San Francisco's chief librarian (yes, that's a thing) Luis Herrera received a special nomination from President Barack Obama to serve on the National Museum and Library Services Board. Herrera, who once thought he'd be arrested for losing a library book, oversaw the San Francisco Public Library's largest capital campaign, which helped build or renovate 22 branch libraries around the city. more ›

An arsonist caused over $5,000 in damage to the Main Branch Library yesterday afternoon after setting fire to some informative pamphlets he found behind the reference desk in the Library for the Blind and Print Disabled — a subsection of the Main Branch building that is only accessible from an entrance on Larkin Street. The suspect took off after his kindling handouts started to burn, but the police department's Arson Task Force caught the suspect on surveillance footage and is still searching for a suspect as of Monday. more ›

Those who still need to register to vote in time for the February 5 presidential primaries need to do so by tomorrow, January 22nd. Re-registering is necessary whenever you move, change your name, or change your political party affiliation. You can download a form here and mail it in by tomorrow (must be postmarked January 22nd) or deliver it in person. Here's a list of all the local county elections offices. The address for San Francisco's office is more ›

Ever since the SFist Reads column turned us back onto the awesomeness of checking books out of the SF Public Library, we've been big fans of the First Stop area of the Main Library, where the library put all their books they'd acquired in the last two years. We've spent many a pleasant few hours checking out the latest memoirs, or all the books in the 300 section, or randomly pulling out titles in the New Fiction section to see if they look entertaining. It's like browsing your TiVo listings for fun shows, only wrapped in library plastic! more ›

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Yesterday, Mayor Newsom signed into action the Tommy Ammiano-introduced legislation that requires the city to handout ID cards to undocumented immigrants and other residents who either can't or just won't apply for driver's licenses. The good news is that these IDs will help (formerly) undocumented residents gain access to the wonderful world of banking, a sense of peace before calling the fuzz, as well as "health services at city-run clinics, public library privileges, and resident discounts at museums and other cultural institutions." (Entry fee discounts at the Exploratorium: the American dream realized.) more ›

Unidentified Women On Horseback In Golden Gate Park, October 29, 1934 San Francisco Public Library Historical Photograph Collection We’re all for citizenship and all—we would even consider ourselves to be citizenship geeks. We love voting (of course) and jury duty (jury opportunity, we like to call it). We love the Post Office and even the DMV (especially those the traces of the Eisenhower era that remain here and there in those temples of citizenship…... more ›

Proposition D is a library bond initiative. Let's be clear: we love the public library. Sure, the main building is a little weird looking and they've been restoring it for two years and it functions as a daytime homeless shelter, but...everything in there is free, and if you are trying to find something, the staff knows pretty much everything. The city library is a fantastic resource, and functions a heckuva lot better than, oh,... more ›

Slide from the State of the City Address (pdf of full slideshow here) more ›

The SF Public Library's holding a good old-fashioned photo drive! One day only! Today! They're looking to add to their Historical Photograph Collection, and they need your help -- but heterosexuals need not apply. more ›

-- Scott McCloud: Experimental and wildly popular comic artist and novelist (Making Comics) speaks tonight at "Evolution of the American Comic Book". Rory Root (owner, Comic Relief) and Andrew Farago (curator, Cartoon Art Museum) also speak. Starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market; $7-$20. more ›

Photo of Harry Potter translations at the Main Public more ›

Photos of the Harry Potter's Knight Bus in Civic Center more ›

Just in case you think baseball is the only thing going on in this city right now, it most certainly is not. The latest Harry Potter franchise will hit you soon and hard. And we thought it would be imperative to point out an alternative and Potter-related event for the kiddies -- especially for your little blessings who, say, can't catch a ball, if you know what we're saying. more ›

a chance to help out Killing My Lobster? But of course! The Romane Event, the monthly music/film/comedy/spoken word event at the Make Out Room the last Wednesday of every month and hosted by Paco Romane, is a benefit for local comedy group Killing My Lobster, and will feature their sketches and movies tonight. Looks like fabulous fabulist Harmon Leon'll be there too! $7-15 sliding scale, 8 p.m., at the Make Out Room (3225 22nd, x Mission). more ›

Complimentary cocktails from 7-8pm, with the film starting at 7:30pm. $8 at the door, 444 Jessie St. more ›

--The heart of rock and roll is still beatin' -- at Stern Grove this afternoon. It's HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS!!!! The free show starts at 2, but we assume folks'll be lining up pretty early, beach towels and folding chairs at the ready. Stern Grove's at Sloat and 19th. more ›

(Tony's trips to dangerous countries). more ›

As part of the National Queer Arts Festival, graphic artist and memoirist Alison Bechdel is speaking at Michelle Tea's Radar Reading Series at the SF Public Library tonight! We've been huge fans of Bechdel's , about her relationship with her closeted gay father totally blew our mind with its psychoanalytical depth. Graphic artist Ariel Schrag, whom we also love, is speaking too. Koret Auditorium at the Main Library (100 Larkin x Grove), 6 p.m. more ›

? We heard it was good! No, we haven't gotten around to reading it yet! Are you done with it?") Well, if so, you and us are going to have to arm-wrestle over the selections at SwapSF's big book swap event this Saturday! more ›

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! more ›

This isn't just tonight -- it's for all month -- but it's so cool we're making it the pick of the day! Bank of America customers, you can flash your ATM card or credit card and you and a guest get into a bunch of local museums for free, free, free! (Wells Fargo card holders, you'll have to pay not only admission but also a $2.50 service charge. Kidding, kidding.) Offer applies to the SFMOMA, the Asian Art Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Dede's DeYoung, and the Legion of Honor. We've been meaning to check out the Picasso show at the SFMOMA and now we've got no excuse! more ›

It's more than just Heart and Soul: the Berkeley Arts Festival presents an evening of four-hand piano pieces, composed by beloved local minimalist Terry Riley, and performed by Joseph Kubera and Berkeley radio host/pianist Sarah Cahill. 8 p.m., $10-20 sliding scale, at the temporary Berkeley Arts Festival location, which is the Fidelity Bank Building at 2323 Shattuck (x Bancroft). more ›

We've told you about Pet Noir here before, the comic anthology published by Manic D Press featuring an impressive list of local talent. If you still haven't picked up a copy get yourself down to the San Francisco Public Library tonight for a slide show and an enlightening, lively discussion about pets, comics, true crime, and much more. The event will feature many of the fine comic artists who contirbuted to the book, including, editor/artist Shannon O’Leary, John Isaacson, MariNaomi, Lark Pien, Trevor Alixopulos, Damien Jay, Peter Conrad, and Melanie Lewis. The fun goes from 6:30-7:45pm and will be held in the Latino room at the Main Library. Best of all it's free, so you can use your cash to buy a book, or dog food. Main Library is at 100 Larkin Street (@ Grove, Lower Level) 415-557-4400 more ›

While we were at the symphony last night, our partner in crime mentioned an interesting event coming up tomorrow that we'd thought we'd pass along. more ›

Maybe it's just us, but when we start hearing big numbers (for example, the national debt, the number of people who died during the influenza pandemic of 1918, or our student loan debt), our eyes glaze over. more ›

We're hitting the Main branch of the SF Public Library (100 Larkin Street) for Central America on a Shoestring, a talk by Lonely Planet's commissioning editor Greg Benchwick. more ›

--Love the San Jose public library -- just don't the San Jose public library. more ›

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Total number of people pictured in this week's Swells society column: 63 (crowd scenes not counted). more ›