Posts from Harlem Library

The New York State General Election is November 2, 2010.  Both Senate seats and a gubernatorial election are up to be voted on as well as many other races. The voter registration deadline is coming right up, read below for more information.

http://www.elections.state.ny.us/ If you are registered already, find out where to vote. If you aren’t sure if you are registered or not, you can enter some basic personal information here to

Recently we found some old and not so old photographs of the Harlem branch among our files and wanted to share. 

The first is from April 8, 1910 and is a photograph of our 2nd floor children's room with its beautiful marble frieze and fireplace (which at the time seemed to be functioning). This was taken not too long after the branch opened in July of 1909. 

The others are from a 1998 visit by Ossie 

Looking for GED Prep in Harlem?

Follow these links for free prep courses and resources for adult learners. 

http://www.unionsettlement.org/adult-ed Union Settlement House offers free Adult Education and GED classes in its East Harlem Location. http://www.harlemctred.com/eoc/programs.html Harlem Center for Education offers free GED and Adult Education classes.

Harlem Kids Add Their Voices: Keep Our Libraries Open!

Kids from the local school Promise Academy wrote these letters and more to voice their support for their local branch here on 124th street.   Our children's Librarian Leah Zilbergeld made this poster for everyone to see that kids love and need the library in their lives. 

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Please don't shut down the library.  We need it to get our knowledge and people need computers 

If the answer is not so green, perhaps you might think about coming by the Harlem Branch Library on June 1st at 5:30 pm to get some helpful tips from Kellie Madden of Harlem Lofts. 

This is the latest in our popular Home Owner seminars put on from Harlem Lofts over the past few months.  Join us for helpful tips on creating a rooftop garden and greening your rooftop to enjoy over the spring and summer. 

Limited seating, to register contact Kellie at 212-280-8866 or

One last question to wrap things up, Julian and Daniel’s lives follow very similar trajectories. Yet one ends in tragedy, the other in happiness. What similarities are there between the paths they take? What are the differences that allow Daniel to avoid tragedy?

If you enjoyed this book, I recommend the following authors:

Gabriel Garcia 

More discussion questions from the Reader's Den, please feel free to comment on one or more questions.

  How does the setting of Barcelona in the midst of its Civil War add to the novel?   The author uses excerpts from letters, rememberances of people involved and other devices that relate part of the story from another person's point of view.  Do you find the technique successful in propelling the story? Why or why not?   “This book is obviously an ode to books and to the art of reading. You have Bea state that "the art of reading is 

After reading for a week, we've gotten to some of the mystery and intrigue of the novel and some interesting points have arisen for discussion. Feel free to weigh in on any or all of these questions.

The Shadow of the Wind (La sombra del viento) was written in Spanish, and the word "sombra" can also be translated as shade, which gives the title a bit more of an ominous and darker feeling. What is the shadow (or shade) of the wind in this story?

Daniel Sempere and Julian Carax have a number of 

  About the author Carlos Ruiz Zafon has written four novels for young adults (which haven't been translated into English yet) and The Shadow of the Wind was his first written for adults.  Since its publication in 2001, he wrote a sort of prequel to the popular novel called The Angel's Game in 2009.    He was born in Barcelona in 1964 and lives in Los Angeles currently.  For more information, check out wikipedia, as well as the author's 

Welcome to The Reader's Den!

This month's selection is the literary thriller, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a book that kept me up reading at night from the start.   Written in Spanish then later translated to English by Lucia Graves, it is a bestseller worldwide.

After reading, I passed it on to no less than five people as gifts and