education snake or lizard.
• October Creepy Crawlies (sponsored by Truly Nolen). Readings include children’s books about insects and a visit from insect experts from the zoo.
• November Desert Dwelling Critters. Readings include books about the Chihuahuan Desert to promote the newest exhibit at the El Paso Zoo; the Chihuahuan Desert that is set to open in fall 2019.

Storytime sessions in September start at 11 a.m. at the following library branches:

• Dorris Van Dorren Branch, Tuesday, Sept. 17
• Westside Branch, Wednesday, Sept. 18
• Jose Cisneros Branch, Tuesday, Sept. 24
• Esperanza Moreno Branch, Wednesday, Sept. 25

Locations and dates for October and November are being finalized. The storytime sessions are free and open to the public. For more information call the El Paso Zoo at (915) 212-2818 or the El Paso Public Library at (915) 212-READ.

Starting Wednesday, August 21, the El Paso Public Library will offer free yoga sessions for children at four library branches.

Aside from basic yoga, the sessions will include music, games and reading for children, including toddlers. The yoga session will be held on the following dates and locations:

• 11 a.m., Wednesday, August 21, Dorris Van Doren Branch at 551 E. Redd Rd.
• 11 a.m., Thursday, August 22, Main Library at 501 N. Oregon
• 11 a.m., Saturday, August 24, Richard Burges Branch at 9600 Dyer
• 11 a.m., Wednesday, August 28, Dorris Van Doren Branch at 551 E. Redd Rd.
• 11 a.m., Thursday, August 29, Main Library at 501 N. Oregon
• 11 a.m., Saturday, August 31, Westside Branch at 125 Belvidere

For more information on the yoga program, visit the El Paso Public Library at www.elpasolibrary.org.

As part of the Summer Reading Program, the Public Library, the Museum of History and the Downtown Art and Farmers Market are hosting a special market full of hands-on activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, at Cleveland Square Park.

“Partnerships with the El Paso Museum of History and the Public Library allow us to provide a richer and dynamic experience for people visiting the market,” said Downtown Art and Farmers Market Coordinator Lucero Duran. “It’s a great opportunity to explore what downtown has to offer and enjoy free activities within the three venues, plus shop local with over 60 local artisans and farmers.”

The Downtown Art and Farmers Market will move its Anthony Street operations to Cleveland Square Park, between the El Paso Museum of History and the El Paso Public Library, for a day of indoor and outdoor activities.

Visitors can register for museum camps and sign up for the Summer Reading Program. Area youth participating in these programs can also sign up for the Kids Summer Go Bus Passes provided by Sun Metro.

People attending the event are encouraged to take advantage of free parking at the Glory Road Transit Center and ride the streetcar to downtown. Free parking at the Glory Road Transit will be available until 3 p.m.

The streetcar service begins at 11 a.m. and riders will receive a ticket that can be redeemed for a free reusable market bag.

For more information, visit the Art and Farmers Market tab via this link.

The El Paso Public Library is now accepting entries for its 2019 Poetry and Cover Art contest that is open to all grade school students in the El Paso area.

Poems may be submitted in English or Spanish. Each poem will be judged on originality, creativity, clarity, and spelling. The library will select three winners from each grade level and in each language.

Winners will be invited to an awards ceremony in April with an opportunity to read their poems to an audience. In addition, all selected poems will be published in an official poetry contest booklet.

Cover art designs will be judged based on creativity and originality by local artists. One winning cover art design will be selected from grades 1-6 as the cover of the children’s poetry booklet.

A winning design will also be selected from grades 7-12 as the cover of the teen poetry booklet. One runner-up from each grade level will be selected with their work to be published within the booklets.

Deadline to submit entries for the poem and cover art contest is February 16, 2019. Finalists will be notified via mail in March of 2019 and invited to an awards ceremony in April.

For a complete list of rules and to download an entry form, visit the Public Library website.

Starting Monday, El Paso Public Library cardholders are able to access two new services,  that allow free downloads or streaming of movies, TV shows, music, eBooks and audio books.

The new services are available through the Google Play or iTunes app store. Registering for an account may be done using a library card.

Once registered, users have the ability to download complete music recordings from Elvis to Bruno Mars and everything in between.

Users can also stream classic and modern television shows such as the Chappelle show, A Family Affair, Daniel Tiger and hundreds of others. Access to today’s most popular movies, eBooks and audio books are also available.

For more information on HOOPLA, Axis360 and other digital library services, visit the El Paso Public Library online.

On Wednesday, city officials announced that the El Paso Public Library received national recognition as one of 25 national winners in the “City Hall Selfie Day” photo contest organized by Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL).

Appropriately enough, the public library won in the category of Best Library Selfie. On August 15, the ELGL asked local government workers from around the country to post pictures of themselves, along with their workplaces or service locations, on social media with the hashtag #cityhallselfieday.

