August 2018 Photos: St. Mark + Dr. Seuss

We were in Italy a year ago, and I’ve been thinking about the trip and the stories I still want to tell.

The Lion

I recently posted a photo of the bronze winged lion that towers above Venice’s main square, Piazza San Marco.

Because the mythical creature is the symbol of St. Mark/San Marco, who is the patron saint of Venice, it has come to also represent the city itself. (And you can spot winged lions all over the place!)

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The Lorax

Anyway, the other August photo I wanted to share is a panoramic shot from inside the Geisel Library in La Jolla (San Diego).

It’s a glass wall covered with facts about Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) and the history of the unusual building.

My favorite part was this quote from The Lorax:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

When you think about it, that sentiment about caring enough to take action is oddly in line with something St. Mark (quoting Moses) wrote:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018

Library on Hold: Burton Barr’s Borrowed Art Space

You have just over a week left to see the “Gems from the Burton Barr Library Art Collection” at Phoenix City Hall!

Yes, there’s a gallery inside City Hall. And, yes, there’s an exhibition of art from the library.

Library Unavailable Due to Water Damage

It was almost a year ago that a burst pipe in the central library wreaked enough havoc in a matter of minutes to require months of reconstruction.

With repairs in process, a selection of the library’s art was transferred to Gallery @ Phoenix City Hall. Located in a walled-off corner of the main lobby, the Gallery is only open during the work day.

Art to Check Out

The eclectic collection features work as varied as a series of paintings by Ed Mell, a piece by Joan Miró, and a traditional Navajo rug.

Previously, the works on display had been scattered throughout the five-floor library building – including in tucked-away spots like the rare book room.

Reshelving Books

Since the unexpected shutdown, staff and programs have been on intralibrary loan to other branches. Many items are back in circulation thanks to a “pop up” library in a mall basement.

The temporary Phoenix Public Library branch in the lower level of Park Central Mall has books, computers, The Hive (co-working space), culture passes, a seed library, and lots of free parking.

It’s a way to provide services for downtown patrons until Burton Barr can be opened again, hopefully, sometime this summer.

– More Info –

Gallery @ Phoenix City Hall

Free admission.
Open to the public from 10am to 2pm, Monday through Friday.
200 W. Washington St., Phoenix, ground floor, just to the left of the metal detectors at the main entrance.
Light rail: Washington/Central
Parking: Street parking (metered) or 305 parking garage at 305 W. Washington St. ($4/hour)
Pick up some free Phoenix public art postcards after you see the exhibit.

Phoenix Public Library @ Park Central

Open Monday through Saturday 9am to 5pm (or later), 1-5pm on Sundays.
3110 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, basement level. Take the elevator beneath the big outdoor clock (between Jimmy John’s and Jamba Juice) down, and you’re there!
Light rail: Indian School/Central
Parking: free lot.

November 4, 2017November 4, 2017

Free Admission to Arizona Museums with the Culture Pass

You can get free passes to over 30 museums and attractions if you have a library card from Maricopa County or Pima County, Arizona.

How to Check Out a Culture Pass

The program is called the Culture Pass, and it works like this:

Visit the Culture Pass kiosk at a participating library.
Pick the pass you’re interested in. There will be cards for all the available passes – it’s first-come, first-served.
Check the pass out with your library card. You will be exchanging the card from the kiosk for a receipt-like slip of paper, which is your actual ticket in.
Go to the museum! Each pass is good for free general admission for two people one time. You have one week to use it before it expires, but you don’t have to return anything to the library.

You may be able to search the library’s catalog online to see ahead of time what’s available.

If you live in Maricopa County, you can get a library card from any of the County’s public libraries. Only ASU students can check out Culture Passes from ASU libraries, although alumni and community members are eligible for cards with limited access to other ASU library resources.

Culture Pass Arts Destinations

Some of the Culture Pass Arts Destinations we’ve enjoyed (with or without a pass):

Arcosanti (Cordes Junction)
AZ Heritage Center at Papago Park
Desert Botanical Garden
Heard Museum
Phoenix Art Museum

Culture Pass Performances

More recently, the program has also expanded to include performances. It works basically the same way. Certain plays, ballets, operas, and symphony concerts will have Culture Passes available a couple weeks ahead of time on a first come, first serve basis.

These include performances from…

Arizona Opera
Ballet Arizona
Great Arizona Puppet Theater
The Phoenix Symphony

…and lots more!

Outside of Maricopa County

The Sedona Public Library also has passes for Northern Arizona destinations, like Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Route 66 Museum in Kingman, and the Sedona Heritage Museum.

Pima County Public Library branches have passes for Tucson destinations like Tohono Chul Park, Tucson Museum of Art, and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, as well as performances by Arizona Opera, Tucson Symphony, and UA Presents.

I believe there are similar programs at some libraries outside of Arizona. If you know of one, let me know!

July 17, 2017

June 2017 Photo: Reading Room Light

columns illuminated by skylights in the Great Reading Room of Burton Barr Library, Phoenix

I didn’t post a lot of photos in June, but I did post one from the summer solstice celebration at Burton Barr Library (the same day as my solar cookie baking experiment).

The reading room is designed with columns under sky lights. Once a year, at solar noon on the summer solstice, the reading room sky lights line up perfectly to illuminate the columns below them.

Unfortunately, this past weekend a monsoon storm caused a fire sprinkler to burst, flooding all five floors of this beautiful library. Most of its collections remain intact and clean-up crews sprang into action right away. The City of Phoenix is hoping it will be able to start reopening parts of the library soon.

January 30, 2017May 23, 2023

Garden Library Booth

I was back at the Mesa Urban Garden and took a photo for you guys of the little library/phone booth.

Maybe you wouldn’t call it a phone booth. It’s the later version of a phone booth, the not-fully-enclosed kind I grew up seeing. And it seems like the books have been replaced with gardening resources, which is also good. But it’d be neat if books could be back in there too.