As the vacation season of summer fades into back-to-work fall, the Friends of the South End Library (FOSEL) announce a busy slate of activity in its September update. The library enters the new season with a newly repaired sidewalk at the Tremont Street main entrance, making it easier for all to visit for homework, browsing and the library's busy calendar of events, including the library's new season of author talks.

On September 23 at 6:30 PM, the South End Branch Library will host Jean Gibran, widow of the late painter, sculptor, and musical instrument maker Kahlil Gibran to read from and talk about "Love Made Visible: Scenes from a Mostly Happy Marriage", a memoir of their 50 year marriage, careers and family life, all of which unfolded here on West Canton Street.

On September 30, at 6:30 PM, Johnny Diaz, creator of the Boston Boys Club book series, returns to the South End Library to discuss "Looking for Providence", the fifth installment in the series. The Boston Boys Club books examine life within the Latino gay community through the prism of his characters' professional, romantic and personal entanglements. Formerly a writer with the Boston Globe business section and a journalism teacher at Emerson College, the Cuban-American Diaz returns to Boston from his current home in Florida where he is a reporter for the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.

For aspiring writers of all genres and styles, the library is launching the South End Writers Group, which will have its organizational meeting at the South End Branch at 11:00 AM on September 27. The South End Writers Group, led by Lyle Miller, aims to provide a forum for writers to hone and focus their writing and develop contacts to publish and promote their work.

The September newsletter also announced a meeting on a serious, city-wide concern, the reduction in book collections. According to FOSEL, the East Boston branch's book collection was slashed from 68,000 to 25,000, leading visitors to the library to wonder what happened to all the books. The board of trustees for the Boston Public Library (BPL) system met on September 16 at the West End Library with further book reductions on the agenda. Just before press time, a BPL official said that book reductions were not discussed at the meeting. The Board's next meeting will take place at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, November 18 at the Lower Mills Branch, 27 Richmond Street, Dorchester.

In other South End Branch news, Marleen Nienhuis, former president of the FOSEL board and now an advisory board member, announced that her September FOSEL update will be her last. Nienhuis had no further information on her future plans with FOSEL, and directed library followers to the FOSEL web site at www.friendsofsouthendlibrary.org for programming information.