Get Ready to Party at the Mardi Gras

Do you know Mardi Gras 2011 falls on Tuesday, March 8? “Fat Tuesday,” as it is known, is the last day of the Carnival season, and it always falls on the day before Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent.

Want to explore what life is like in New Orleans, Louisiana, be ‘in the know’ on local issues, traditions, social trends, and fashion, home and garden? Well, you’re in luck because the San Francisco Public library’s Magazines & Newspapers Center has been subscribing to New Orleans Magazine for the past three years--a magazine rich in culture yet somehow fuses its past, present, and future into a history of constant evolvement.

New Orleans, a monthly lifestyle magazine with features and columns on the city of New Orleans, highlights Creole, Cajun, French and multicultural cuisine and dining. Readers will experience the exciting rebirth of this city since the devastating tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans provides information on arts and entertainment (especially music, education, theatre, and its nightlife scene). For the fashion-savvy person, find a guide to tips on what’s hot and where to shop, especially for the ‘quintessential’ Mardi Gras attire.

The magazine is divided into three major sections:

• Features - An article about Five Star Hospitals


• In Every Issue - Read & Spin – latest books


• Special Section - In this issue, Steppin’ Out: It’s Carnival Time

A special page titled “On The Web,” showcases other Web sites offering valuable information to readers. If you can’t travel to “The Big Easy” then why not journey through the colorful pages of New Orleans Magazine or surf to their Web site: http://www.myneworleans.com

A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools

On Saturday, March 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Magazines & Newspapers Center will present a program designed to help you with your genealogical research.

The One-Step Web site (http://www.stevemorse.org/) started out as an aid for finding passengers in the Ellis Island database. Shortly afterwards it was expanded to help with searching in the 1930 census. Over the years it has continued to evolve and today includes about 200 web-based tools divided into 16 separate categories ranging from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations to last-minute bidding on e-bay. This presentation will describe the range of tools available and give the highlights of each one.

Stephen Morse is the creator of the One-Step Web site for which he has received both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Outstanding Contribution Award from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. He has also earned the Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society, first-ever Excellence Award from the Association of Professional Genealogists, and two awards that he cannot pronounce from Polish genealogical societies.

In his other life Morse is a computer professional with a doctorate degree in electrical engineering. He has held various research, development, and teaching positions, authored numerous technical papers, written four textbooks, and holds four patents. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086 (the granddaddy of today's Pentium processor), which sparked the PC revolution 30 years ago.

- Address: 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
- Location: Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room
- Event Date & Time: Saturday, March 5, 2011 (10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)

ABCs of Digital Scanning Microfilm

The Magazines and Newspapers Center will host our first digital scanning workshop of the year,from Noon to 1 PM on February 28th. This basic beginner session will focus on successful techniques for scanning, capturing, editing and saving archival resources from the 5th Floor microfilm and microfiche collection.

Join us in the Microfilm Room for hands-on demonstrations in digitizing newspapers, magazines and other resources.

- Address: 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
- Location: Main Library, Fifth Floor, Magazines & Newspapers Center, Microfilm Room
- Event Date & Time: Monday, February 28, 2011 (Noon to 1 p.m.)

Riding While Black 1955....Walking While Black 1999

The African American Interest Committee and the African American Center of the San Francisco Public Library proudly present the social justice program, Riding While Black 1955, Walking While Black 1999. Featuring civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin, activist educator Enid Lee, and author/artist Bryonn Bain, this special event is being produced in association with Awele Makeba and the San Francisco Unified School District.

- Address: 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
- Location: Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium
- Event Date & Time: Sunday, February 6, 2011 (1:30 to 4 p.m.)

Edible SF

A common resolution people make at the start of a new year revolves around improving their diets, so what better way to start developing healthy eating habits than exploring Edible San Francisco--a local magazine from the Wallace Environmental Stegner Center?

A publication of Edible Communities--a network of local food publications that focuses on "transform[ing] the way consumers shop for, cook, eat and relate to local food . . . . and connect consumers with local growers, retailers, chefs, and food artisans, enabling those relationships to grow and thrive in a mutually beneficial, healthful and economically viable way." To find back issues of Edible San Francisco, check with the Magazines & Newspapers Center for further assistance.

Finally, to whet your culinary palette through a variety of ongoing library programs and exhibitions, check out the San Francisco Eats events page which showcases "menus, historical photographs, an array of food writers, cookbooks and culinary history, ephemera such as coasters and matchbooks, and San Francisco food inventions, including gadgets and signature dishes."

Out with the old, In with the new . . .

As we launch into the new year, one of our longstanding magazines has recently migrated into the digital world. After over 60 years, U.S. News and World Report has abandoned its print format and gone totally online. Reporting and analyzing current events and issues throughout the United States and worldwide, this magazine covered a wide range of topics in the business and financial fields as well as sociological and technological trends. For more information, check out the New York Times article.

December 2010 marked the last print issue of U.S. News and World Report. You can, however, still browse through the older issues here at the Magazines & Newspapers Center. Also, to find other databases that contain the archived articles to Newsweek online, check Periodical Finder. You will need a San Francisco Public library card to access databases from outside of the library.