Free tickets will be available starting Saturday, May 17 for the upcoming Star Wars Day on Saturday, May 24 at the Biane Library. Kids ages 2-12 and their parents will be able to:

• Enjoy Star Wars themed storytimes,


• Create light saber balloons or R2D2 masks,


• Visit with Star Wars characters such as Darth Vader, the Emperor, and Storm Troopers, and


• Watch a light saber demonstration in the Imagination Courtyard.

Also, teens will have the opportunity to participate in a Star Wars Trivia Tournament, and there will be a costume contest for the younger kids.
Sci-Fi fans, don’t miss this fun, interactive event!

Community Helper's Day

Did you know that firefighters use dogs to help them find out how fires start? It’s true! Dogs have a great sense of smell, and can be trained to sniff out things that help firefighters investigate how fires are started. This Saturday, May 17 at the Paul A. Biane Library at Victoria Gardens we will have a special guest—Susan De Antonio and her special helper, fire dog Denali. Susan and Denali will be here at from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. to tell us all about their interesting job and how they help our firefighters. They will also be reading stories about other people who help out in the community. It’s sure be a “doggone” good time!

Celebrate Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11th this year but it’s never too early to honor our moms! We hope you’ll join us for our Family Saturday program, May 10th at the Paul A. Biane Library which will feature a Mother’s Day craft. The program will be held at 2pm and also 3pm. Call us at 477-2720 ext. 5075 for further information.

Need advice on parenting?

Our library features many books that help new moms and dads with their little ones in the Parenting collection. Learn to communicate with your baby even before they can talk! Play games that will increase your baby’s brain power! Take a look at these new additions to our Parenting collection. For more information just click on the book's picture :

Oh Baby! : 7 ways a baby will change your life the first year by Bettie B. Youngs

Baby Minds: Brain building games your baby will love by Linda P. Acredolo

Brilliant Brain Games for Kids to Enjoy

Parenting with Pets by Christine Hamer

Baby Sign Language Basics by Monta Briant

Kitchen Table Play & Learn by Tara Copley

Baby 411: Clear answers and smart advice for your baby's first year

Raising Young Children Well edited by Sandra Radzanower, et. al

Children's cds with the highest checkouts

The Children's Department has a great selection of cds for checkout. With all of the new cd’s arriving, staff were curious to see what children's cds checked out the most. Here are the top 10 most checked out cds –

One light one sun

The magical music of Disney

Rhythm of the pride lands

A child’s celebration of song

The lion king

Children’s favorite songs

Jim Henson

Splash hits

Disney’s Princess Collections

Classic Disney

It's Finally Here! The BFG Takes Over the Cultural Center!

After months of planning and preparation, we have made a special place at the Paul A. Biane Library for the BFG! We're inviting all of Rancho Cucamonga to celebrate this most wonderous of giants with our Big Friendly Festival. The BFG has brought some of his giant sized toys to play with and some of his best friends will be at the library including juggler, David Cousin and balloon artist, Buster Balloon. Don't miss all the fun from 1-4pm @ your Rancho Cuamonga Library.

April Is the Month to Visit the Rancho Cucamonga Library
There are so many great things coming up at our libraries this month, we'd need two blogs to list them all! Here's some highlights:

April 12: Big Friendly Festival
The Cultural Center will be overrun with giants to celebrate the opening of Roald Dahl's, BFG, at the Lewis Family Playhouse and kickoff National Library Week. Balloon twister extraordinaire, Buster Balloon and juggler, David Cousin will perform. There will also be crafts, games and activities for the whole family.

April 12-19: National Library Week
We have an amazing line-up of activities and events including film showings, storytimes and performers.

April 19: National Library Week Finale
The Archibald and Biane Libraries will have two great performers, Annie BanAnnie and Swazzle to help us wrap up the week.

For this and all of our upcoming programs and events, check out our calendar.

Happy Spring Break!!


