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Ready, Set, Library! April 7-13 is National Library Week and allows us to once again highlight our services, event programming, and of course, the books and resources we all love to share. 

We have several new and exciting events planned for not only this week but just about every week at Mechanics’ Institute. We have scheduled a series of classes called “Exploring Library Resources” to go along with our writers' classes and our Monday Noontime History Series. We offer Tech Support on Mondays and the third Saturday of each month. If you are unable to attend our weekly in-person tour this Wednesday at noon you have another chance to join us this Friday for an evening tour starting at 5 pm. And this Thursday’s big event is “Music at Mechanics’” with renowned cellist, Rebecca Rust & bassoonist, Friedrich Edelmann.

National Library Week is also a chance for library lovers to celebrate their favorite books, movies, magazines, and more. We invite members to submit a “Member Pick” of a book, DVD, or other item to display for others to checkout. Please send an email to [email protected] and include the title, a brief bio of yourself including how long you’ve been a member, and a short 2-sentence summary describing your recommendation. Other ways you can participate in National Library Week:

• Visit us during the week, every day is better!

• Bring a friend for a tour

• Sign up to attend an event, join a writers group, sit in on a book group discussion

• Check out a new book or DVD

• Follow us on social media

• Enter the #HowILibrary contest through the American Library Association (ALA) by sharing your love of Mechanics’ Institute for a chance to win a prize!

       Participating is easy:

1. Snap a pic or shoot a video showcasing your favorite thing about your library.

2.  Post to Instagram, X, Threads, or on the I Love Libraries Facebook page with the hashtag #HowILibrary.

3. Don’t forget to tag your library to let them know how much they are appreciated!

National Library Week is an annual celebration promoting information services and resources, to highlight reading and the benefits of literacy, and to share with others the valuable role of libraries and the importance of supporting institutions like ours.

Mechanics’ Institute members are voracious readers and 2023 saw a revival in library use, event attendance, and engagement with our collections. As you can see from this list of our top 20 most checked out Fiction and Non-Fiction titles, interests are wide-ranging, self-reflective, and thought-provoking. 

Fiction 

Listed in order of the highest number of loans: 

1 Lessons in Chemistry: [a Novel] / Bonnie Garmus

2 Demon Copperhead: a Novel / Barbara Kingsolver

3 Horse / Geraldine Brooks

4 Birnam Wood / Eleanor Catton

5 Still Life / Louise Penny

6 The Old Success / Martha Grimes

7 Slow Horses / Mick Herron

8 Spook Street / Mick Herron

9 Before the Coffee Gets Cold: a Novel / Toshikazu Kawaguchi

10 Foster / Claire Keegan

11 Trust / Hernan Diaz

12 The Candy House: a Novel / Jennifer Egan

13 Dead Lions / Mick Herron

14 Joe Country / Mick Herron

15 Dark Rooms / Lynda La Plante

16 Independence Square: Arkady Renko in Ukraine / Martin Cruz Smith

17 The Humble Lover : a Novel / Edmund White

18 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow : a Novel / Gabrielle Zevin

19 Simply Lies / David Baldacci

20 The Writing Retreat: a Novel / Julia Bartz

 

Nonfiction 

Listed in order of the highest number of loans: 

1 The Creative Act: a Way of Being / Rick Rubin, with Neil Strauss

2 Take Command: Find Your Inner Strength, Build Enduring Relationships, and Live the Life You Want / Joe Hart and Michael Crom

3 Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: an Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones / James Clear

4 Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier / Kevin Kelly

5 100 Places to See After you Die: a Travel Guide to the Afterlife / Ken Jennings

6 The Half Known Life: in Search of Paradise / Pico Iyer

7 The Bible as it Was / James L. Kugel

8 The Apocryphal and Legendary Life of Christ : Being the Whole Body of the Apocryphal Gospels and Other Extra Canonical Literature Which Pretends to Tell of the Life and Words of Jesus Christ, including much matter which has not before appeared in English. In continuous narrative form, with notes, Scriptural references, prolegomena, and indices / by James DeQuincey Donehoo.