The library posted a picture featuring their youth services staff along with Edgar the puppet, a children’s section mascot, in front of the main library. The ELGL wrote, “Edgar & the youth services staff bring home the gold medal! You could put Edgar in any picture, and he’d compete for the top prize.”

The City Hall Selfie Day event seeks to bring awareness to the need for community engagement at the local government level be it city, county or special district. It’s a day to showcase the love of local government, employees, community members, and volunteers.

Along with receiving national recognition and a cool trophy, the library won a Bluetooth selfie stick to continue to engage El Pasoans by posting awesome photos on their social media accounts.

ELGL is a nationwide, big tent local government organization with the mission of connecting, communicating, and educating about local government topics.

According to ELGL officials, their goal is to “Build the Bench” for the next generation of local government leadership by creatively tackling trending topics like civic engagement, infrastructure investment, the changing landscape of public communications, diversity and work/life balance.

To learn more about the ELGL visit their website.

To learn more about the El Paso Public Library, follow the library on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The El Paso Public Library will return a 355-year-old book to its original owner, the Guadalupe Mission, at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 12 at a Tom Lea Month event, An Evening at Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, in Ciudad Juarez.

The book called “Garcia Manuscript” was written by Fray Garcia, the founder of the mission. It documents the burials attended to by the church in the first few years of the mission’s history beginning in 1663. The book was taken from the mission by U.S. researcher, John Curd Sr., the night before the Battle of Juarez in 1911.

The El Paso Public Library has made several attempts in the past to return this historic document without any success. Recently, library staff contacted the mission and both parties agreed to meet during the event. The book will be handed over by Director of Libraries, Mark Pumphrey, and received by the Bishop of Juarez, Jose Guadalupe Torres Campos.

“We have preserved this historic manuscript for the past few decades and it is a pleasure to be able return it to its original owner,” said Director of Libraries, Mark Pumphrey. “This event is the ideal time and place to return it to the Guadalupe Mission.”

According to an account of those events written by John Curd Jr., “On the afternoon prior to the Battle of Juarez of the Mexican Revolution beginning in 1911, [Professor John Curd] was at work in the archives of the church when he was suddenly urged by the priests to return home to El Paso.

In the haste of collecting his papers he inadvertently carried with him the First Folio of the church’s history to his home in El Paso, Texas.”

Curd intended to return the document to the mission, after the revolution, but was unable to do so before his untimely death in 1913. The book remained in the possession of John Curd, Jr. until he left El Paso in 1923.  It was then placed in the Main Library’s vault, at the urging of the City librarian at the time, Maud Sullivan, where it remains today.

IBF Featherweight World Champion, Jennifer Han is joining the El Paso Public Library and all libraries nationwide to encourage the public, especially students, to obtain a free library card as part of Library Card Signup Month.

“Throughout the school year, our library offers a variety of programs to stimulate an interest in reading and learning,” said El Paso Public Library Director, Mark Pumphrey. “Story hours expose young children to the joy of reading and encourage school readiness, while older children have access to technology and digital tools and the help from library staff to use those resources.”

Library Card Signup Month is also a time to highlight the supportive role libraries and librarians play in transforming lives and communities through education.

Library Card Signup Month has been held each September since 1987 to mark the beginning of the school year because library cards are essential for students.

Libraries play an important role in the education and development of children. Studies show that children who read at home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning

Library cards are free for students and provide a wealth of resources that can help anyone succeed in school and in life. Students can use library cards to borrow books, magazines, music CDs and DVDs. Students can take practice exams for grade school, college entrance, military and civil service, such as the ACT, SAT, GMAT, LSAT and ASVAB.

A library card also means access to computers and free internet access to download e-books, digital magazines, audiobooks, music and videos from the library website.

Getting a library card is easy. All people need is a government issued photo I.D. with a current address, such as a driver’s license. Visit any library branch and register. Students under 13 need their parent’s permission to register.

For more information on how to get a library card visit www.elpasolibrary.org.

The El Paso Public Library has flipped another page into the digital age by creating a mobile App for local library goers.

According to officials with the El Paso Library, the app “makes it more convenient for library users to access library materials and account information.”

Officials add that the free App is available on the Google Play and iPhone app stores.  The El Paso Library App is a more useful way to access information, such as:

• Access to books and materials catalog
• Check out and reserve materials
• Download digital material (audio books, eBooks, magazines, audio and video)
• Check account status to see if there are any books overdue or outstanding fines
• Store library card information
• Find library event information
• Find library locations, contact information and hours of operation
• Scan a book at a bookstore before purchasing to see if it is available at the library.

For more information on the library App, call the El Paso Public Library at (915) 212-3201 or visit their website.