The flowers are blooming, the sun is shining and baseball season is just around the corner -- does it get any better than that? It does at the Rancho Cucamonga Library when you come in and peruse our collections.

• We have added hundreds of new items for children and adults at both the Archibald and Biane Libraries including a great selection of games for your PS2 and Nintendo systems.
• We are also featuring many new titles focused on how to get and stay healthy.
• For those of you traveling in the next few weeks, consider checking out one of our many new CD book titles or our downloadable books available through the Library's website.

Read a book, get a burger?

Beginning Saturday, March 08, children between the ages of 4-12 will receive a coupon for a free free In-N-Out hamburger or cheeseburger for checking out and reading 5 library books. Just come into the Archibald or Biane Libraries to sign up!

Consider it a warm up for the spectacular Summer Reading Program which kicks-off June 21st.

We're gearing up for a great spring!

Spring is a time of change and excitement and no where is that more true than at the library. Over the next few months, you will find a host of new programs and services. Here's just a sample of what's to come:

• Let's Time Travel, takes up where California Capers leaves off showcasing interesting historical people and periods.


• National Library Week in April gives us the opportunity to share the great things we have to offer with you through a week-long series of special events.

So, keep watching the calendar for these and other exciting new opportunities at the library.

Storytime Registration Week Starts Monday!

If you have a child between 0-12 years of age, we've got a storytime for you! Between our two library locations, we offer 15 storytimes per week. If you would like your child to attend some of our most popular storytimes, Bouncing Babies, Preschool and Toddler Time, you can register at the library of your choice. Once you register, your child will be able to attend the following 6-7 week session. Check our calendar for days and times at each location.

Of course, we also offer several "Family Storytimes" at both the Archibald and Biane Libraries. "Family Storytimes" are drop in and suitable for the whole family to participate.

If you're looking for something for your older school age child, check out Afterschool Cool. Held on Wednesdays at Biane and Thursdays at Archibald, this fun, informational program offers children ages 6-11 a chance to experience life as a passenger on the Titanic, help rescue slaves on the Underground Railroad and participate in an amazing array of art projects.

So whether you have a newborn, toddler, elementary school student or would just like to hear a story yourself, we invite you to join in a storytime near you!

Tickets are still available for our second Black History Month Cultural Arts Night!

In celebration of Black History Month, the Paul A. Biane Library and Rancho Cucamonga Library Services will host our second Black History Month Cultural Arts Night on February 22, 2008, from 7-9pm. The event will be held at the Paul A. Biane Library at Victoria Gardens, 12505 Cultural Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga. Building on the success of last year’s event, this year’s program will celebrate music and culture with something for everyone featuring performances by storyteller and music historian, Makinto, the Los Osos Jazz Band, guest speakers, multimedia displays and a variety of children’s, teen and family activities.

Tickets are available now at both the Archibald and Biane Libraries. We hope to see you there!

Hey! Check out these new titles!

I Spy Colors in Art

Remember this phrase, “I spy with my little eye…”? Try playing this game with famous works of art in Lucy Micklethwait’s I Spy Colors in Art. It will make you look at art in a way you never have before!

Sammy Salami

Sammy Salami is off on a journey, but where is he going? Join the cat with the big personality and a waistline to match when Sammy Salami sets off on an adventure to find his friend and owner Pete.

Babymouse: Skater Girl

Our favorite mouse, Babymouse is back and she has discovered she has a talent for ice skating! But, is she good enough to earn that metal? Find out that and more when you read Babymouse: Skater Girl.

Welcome to 2008!
We hope your New Year was a safe and happy one. We enjoyed seeing so many of you in our libraries over the holiday break and hope to see you again as you head back to your regular schedules!

This year, we're looking forward to many exciting changes at both of our libraries. Adding new programs for children and adults and seeing the return of some very popular events like our Black Arts and Culture Night in February promises to make 2008 a memorable year! So join us in the coming weeks and months as we launch our Bouncing Babies storytime, Tuesdays @ Biane and of course, our exciting Summer Reading Program. We'll be looking for you!

