The work is back on at 500 Cortland Avenue! Thursday and Friday found the renovation crew pouring tar and buttoning up the roof. Inside, most of the construction activity is now focused downstairs. New cement flooring has been poured and work on the elevator is progressing. Next week the crew will start framing the walls.

Note: Due to the lack of electrical lighting, covered windows, and my marginal camera; the picture of the community room is dim.

BERNAL PLAYGROUND CLOSURE: SEPT. 25 & 26 (Thursday & Friday)

This week Bernal Library construction crews will be working on the roof with hot tar and, for safety reasons, have requested that Recreation and Parks Department close the playground on Thursday and Friday, September 25th and 26th .

Please be aware and pass this information along to any parents who might want to know.

Apologies for the inconvenience and thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Punch List: Here's a humorous look at some building boo boos that must have caused a few sleepless nights. Enjoy... and stay tuned for a new batch of construction photos soon!

It has been a great summer. Thanks to our bookmobile staff, Bernal participated in SFPLs summer reading effort Read in the Wildest Places. More thanks go out to The Friends of SFPL for funding our special events held at Red Hill Books and Junipero Serra School. And last but certainly not least-- thanks to Red Hill Books and J. Serra School for giving us their space and time.

The summer kicked off with Nick Barone’s puppets. Nick set up his portable stage and sound system in a shady corner of J. Serra's schoolyard. The afternoon’s entertainment was a rendition of The Enchanted Forest. A noisy, hot playground quieted down into an audience of delighted kids and adults. In July, J. Serra once again played host – this time to The Bubble Lady. And once again a hot day cooled off as the audience was showered, encased and delighted by The Bubble Lady’s antics.

Red Hill Books hosted the August events-- Elizabeth Falconer’s Kotoworld and Bernal’s own Familia Peña-Govea. Since both concerts were early evening performances, some audience members were sporting pajamas! Ms. Falconer played her 6 foot long “dragon” and told mouse tales. Later, the kids were invited to come up and explore the 23-stringed instrument. Later in the month Familia Peña-Govea held forth with a program of global music. Their concert extended from one hour into two, closing the bookstore down with a very happy attendance.

HATS OFF TO THE KIDS IN J SERRA'S SUMMER PROGRAM. Eighty children (grades 1 -5) signed up for Read in the Wildest Places. The enthusiastic group made great use of the bookmobile-- ALL 80 COMPLETED OUR SUMMER READING LOG. 100% is not a bad return... Finally, I need to relate an incident that truly made my summer. Mid-summer I visited the first-graders to see how they were coming along. Upon my entering their room, the kids burst out into a rambunctious chant “I love my library card, I love my library card!” (no prompts from their paraprofessional either.) As Bernal's children’s librarian, it just doesn’t get much better. --Valerie