Phoenix Arizona East Valley Living Blog » Library

Mercury spill closes Tempe Public Library

Admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:29:29 +0000

Tempe Public Library closed due to mercury spill

Tempe Public Library, 3500 S. Rural Road, is temporarily closed to allow for a cleanup effort after small amounts of mercury were found inside and outside the building today. The library is expected to reopen Friday at 9 a.m.

The city has contracted with an EPA-certified cleanup crew to remove the mercury. No library patrons or staff are believed to have been put at risk by the mercury, which is most dangerous only after prolonged exposures.

Tempe Police and Fire are conducting a joint investigation into who brought the mercury to the library.

After library closing Wednesday night, Fire responded to a call claiming that kids had been on site playing with mercury. The fire crew found trace amounts of the heavy metal outside the library entrance and cleaned it up.

Today at about 1 p.m. the library was closed after a patron noticed mercury near a library computer. About 200 patrons and staff were asked to leave the building. Since then, additional amounts of mercury were detected in the library parking lot.

The city’s cleanup contractor is working with Tempe Fire to complete an assessment to determine how much mercury is on site and what cleanup will entail.

Tempe expects the library to reopen Friday at 9 a.m. The city wants to undertake a thorough uninterrupted cleanup in order to ensure the safety of library patrons and staff.

The city will provide updates as they become available.

Source: Tempe Public Library

Technorati Tags: mercury, Tempe Public Library

Tempe Public Library Renovation to Temporarily Displace some Public Computers

Admin — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:42:46 +0000

Beginning June 22, renovations at the Tempe Public Library will mean a temporary reduction in the number of computers available for public use. The library has assembled a list of other Tempe sites, and locations in other cities, where patrons can find computers available for public use.

The library’s lower-level Computer Access Center will close June 22 until a new computer center opens next spring. During the renovation, a reduced number of library computers will be accessible to library card holders, who will be limited to 60 minutes per day. Guest passes will be limited to 20-minute sessions. The process has been set up to allow as many patrons as possible to use the computers during the renovation.

“Tempe knows that our library patrons have been increasingly using these computers over the past few months for job searches and other tasks,” said Deputy Community Services Manager Teri Metros. “We want to provide our patrons with other options and hope they will stick with us during this period of renovation as we work toward our goal of providing an even better Tempe Public Library for our 1 million annual customers.”

In May, the library began preparations for a 15-month interior renovation project – the first-ever overhaul to the 20-year-old building. Construction will begin in mid-July. The library will remain open during the renovation, which is anticipated to conclude in June 2010. Highlights of the renovation will include an expanded Youth Library, a new Teen Center, improved Computer Commons, more seating and more computers throughout the facility.

In May 2006, Tempe voters authorized the sale of bonds for the $8 million renovation. Tempe’s Capital Improvement Program budget is separate from the city’s operating budget; bonds are repaid through secondary property taxes. For more information, visit www.tempe.gov/library and click on the renovation link.

Other computers available for public use include:

TEMPE
Escalante Community Center, 2150 E. Orange St. Facility has 16 computers. Visit www.tempe.gov/escalante/ or call 480-350-5800.

North Tempe Multi-Generational Center, 1555 N. Bridalwreath St. Facility has 14 computers. Visit www.tempe.gov/northtempe/resource_center.htm or call 480-858-6500.

Westside Community Center/ Cahill Senior Center, 715 W 5th St. Facility has seven computers. Visit www.tempe.gov/cahillseniorcenter/computerlab.htm or call 480-858-2420.

NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES
Mesa Community College/ Paul A. Elsner Library, 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa. Library has 300 computers. Visit www.mc.maricopa.edu/library/ or call 480-461-7194.

Chandler Public Library Downtown Library, 22 S. Delaware St., Chandler. Library has 73 computers. Visit www.chandlerlibrary.org/ or call 480-782-2803.

Chandler Public Library Sunset Library, 4930 W. Ray Road., Chandler. Library has 56 computers. Visit www.chandlerlibrary.org or call 480-782-2842.

City of Mesa Library Main Library, 64 E. First St., Mesa, has 62 computers. For more information, visit www.mesalibrary.org or call 480-644-2207.

City of Mesa Library Dobson Ranch Branch, 2425 S. Dobson Road, Mesa. Library has 14 computers. Visit www.mesalibrary.org or call 480-644-3441.