What's Happening in 2008...

Babies are synonymous with beginnings and fresh starts so what better way to usher in the new year than by starting a new storytime just for babies?! Beginning January 14 at the Paul A. Biane Library and January 17 at the Archibald Library, Bouncing Babies storytime will offer children ages 0-23 months and their caregivers an opportunity to enjoy songs, fingerplays, stories and quality time learning about language and play. If you'd like to register for this new program, please register at your closest library location.

So Just Where Have We Been?

While its customary to do a year in review posting closer to the end of the year, now, in the wake of our annual inservice, is a perfect time to recap some of the amazing things that have gone on at our amazing libraries in the past twelve months.


Between our three locations, Archibald, Biane and the Bookmobile, we have circulated almost 1 million items (sure to top that by January 1), welcomed almost 600,000 visitors and issued almost 20,000 new library cards!


As we look forward to the new year, we know we're only going to get bigger and better. We're going to begin work on revamping our "fourth" location -- the Virtual Library, enhancing and expanding our programming with the addition of a storytime for children under the age of two and increasing the number of special family programs offered at all of our locations.

We look forward to seeing all our library regulars as we welcome in this new year and making some new friends, as well! Please join us in making 2008 our best year ever!

We're Back!

We hope all of you had a restful and relaxing Thanksgiving! For us, we know we'll be seeing you in the next few weeks for those last minute projects, science experiment information and to boost your AR point levels.

Just don't forget in the midst of your rushing to take time out to enjoy some lighter fare. Both our Archibald and Biane Libraries host a wide variety of magazines for children's and adults -- just the thing for a short study break. Or perhaps try a book on cd just for fun. As always, there is a full calendar of special programs designed to inform, enlighten and entertain, so you might consider taking an hour out of your week and treat yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving!!


As you look forward to that long weekend (or week) that's just around the corner, why not use the time to enjoy a good book or two with your whole family? Some titles you might enjoy...

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
This picture book favorite recounts a very special field trip to Mack Nugget's Turkey Farm on Thanksgiving Eve. Great for the whole family.

Thanksgiving by Marilyn Miller
J 394.2649 MIL
A short, non-fiction book detailing the history, traditon and customs of the holiday.

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott
An adaptation of the original story of seven children who must plan the family feast while their mother is away caring for their grandmother.

And as always, there are a host of books, books on cd, dvds and other materials available at both library locations. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

The Big Read is Almost Over...

As we enjoy our final few book discussions and look forward to our culminating event, Thursday's visit by Mary "Scout" Badham, those of us at the library have been thinking about some of our favorite literary memories. Whether it was being tucked in while our parents read The Lord of the Rings trilogy or remembering the first time we finished a chapter book by ourselves, no one can deny the special place books and words have in our lives and the lives of our children. Beyond the lessons of acceptance and tolerance To Kill a Mockingbird teaches, reading one book as a community reminds us of the power of words, the value of shared experience and the importance of people coming together to reaffirm the importance of these ideals.

Time to Fall Back (into the Library)!

Cheesy headline? Well, yes, it is, but also quite true. As we're setting our clocks back this week, you might want to use your extra hour to come visit the Library. Some reasons to walk in the door?

1. Free access to a wealth of materials on a variety of subjects.

2. Programs to suit every age and taste.

3. Free Wi-Fi access.

4. Programs to suit every age and taste.

5. Did I mention it's free?

For more great reasons, just check out our calendar of upcoming events!

Parents: What Page Are You On?

That's right, we are kicking off our first ever book discussion for Preschool Storytime parents. Tuesday and Wednesday join library staff, parents and other adults for a spirited (but short) discussion of our Big Read book, To Kill A Mockingbird. No matter where you are in the book, drop in for some grown-up conversation (we won't mention the Teletubbies or Wiggles once) and light refreshments!