CoWork Oasis and the El Paso Public Library have partnered to offer budding business owners “Book It & Launch El Paso” workshops throughout the community.

According to CoWork Oasis officials, the workshops are an “entrepreneurial-focused initiative that will deliver free informative workshops from industry professionals at local libraries throughout the community.”

Workshops range in content from starting a business to building e-commerce websites and apps, as well as understanding emerging industries, intellectual property protection, and social media marketing best practices.

Each workshop at the locations will have both morning and afternoon sessions.

Below is the schedule for Book It & Launch El Paso workshops:

Book It & Launch El Paso Kick Off

Saturday, July 28 at 9am-12pm, CoWork Oasis, 114 Texas Avenue
Attendees will learn what it takes to start a business using the “Business Model Canvas.”  Learn how to craft a value proposition statement and pivot by using the customer discovery process.

Intro to Starting a Business

Friday, August 10 at 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm

Pebble Hills Library, 12480 Pebble Hills Boulevard

Attendees will learn how to use the business model canvas and learn how to conduct the customer discovery process to help validate business ideas. Learn how to set up an e-commerce website and how to use social media marketing in the 21st Century environment.

Navigating Your Business

Friday, August 17 at 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm

Westside Library, 125 Belvidere Street

Attendees will learn about regional emerging industries startups have a higher probability of penetrating. Learn about the makerspace movement and prototyping at a lower cost. The workshop will close with an introduction into intellectual capital protection.

Tech Tools for Small Business

Friday, August 24 at 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm

Memorial Park Branch, 3200 Copper Avenue

Attendees will learn about the cutting-edge technology tools that you can use the help your business operations more impactful. Get introduced to app design and where to go to start building your first app. The workshop will close with learning about “CoWorking” and how to use a CoWorking space to launch your business.

To see the complete schedule and register for these free workshops, visit  CoWorkOasis.com/launch

The El Paso Public Library encourages every one of all ages to snuggle up with a good book this winter by participating in the Season’s Reading book club.

The club kicks off Saturday, December 16, at all library branches. To register for the Season’s Reading book club, visit any public library branch or go online.

The club requirements are simple; register online or at any library branch, read at least three books and submit a reading log with a list of the titles read.

The book club encourages everyone to spend more time reading together this holiday season. Books such as “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss and Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” are just two of the many holiday books available for loan at library branches.

Those who complete the reading requirements will be eligible to win prizes and receive a certificate of completion (prizes vary by branch).

The El Paso Public Library is celebrating Teen Read Week™ through October 14, featuring the theme “Unleash Your Story.”

The libraries will hold special events and programs spotlighting all the resources and activities available at the library and to encourage teenagers to read.

Teen Read Week™ is a time to celebrate reading for fun while encouraging teens to take advantage of reading in all its forms; books, magazines, e-books, audiobooks and more. It is also a great opportunity to encourage teens to become regular library users.

Thousands of libraries, schools and bookstores across the country are holding similar events.

Teen Read Week™ is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It began in 1998 and is held annually in October. Its purpose is to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.

For a complete list of programs for Teen Read Week, visit the El Paso Public Library online.

The El Paso Public Library once again hosts the annual Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 29 at Washington Park located at 4201 East Paisano.

As part of the celebration, smaller events will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Armijo, Esperanza Moreno and Sergio Troncoso branches.

More than 10,000 books will be given away during the celebration of children, literacy and health that began in 1997 as a partnership between the El Paso Public Library and the Parks and Recreation Department and other community organizations. Aside from free books, there will be live entertainment, food booths, health screenings, arts and crafts and more.

Sun Metro will provide free bus rides for children up to 18 years of age all day.

The event is free and children are encouraged to bring backpacks or reusable bags to carry books and other goodies. Free parking is available at the El Paso County Coliseum and a free shuttle will take guests to and from the park.

The purpose of the celebration is to encourage children and parents to read more and become more physically active. Studies show that reading is one of the most important activities in which a child can take part and is one of the primary variables in the academic and career success of young people.

The annual event is one of El Paso’s longest running free festivals and one of the largest literacy events in the Southwest. For more information, visit the El Paso Public Library.

The El Paso Public Library invites the public to visit the traveling exhibit Explore Space: A Cosmic Journey that is on display at the Irving Schwartz Library located at 1865 Dean Martin.

The national traveling exhibition investigates the fascinating world of space, science and astronomy.

Explore Space offers fun opportunities for residents to learn about space topics, such as the solar system, space observation, space exploration, space weather, star formation, asteroids, comets, and much more.

More than 10 public events are planned at the Schwartz Library. Opportunities are available for educators and students to tour and interact within the exhibit.

The exhibit is open to the public through May 20. For a full list of events and programs visit www.elpasolibrary.org.