Facebook Class at Novato Library

As part of our series of classes on Social Media Basics, the Novato Library is offering a free class on learning to use Facebook to connect and stay in touch with friends and family.

When: Sat. August 8, 1:30-3 pm

Where: Novato Library

An established email account is required for this class.

Please sign up at the Novato Library Reference Desk
or call (415) 897-1142.

Popular magazines online...for free from home!

The public libraries in Marin provide online access to thousands of free, full-text magazines and journals--at your fingertips! Titles like Newsweek, Time, Consumer Reports, and People are available at the click of your mouse from the Library's Digital Content webpage. No need to go to the newsstand or to buy dozens of magazine subscriptions. Just come to the library's website, and you've got it all right there.

Anyone can access the database of magazine articles inside the library, and anyone with a card from any of the public libraries in Marin can access EBSCO from home, work, or school. Just go to the Library's Digital Content webpage, click on the link to EBSCO Combined Search under Magazines and Newspapers, and log in with your name, library card number and PIN. If you have questions (how to access it, how to use it), please ask a friendly librarian!

Tim Cain Outdoor Concert

Join us for an outdoor concert on the lawn beside the Novato Library, with award-winning children's recording artist Tim Cain. Bring a blanket and a picnic supper! Tim will be singing some new songs and some of the old favorites, so don't miss the fun! For the entire family.

When: Tuesday, July 28 at 6 pm

Where: On the lawn beside the Novato Library

For more information, please contact the Novato Library Children's Desk at (415)897-1143.

Digital Content

The Marin County Free Library offers many kinds of digital content to our patrons. Many of these items can be accessed from home by our patrons. Types of digital content we offer include digital books, digital audio books, and magazine articles. We also subscribe to services that provide online tutoring, and readers advisory. Our goal is to provide a wide range of information that extends what can otherwise be found online, such as copyrighted full text articles.

We hope that these services are of value to students, individuals conducting research, readers, and other users representing the wide range of our patronage. For more information, visit our Digital Content page.

Civic Center Library Book Club - August Selection

Join the Civic Center Library Book Club on August 26, from 12-1, for a discussion of Irvin Yalom's When Nietzche Wept. The club meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month, and new members are always welcome! For more information, please call (415) 499-6102.

Ayurveda - Digestion is the Basis of Good Health

Dr. Erika Crotta, a naturopathic doctor with a PhD in Physiology and Ayurvedic Medicine, will continue her Ayurveda lecture series. The second topic is: Good Digestion is the Basis of Good Health. This lecture will discuss individual digestive strength and the importance of eating in harmony with this strength.

There will be lectures every other Thursday from 12 noon to 1:15 pm starting on July 16 and ending on September 24, 2009.

When: Thursday, July 30, 2009

Time: 12 noon to 1:15 pm

Where: Board of Supervisors Chambers, Room 330, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA


The series will continue as follows:

August 13 – Utilizing the Cycles of Nature to Improve Health

August 27 – The Six Steps of Prevention

September 10 – Food as Medicine

September 24 - The Power of the Mind in Relation to Health

Pre-registration is not required at these free programs.

If you have any questions, please contact the Civic Center Library Reference desk at 499-6058.

Zero Breast Cancer Group

Sharon Doyle of the Zero Breast Cancer Group, a Marin non-profit dedicated to finding the causes of breast cancer through community participation in the research process, will be at the Civic Center Library to provide information about their research, education programs, and breast cancer hike on Saturday September 26, 2009. The Dipsea Hike/Run Lite is an event that promotes breast cancer awareness while highlighting the benefits of physical activity and breast cancer risk reduction.

When: Thursday July 23, 2009

Time: 12 noon to 12:30 pm

Where: Civic Center Library

If you have any questions, please call the Library Reference desk at (415) 499-6058

California Council for the Humanities Grant

Marin County Free Library’s Anne T. Kent California Room has just been awarded a $10,000 grant from the California Council for the Humanities “California Story Fund”, part of a project to fund unique story projects in communities throughout the state. The Library was one of only 21 organizations awarded the grant out of an applicant pool of 171.

California Room Librarian, Laurie Thompson, Oral Historian, Marilyn Geary, and Digital Archivist, Carol Uhrmacher, will carry out the grant. They will partner with Buckelew Programs, a community based non-profit which provides services to North Bay residents living with mental illness.

The project will record, transcribe, and digitize oral histories of Marin County landscape artists, some of whom have been diagnosed with a mental illness. The oral histories will serve as source material for a 30-minute video presenting the artists, their artwork, and their stories—stories of how the creative process has affected their lives and how working as an artist in Marin County, with its abundant natural beauty, has influenced their art and their sense of well-being.

A culminating free public event will include an exhibit of the artists’ works, portraits of the artists and a presentation of the video accompanied by a panel discussion and reception. The oral histories and video will be made accessible through the California Room’s Digital Archive at californiaroom.marinlibrary.org.

