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Beale Memorial Library
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Posted by RaisingBakersfield Wed Apr 23, 2008 13:55:06 PDT
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0 responses 1 comment Location: 701 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA

These days, the Kern County Library doesn’t even care if you come into one of its facilities to use its services.

“This way, the library never closes,” said Brenda Scobey, reference coordinator for Kern County Library.

The current location of Beale Memorial Library may be turning 20 this week, but several of the county’s top librarians don’t want you to forget their online resources, along with the oldies-but-goodies in the stacks.

And with any luck, doing more to branch out into the digital frontier will help Beale and all Kern libraries stay current for another two decades.

“It’s no longer that you have to come to us,” said Kris Ogilvie, digital programs consultant with the California State Library. “It’s connecting people with information, and that’s what we do.”

BLOGGING

Kern County Library staff started a blog on book recommendations last month and wants residents to comment on the selections, said Gail Lancaster, support services specialist for the Kern County Library.

The blog includes recommendations for kids, teens and adults, along with some special selections for National Poetry and Music Appreciation Month.

Among this month’s recommendations are “Blood and Chocolate,” a book by Annette Klause in which a 16-year-old girl werewolf falls in love with a human boy, and “The Somnambulist” by Jonathan Barnes, in which a stage magician/detective and his silent sidekick try to re-create apocalyptic prophecies to bring down the British Empire.

INSTANT MESSAGING

Got a burning research question at 2 a.m.? Ask a librarian.

The Kern County Library participates in AskNow, which provides real-time access to a librarian in California from your computer 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Sessions usually last less than 15 minutes, and the librarian can either give you the answer or show you how to find the answer yourself, according to the Web site.

The librarians get several requests for genealogy and obituaries info, said Sherry Gomez, deputy director of libraries.

DATABASES, DIGITAL PHOTOS

From the comfort of your desk you can access roughly 60 electronic resources and databases.

For some of these, you will need a library card, but these are available for free from the library.

Here are some of the databases:

• Informe, a collection of articles from Hispanic magazines from around the world;

• Health and Wellness Resource Center, which provides access to health and medical publications;

• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, a social issues database that provides articles from all points of view;

• Auto Repair Reference Center, a database of repair information, wiring diagrams and a repair cost estimator;

• ReferenceUSA, a nationwide directory that provides information on businesses, competition, potential customers and legal actions;

• NewsBank, which provides full-text articles from 730 U.S. newspapers including The Bakersfield Californian, and

• Grolier Online, which provides information for school reports on states and countries.

The library also offers LearningExpress, which provides prep for tests including college entrance, Advanced Placement, law enforcement and the California Basic Educational Skills tests.

Patrons can also search for historical photos on two local history photo databases.

THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES

Using the library as a source for quiet research and reflection isn’t completely gone.

That’s why Bakersfield resident Ashley Lee has frequented the Beale library lately. It gives her a place to study for her new job in pharmaceutical sales in peace.

“At home I would be running around and doing laundry,” the 35-year-old said. “And if I needed to look up an anatomy book, I could.”

Beale provides a sanctuary for 20-year-old Amanda Fryslie.

On a recent afternoon, she sat patiently waiting for a computer to check her e-mail.

“It’s particularly helpful if you want to get away from a home situation,” said Fryslie, who comes to the library almost every day. “It keeps me out of trouble.”

While quiet places can still be found, you only see librarians pulling books and telling people to hush in old movies, Ogilvie said.

Librarians are branching out into virtual worlds, like the computer-based virtual world Second Life.

“People will stop and ask you questions” in the virtual simulation, Ogilvie said. “In a way, that’s sort of where it’s going.”

While “Google has made almost anyone a librarian,” the need for librarians and libraries hasn’t diminished, she said.

If anything, they’re all the more important.

“When people can’t find the information with their simple Google search, they go to the library,” she said. “And the questions are getting even harder and more difficult.

“It’s even more important that we know what’s out there.”

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KERN COUNTY LIBRARY HISTORY

1866: People in Havilah, Kern’s first county seat, start a library association. Anyone could be a member for a $2 fee and 75 cents a month.

1894: Women in Kern City, which is now East Bakersfield, form a library association and turn an old schoolhouse into a library.

1896: The Kern Library Association turns the library facilities over to the City of Kern, and the library is moved to the old town hall. This becomes the Kern City Library, the first publicly supported library in the county.

Jan. 11, 1898: The City of Bakersfield is re-incorporated, and discussions about a public library start about two weeks later.

1899: Truxtun Beale, then Minister of Persia, wrote to S.M. Pogson, his agent in Kern, offering to build a library for Bakersfield. The city council accepts Beale’s generosity.

June 2, 1900: The library, a memorial to Gen. Edward Fitzgerald Beale, Kern pioneer and Truxtun Beale’s father, opens at 17th Street and Chester Avenue. The library was to be known as the Beale Memorial Library for “now and forever,” according to the transaction agreement.

1910: Bakersfield consolidates with the City of Kern, and the Kern City Library becomes the East Bakersfield branch of the Beale Memorial Library.

July 11, 1911: The Kern County Free Library is established in the basement of the county’s new $350,000 courthouse.

Feb. 28, 1922: The city council votes to consolidate the city and county libraries. Mayor George Haberfelde and the county supervisors agree to this more than a year later. The adult book collection is consolidated in the courthouse basement, and the Beale Memorial Library becomes the headquarters for children’s works.

Aug. 22, 1952: An earthquake hits Bakersfield, destroying the courthouse and Beale Library. The library is temporarily located in tents in the courthouse parking lot.

Oct. 7, 1957: The new central branch of the Kern County Library opens at 1315 Truxtun Ave.

June 2, 1966: The central branch was dedicated and re-named the Beale Memorial Library.

July 1986: Groundbreaking for a new Beale library.

April 30, 1988: The Beale library is dedicated at its current location at 701 Truxtun Ave.

Sources: “A History of Kern County Library,” compiled by Louise Blanford; The Kern County Library; Californian archives

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Originally published at http://www.bakersfield.com/... on Saturday, April 19, 2008.

 

BEALE MEMORIAL LIBRARY 20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

All events are free to the public and will take place at the Beale Memorial Library, 701 Truxtun Ave.

9:30 a.m. Monday, anniversary celebration kick-off and ribbon-cutting.

7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, author Mark Salzman talks about his work. Salzman received the New York Public Library’s Literary Lions Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for “Iron and Silk,” a memoir about his years in China.

2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, historian Chris Mayse will speak about the history of the Beale Air Force Base. Mayse will talk about the mission of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and why an Air Force base was named after a Navy officer.

7 to 9 p.m. April 30, author, storyteller and musician David Holt will talk about tall tales, folk ballads, ghost stories and urban legends. Holt has won four Grammy Awards.

2 to 3 p.m. May 3, Mexican folk ballet by SoLuna.

7 to 8 p.m. May 6, Bakersfield Symphony presents a Bakersfield Classicus Clarinet Choir pops concert.

7 to 9 p.m. May 8, children’s author Marsha Arnold talks about her works “Roar of a Snore,” “Hugs on the Wind” and “Heart of a Tiger.” Her program is most appropriate for 3- to 7-year-olds.

2 to 4 p.m. May 10, local author and talk show host Terry Phillips discusses his first historical murder mystery, “Murder at the Altar.” Phillips is host of National Public Radio’s Quality of Life.

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Comment From: srfbluemama

I love the library. It's nice to know about all of the other services available as well. I'll have to check out their website.