South Mountain Community College Library, 7050 S. 24th St., Phoenix. Library has 28 computers. Visit http://library.southmountaincc.edu or call 602-243-8187.

Scottsdale Public Library Civic Center Library, 3839 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale. Library has 68 computers. Visit http://library.scottsdaleaz.gov/location.cfm or call 480-312-7323.

Phoenix Public Library Ironwood Branch, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Phoenix. Library has 13 computers. Visit www.phxlib.org or call 602-534-1900.

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Library, Public Library, renovations, Tempe

Scan Your Photos and Contribute to Scottsdale History

Admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:30:17 +0000

The “Scottsdale Remembers” photography exhibit earlier this year at the Civic Center and Mustang libraries celebrated our community’s history.

Now it’s your turn to help keep those memories alive. The library wants to include photos from our residents and business owners in an on-line version of the exhibit. This permanent collection of Scottsdale historic images will be maintained on the Scottsdale Public Library Web site.

If you have photographs from Parada del Sol events, spring training games or other community events sponsored by the Scottsdale Jaycees, Scottsdale Charros or Scottsdale Historical Society, bring them to the Civic Center Library computer lab from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 28 or from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. June 6.

Photos can be donated to the library or scanned by library representatives for use on the Web site.

For more information on the photo scanning project, call Reference Librarian Anna Quan Leon at ext. (480) 312-3242.

For more information on Scottsdale Library programs, visit:
http://www.scottsdalelibrary.org/

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Library, Public Library, Scottsdale, Scottsdale Public Library

Playaway Devices Offered at Mesa Libraries

Nellie Dunigan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:35:03 +0000

Just press play.

Starting today, Mesa Library patrons can check out Playaway, a palm-sized audio device pre-loaded with the bestselling audio books. About the size of a deck of cards, Playaway is the simplest way to listen to a book on the go. It can hold up to 80 hours of content, gives listeners the ability to move back and forth between chapters and features an automatic bookmark that remembers where you left off. Just plug in headphones and you’re ready to enjoy any one of the libraries audio books.

“Playaway’s simple functionality and immediate usability separate it = from
other audio book formats,” Library Director Heather Wolf said. “We a= re
offering more than 200 Playaway devices at all three branches of our
Library. With Playaway, our patrons can enjoy best-selling content with
first-rate digital audio.”

Anyone with a Mesa Library card can check out the device and return it
within two weeks. Audio books will be pre-loaded on all Playaway devices.
For more information about Playaway please call (480) 644-2207 or visit
http://playaway.com

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Mesa Arizona, Mesa Public Library, Playaway

Check Out Culture at Scottsdale Public Library

Admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:30:20 +0000

Welcome spring. Great weather means you can grab a good book and hit the patio. We encourage you and your family to sign up for the Summer Reading Program this year—we have programs for adults, teens, kids and even very small children. All participants are challenged to read a certain number of books—in return for rewards. The program begins May 27 and is a great way to spend the summer!

In case you have not heard, the library has a new program that allows for our card-holders to check out free admission to one of our local museums. The Culture Pass program is available in all of our library locations and is the hottest thing going right now. At each library there are five passes for each of the fifteen museums available for check out. The passes have been very popular and we are very glad to be able to bring this wonderful opportunity to our customers.

For more information…see our website for Culture Pass information.

Technorati Tags: Arizona, Public Library, Scottsdale, Scottsdale Public Library

Meet baseball great Joe Garagiola at the Scottsdale Public Library

Kathee — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:56:46 +0000

Authors and Appetizers 2008

Joe Garagiola is the featured speaker for this year’s Authors and Appetizers fundraiser — Fri., May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Scottsdale Public Library. This year’s event promises to be the best ever with authors Nancy E. Turner, Brent Ghelfi, Beth Kendrick, Joe Garagiola and Dilara, Imran and Yasmine Hafiz.Join the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library for an evening of laughs, libations and literature benefiting children’s programs. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at http://library.ci.scottsdale.az.us/ or at the door.

Information:

Scottsdale Public Library

or 480.312.2420.Scottsdale Public Library —

Civic Center

3839 N. Drinkwater Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Technorati Tags: Arizona, AZ, Baseball, Garagiola, Joe, Joe Garagiola, Library, Public, Scottsdale, Scottsdale Public Library