Civic Center Library Book Club - July Selection

Join the Civic Center Library Book Club on July 22, from 12-1, for a discussion of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. The club meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month, and new members are always welcome! For more information, please call (415) 499-6102.

All About Bicycling

Thinking about sparing the air and riding your bike? Curious about how to start? The library has created a guide to bicycling resources, including books on everything from bicycle repair to touring guidebooks for the Bay Area, and websites with helpful information. Check out the subject guides section of our website for additional information.

Learn to use Linkedin for your Career or Business at the Novato Library

As part of our free 4-part series of classes on Social Media Basics, the Novato Library is presenting a class on using Linkedin to connect with others to further your career or business.

Linkedin is an online networking site. When you join, you create a profile summarizing your professional expertise and accomplishments. You can then connect with others you know and also make new contacts. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to a vast number of qualified professionals and experts.

Where: Novato Library

When: Monday July 20, 7:15 - 8:30 pm

Sign up at the Novato Reference Desk or call (415) 897-1142.
An established email account is required.

Ayurveda Lecture Series

Dr. Erika Crotta, a naturopathic doctor with a PhD in Physiology and Ayurvedic Medicine, will present a series of six lectures on the 5,000-year-old holistic health philosophy of Ayurveda. Recognized by the World Health Organization, Ayurvedic treatment includes the use of herbal remedies, diet, yoga, massage and meditation.

There will be lectures every other Thursday from 12 noon to 1:15 pm starting on July 16 and ending on September 24, 2009.

Dr. Crotta’s first topic will be a general overview of Ayurvedic principles entitled: The Science of Good Health.

When: Thursday, July 16, 2009

Time: 12 noon to 1:15 pm

Where: Board of Supervisors Chambers, Room 330, 3501 Civic Center Drive,, San Rafael, CA


The series will continue as follows:

July 30 - Good Digestion is the Basis of Good Health

August 13 – Utilizing the Cycles of Nature to Improve Health

August 27 – The Six Steps of Prevention

September 10 – Food as Medicine

September 24 - The Power of the Mind in Relation to Health

Pre-registration is not required at these free programs.

If you have any questions, please contact the Civic Center Library Reference desk at 499-6058.

Reference Questions by Email

Our librarians regularly answer simple, non-urgent, reference questions by email. If you are looking for an answer to a question, and can wait a day or two, fill out our reference by email form, and we'll do our best to help you find an answer!

Summer Sale at the Book Place

The Friends of the Marin County Free Library are holding their summer blowout sale at the Book Place! Friday through Sunday, July 17-19, 2009, you'll find 50% off already-low prices throughout the store, including Better Books!

The Book Place is operated by the Friends of the Marin County Free Library, a nonprofit volunteer organization. All proceeds are used for special programs, needs, and materials for the Marin County Free Libraries.

Sale Hours:
Friday 10 am - 7 pm
Saturday 10 am - 4 pm
Sunday 12 noon - 4 pm

Sale Location:
Book Place
1608 Grant Avenue
Novato, CA 94947

Tutankhamun Presentation at the Novato Library

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs
A presentation by the docent council of The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Where: Novato Library

When: Wed July 22 @ 4:00pm


This lecture complements the glorious exhibition at the De Young Museum of more than 130 great treasures from the ancient Egyptian tombs of King Tutankhamun, his royal predecessors, his family and officials of the court, including four wonderful discoveries from his tomb that have been added for the San Francisco venue.

For more information, please call the Novato Library Reference Desk at (415) 897-1142.

This free event is presented as part of the Marin County Free Library's Adult Summer Reading Program, Master the Art of Reading. Join the program at the library or sign up online.

Landscape Art Presentation at the Novato Library

One Hundred Years of Landscape Art in Northern California
A presentation by the docent council of The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

This talk explores the rich landscape tradition in Northern California through the eyes of visual artists, from Arthur Mathews and William Keith to Wayne Thiebaud and William T. Wiley.

Where: Novato Library

When: Sat July 18 @ 11 am

For more information, please contact the Novato Reference Desk at (415) 897-1142.

This program is presented in celebration of Marin County Free Library's Adult Summer Reading Program: Master the Art of Reading.

Re-Tooling Your Career at the Novato Library

John DeGaetano, Certified Business Advisor from the Redwood Empire Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will hold discussion sessions at the Novato Library, aimed specifically at Novato professionals looking for a change.

"Re-Tooling Your Career" is a three-hour program where job seekers can take time to network about new directions: think about starting a business, learn marketing skills for a new endeavor, build confidence in working for oneself, or seek out a broader job pool for existing skills.

The program will be repeated three times over the summer at the Novato Library, in partnership with the Novato Chamber of Commerce -- and it's not just for the unemployed: retirees, recent graduates, or anyone just ready for a change is welcome to attend, free of charge.

Scheduled dates:

Wednesday July 8 6 - 9 pm
Thursday August 13 6 - 9 pm
Tuesday August 25 6 - 9 pm

For more information, please call the Novato Reference Desk at (415) 897-1142.