9 Playing God: American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right / Mary Jo McConahay

10 The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly: Life Wisdom from Someone who will (Probably) Die Before You / text and drawings by Margareta Magnusson

11 You Will Own Nothing : Your War With a New Financial World Order and How to Fight Back / Carol Roth

12 Solito: a Memoir / Javier Zamora

13 Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream / by David McGowan

14 A Fever in the Heartland: the Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them / Timothy Egan

15 The Big Myth: How American Business Taught us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market / Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway

16 Die with Zero: Getting All You Can From Your Money and Your Life / Bill Perkins

17 The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, & Healing in a Toxic Culture / Gabor Maté, MD, with Daniel Maté

18 Poverty, by America / Matthew Desmond

19 The Life We Chose: William "Big Billy" D'Elia and the Last Secrets of America's Most Powerful Mafia Family / Matt Birkbeck

20 Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You CanMake it Easy / Daniel T. Willingham, PhD

Are you looking for a space to meet with a small group? Do you plan to hold a gathering that is close to public transportation? Would you like space to schedule Zoom meetings? Mechanics’ Institute can accommodate these and other short term needs here in our historic building. Our conference room rentals come with Wifi, a TV monitor with HDMI hook up, whiteboards, and access to our common areas. The Board Room seats 14 people around an oval table and is Zoom and hybrid meeting compatible. Our Meeting Room has space for up to 60 people and may be arranged for theater seating or with tables for classes. For more information on pricing, amenities, to view a calendar of availability, and to fill out a request form, please visit our website at: https://www.milibrary.org/rent/conference

If you are looking for longer term tenancy, our meticulously maintained, landmark building has office space available and a highly desirable ground floor retail space with store-front access. The office rentals are full-service and range in size from a small single office space to a multi-room suite. The retail space is 2-level with a mezzanine and basement storage. Please visit https://www.milibrary.org/rent/office to see what we have available in our centrally-located building.

In August, Andy Talajkowski joined Mechanics’ Institute as our Programs Administrator. Andy has experience as an administrative coordinator at the UCLA Longevity Center, where they managed lifelong learning programs and initiatives. Andy holds a Master's degree in Adult Education from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor's Degree in English and Education from UCLA.

We asked Andy a few questions to help introduce them to the MI community:

What interests of yours brought you to MI? A favorite book or genre to read, favorite movies, types of programs?

I grew up in Bay Area libraries - while I am new to Mechanics’ Institute, it feels like a homecoming to be spending my afternoons in the library. I read across genres, though my favorite recent reads have been How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell and Severance by Ling Ma. 

What will you be doing? How do you hope your work will help MI?

I will be assisting our programs team with author talks, CinemaLit, and special events. You can find me behind the bar, at the check-in table, or greeting guests at our events - please come and introduce yourself! My professional focus and background is in transformative education - when learning something new alters and widens your worldview - and I see Mechanics’ Institute as an educational space that is constantly challenging and reimagining how we see San Francisco and the broader arts and cultural scene of the Bay Area. 

What is the most interesting thing you’ve discovered/learned/enjoyed about MI in this short time?

I am constantly blown away by the literary legends we have hosted at Mechanics’ Institute - Joan Didion, Jennifer Egan, Maxine Hong Kingston, to name a few. To have shared the same space as them makes me a little giddy. 

What do you envision for the future here?

I hope to continue Mechanics’ Institute’s legacy of literary and cultural programming while expanding to meet the needs of modern-day San Francisco residents. 

What do you enjoy outside of work?

What I enjoy outside of work is not too different from what I do at work - lingering in book stacks, enjoying sweet treats, and meeting new people! 

Tell us something interesting/fun you’ve done recently

I recently saw Stop Making Sense (several times) in theaters. Getting to see the Talking Heads perform “live” was a great joy I thought I’d never experience. 

Final Fun Fact: 

One of my favorite literary themes is the monstrous woman (Medusa, Grendel’s mother, etc.) and reimaginings of these folklore and myths through the feminine gaze. I welcome any recommendations!

This month is an ideal opportunity to highlight some of the spookier, creepier, and scary but also funny movies in our collection. This list is by no means an exhaustive one, and the categories overlap and blend, but these are some select titles you may or may not be interested in watching to get in the Halloween spirit. Boo-careful, or make sure to watch with a friend!

Creature Features

Alien & Aliens

Nosferatu (1922)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Open water

Jaws

What we do in the shadows

Shaun of the dead

Rosemary’s Baby

Night of the Living Dead

Godzilla (2019)

An American Werewolf in London

Creepshow

The Thing

The Descent

 

Psychological chillers

Scary stories to tell in the dark

Misery

Get Out

Nope

Psycho

American Psycho

Audition

Seven

The Blair Witch Project

The silence of the lambs

The cabinet of Dr. Caligari: a film in six acts

 

Entities

The Exorcist: the version you've never seen

Poltergeist

Paranormal Activity

The shining

The ring

The innocents

The devil’s backbone  

It & It: Chapter 2

 

Much (but not all) of the credit belongs to Rotten Tomatoes & IMDB for their all-time best horror lists.

Each day you visit our library, you will see displays highlighting books, DVDs, and audio collections on different timely topics or relating to certain events. We have displays for the new books, staff recommendations, themes for the month, or entertaining subjects favored by our members. In this post, we highlight an entire collection - LARGE PRINT (LP)!

We relocated this collection to the first stack of books on the 2nd fl, facing the water dispenser. The first section you come across shows the latest additions to our collection and then further along, you will find the fiction and non-fiction LP books.

You might be under the impression that Large Print books are only the classics or have limited releases, the front covers would be the generic green banded cover, and the story within would be an abridged version of the “regular” book, or if not, then it would be biblically significant in size. By perusing our collection you would be proved wrong. We have many new releases in Large Print, with bright colorful covers, and oftentimes they are even smaller books than a regular print copy. 

How is this possible and what’s the difference between a regular and a Large Print book? For starters there is the font size. A regular print book has a 10-12 pt. while LP generally has 16-18 pt. type. By using thinner but higher quality paper and laying out the text to maximize the use of white space, publishers have been able to keep the size of the books the same if not smaller than a regular print-size book. There’s really no difference between the two versions.

And why would one choose to read an LP version? Large print benefits not only those who have historically favored these books, like seniors and those with visual impairment, but it has also proven to limit eye strain and help readers experiencing digital eye fatigue. In addition, some studies have shown that large print improves letter and word recognition, aiding reading comprehension and increasing feelings of confidence and satisfaction when reading. That makes it a perfect literacy resource for beginning or reluctant readers and ESL/ELL students.

So give your eyes a break from your digital devices and check out a Large Print book on your next visit. You might just become a new fan!

This past June, Jimmy de Guzman joined Mechanics’ Institute as our Communications Manager. He hopes to lend his experience and expertise towards helping redefine the Institute’s role as a locus and focus of knowledge building and skill development in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and beyond. 

We asked Jimmy a few questions to help introduce him to the Mechanics' Institute community:

What interests of yours brought you to Mechanics' Institute? A favorite book or genre to read, favorite movies, types of programs?

I’ve spent 18 years in the Bay Area as a Marketing Communications, Branding, and Design professional. I enjoy Science Fiction and Fantasy as a genre. I love really good animation or smart scripts.

What will you be doing? How do you hope your work will help Mechanics' Institute?

As Communications Manager, I’ll work with all areas of the Institute with their communications needs, including the website, social media, and weekly and quarterly newsletters. I hope to improve the Institute’s exposure and the public’s general knowledge of Mechanics’ Institute. 

What is the most interesting thing you’ve discovered/learned/enjoyed about Mechanics' Institute in this short time?

The Membership, Staff, and the Board of Directors are passionate about the Institute.

What do you envision for the future here?

I hope to lend my experience and expertise towards helping redefine Mechanics’ Institute’s role as a locus and focus of knowledge building and skill development in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and beyond. How that manifests is both the challenge and what excites me about my role.

What do you enjoy outside of work?

I’m an art and performance art nerd, so I enjoy theater, dance performances, or going to museums. I have been known to grace a Karaoke stage occasionally, but not too recently. 

Tell us something interesting/fun you’ve done recently?

About 2 years ago, I designed a logo and illustration for the World Economic Forum for their Zero Emissions Urban Fleets (ZEUF) initiative. An initiative to expedite the electrification of urban fleets by 2030. 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/how-electric-fleets-can-fuel-decarbonisation-efforts-zeuf/

Final Fun Fact: Jimmy lived in Tokyo for ten years, but his love of sushi, karaoke, and musical theater started well before that time.

You can find Jimmy in suite 504, or roaming the library and 4th fl. finding inspiration from the Mechanics' Institute building, people, and environment.

Mechanics’ Institute has recently updated its Code of Conduct to ensure a welcoming and enjoyable visitor experience. Though many of the policies have existed for some time, we’ve updated and expanded upon several points to better serve the needs of our members. The full Code of Conduct can be found on our general policies page, but we are also sharing them here for ease of reading: 

Mechanics’ Institute’s mission is to create opportunities for people to enhance their lives. We value the rich diversity of our community and have adopted the following rules of conduct to provide for members who wish to use the Institute’s services and facilities, whether in person or online, without unnecessary and inappropriate interruptions or disturbances, to promote service of members’ interests by the Institute’s staff, to ensure the safety of members and staff, and to maintain the security of Mechanics’ Institute property.

 

Disruptive Behavior or Language

●       Threatening, abusive, derogatory, aggressive, or harassing language or behavior is not allowed. 

●       Speaking in loud voices or engaging in prolonged conversation that disturbs other users in non-designated areas is prohibited.

●       Members must be fully clothed, including wearing footwear, at all times.

●       Sleeping is prohibited.

 

Mechanics’ Institute Property

●       Intentional damage, misuse, or theft of Mechanics’ Institute’s property, materials, and equipment is prohibited and may be punishable by law. 

●       Property of the Mechanics’ Institute, including equipment and library materials, must be used in the building only unless checked out per Institute policy.

●       Using furniture or other Institute property for purposes other than the intended use is prohibited. This includes sleeping on desks, propping feet on the tables, or using chairs as a step stool.

 

Personal Property

●        Personal items should remain with the owner and not be left unattended. Personal items are not the responsibility of the Mechanics’ staff.

●       Personal items such as backpacks, shopping bags, and electronic device cables may not be placed in a way that obstructs aisles, stairs, or exits.

●       Objects larger than a carry-on bag (approximately 14” H x 8” W x 24” L), such as luggage, large backpacks, or oversized duffel bags, may not be brought into the building without prior permission from building management.

 

 Library, Chess Room

●       Eating and drinking anything other than water in a resealable container is prohibited in the library or chess room except during designated special programs and events.

●       Use of cellphones, laptops, tablets, or other electronic devices to engage in phone conversations or virtual meetings is prohibited in the library and in the chess room.

●       Headphones must be used to watch videos or to listen to audio in the library and the chess room.

●       Headphones and other devices are prohibited during chess tournaments.

 

Building

●       Children under the age of twelve years should not be left unattended.

●       The presence of animals other than certified service animals is prohibited.

●       Persons under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs are not allowed in the building.

●       Smoking is prohibited inside the building or within 15 feet of the lobby entrance.

●       Photographing, filming, or audio/video recording by members or guests on Institute property is prohibited without prior written approval from the CEO or Director of Operations.

●       Unreasonable use of restrooms, including laundering and bathing, is not allowed.

●       Soliciting is not permitted in the building.

●       Full-size bicycles or other similarly sized modes of transportation are not allowed in the building. Skateboards, folding bicycles, collapsible scooters, roller skates, or other smaller devices may be carried into the building but should not be rolled. These devices must remain folded and at the side of the owner at all times.

●       Personal belongings should not be left unattended in the common areas.

 

Compliance

●       Members and guests must leave the premises at the direction of a staff member.

●       Members experiencing bouts of cold symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, or other similar symptoms related to the possible spreading of germs may be asked to wear a mask during visits.

 

Violations of the rules of conduct may result in suspension and possible loss of membership privileges. Unlawful activities will be subject to official disposition by law enforcement agencies.

Please be courteous and respectful when visiting Mechanics’ Institute. We strive to be a welcoming and collaborative space for all. By adhering to these policies, we hope you and others can enjoy your time in our building.

 

Thank you,

Mechanics’ Institute

 

Beginning July 20th and running for one month, the Women’s World Cup is taking place in Australia and New Zealand and features 32 countries playing through 64 games vying to reach the final on August 20th, 2023 in Sydney. Held every four years, the event honors the best international women’s soccer teams in their respective regions of the world. The United States women are the two-time defending champions, having prevailed in France (2019) and in Canada (2015). They are favored to win once again, but will face mighty competition from strong teams out of England, France, Germany, and Brazil - plus many other teams fighting for the ultimate prize.

The tournament expanded from 16 countries in 2011, to 24 countries in 2015 and 2019, and further to the 32 representatives at this 2023 event. This expansion shows the growing interest and reach that women’s sports have in the world. Eight nations made their debuts over the first week, including teams from Morocco, the Philippines, Haiti, Panama, and Zambia (among other nations) that until recently had not been known for their soccer prowess.Though these teams face an uphill battle to get out of the first stage of the tournament, their participation will inspire future generations of players to keep striving for their dreams.

Mechanics' Institute has several soccer related movies and books to get you up and kicking for this worldwide event. 

Bend it like Beckham (2003): Two young women defy their families, navigate personal relationships, and aim for careers in professional soccer. 

Beyond bend it like Beckham: the global phenomenon of women's soccer / Timothy F. Grainey; foreword by Brittany Timko: Though this book is over 10 years old, this was one of the first in-depth global analyses of women’s soccer.

Gracie (2007): The only daughter of a soccer loving family fights to take her brother’s place on the varsity soccer team after his passing.

Rise & shine: the Jay DeMerit story (2012): Documentary about the rise of US soccer player Jay Demerit from obscurity in the lower levels of English soccer to a place on the 2010 US Men’s World Cup team.

One goal: a coach, a team, and the game that brought a divided town together: This book tells the inspiring story of a small, racially divided town and the Somali refugees that helped unite the community in their quest for a state championship.

After a break of a few strange years, the Institute’s annual magazine sale is back! Come visit the sales nook on the 2nd floor of the library to buy bundles of your favorite titles. You can find older issues of art magazines, cooking, history, and even the beautiful Country Life! We’ll be adding new titles and bundles of magazines throughout the summer and then as more become available. While you are in our sales nook, check out our other items for sale like books, DVDs, postcards, Mechanics’ Institute book bags, and the title Four books, 300 dollars and a dream : an illustrated history chronicling our past.