May 2009 Report

Library Director’s Report- May 2009

I want to highlight library services to the Fair Oaks community this month. We implemented a new service model at the branch library a year ago that is proving to be very successful. It is a two part strategy: retooling internal library operations and aggressively getting out into the community. A high-touch customer service model combined with many community-centered programs held in the library (including outside of regular library operating hours) such as computer training in both Spanish and English, storytimes, informational presentations with child care available, and family events have resulted in an incredible 40% increase in circulation, and a 25% increase in visitors this year. Also, by partnering with the School District, our Family Author events (see description of the latest below), have resonated with kids and their families, not only by helping folks understand the power of story and reading but that learning is a community effort. Also our Project Read literacy services have many programs based in the neighborhood’s school—the largest is our KidsInPartnership program which partners elementary children in need of assistance with at-risk high school mentors. We also have many preschool and daycare sites where our Traveling Storytime volunteers read to weekly. All in all our library services, with the help of our community partners and our community-as-partner, are doing what we are charged to do—help our kids and families succeed in school and life. The Fair Oaks Branch Library staff, our Youth Services and Project Read staff, are to be commended in really making a difference in the lives of our residents by helping build a healthy community.

 Thanks to the Friends of the Library, we were able this year to bring books and the real, live authors who wrote them to Hoover, Taft, Fair Oaks, and Garfield schools. With the one exception of the Hoover assembly, the programs were community events, held at night and en español so that not only students but their families could come. And come they did. We have had close to a thousand people in our community enjoy the food, festive atmosphere, and inspiring presentations that have been the Family Author Nights.

An estimated two hundred and thirty middle school students and their parents attended the final Family Author Night program at Garfield school. The speaker was Viola Canales. Copies of her autobiographical novel, the tender and funny Tequila Worm, had been given to each 6th, 7th, and 8th grader at Garfield thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Library. The Friends also brought Viola Canales to Hoover for a middle school assembly, and provided copies of Tequila Worm for each and every 7th and 8th grader. By the time Viola spoke at Hoover, Sonia Sotomayor had been nominated to the Supreme Court. This gave extra resonance to the visit by Canales, a lawyer who grew up poor in a tiny barrio in Texas, gained a scholarship to an elite prep school, went to Harvard, served as a captain in the U.S. Army, worked for the Clinton administration, and now teaches at Stanford. Her talk to the kids was amazing. She spoke not only about dreaming big, but about the hard work – and hardship – it takes to get anywhere. She talked about the importance of staying in school, and about figuring out what your own stories are and letting them sustain you. She was encouraging and inspiring. Afterwards, the students asked questions and lined up excitedly to have their books signed and to make personal contact with the author.

This school year our online one-on-one homework help site has had over 1,200 sessions by our community’s students interacting with expert real time assistance. The average session was 40 minutes, and mostly used by middle and high schoolers. These grades are very difficult to help in our city’s homework centers due to the difficulty of some of the material. This is a 50% increase in use over last year, and we will again fund it this year. By getting the word out more effectively, we should see more and more use. This is a great example of how technology can help us deliver services more efficiently.

Project READ participated in the Day of the Child/Kermes celebration at Fair Oaks School. On this special day, 500 children received a book from Project READ to take home and enjoy and staff reported that children reached for the books even more eagerly than they reached for the animal crackers that were also available at the table! On Wednesday, May 20, 130 students, tutors, and family members gathered at the Fair Oaks School cafeteria to celebrate the hard work and achievements of the KIP participants. Chuck Ashton kicked the evening off, had the crowd engaged and laughing and really set the celebratory tone for the whole night. Each tutor, learner and AmeriCorps member received a handmade, personalized award certificate highlighting their specific contributions and accomplishments during this KIP year.

May was Wetlands Month and the library collaborated with the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club to create a day of celebration. The wetlands that surround the Redwood Shores Library formed a perfect backdrop for the day. Mayor Rosanne Foust presented a proclamation signed by all council members recognizing Wetlands Month. Supervisor Jerry Hill and Assemblyman Ira Ruskin also spoke to the crowd. Environmental organizations were on hand to discuss their involvement in wetlands. The Marine Science Institute brought leopard sharks, flounders, bay shrimp, red beard coral and other marine life in small touch tanks. Kids were encouraged to create a fish, flipbooks and wetland jewelry. Approximately 400 people attended.

Over 400 community respondents have responded so far to our web survey to name books on the public Book Tower sculpture that will be placed in the parking lot across from City Hall!

The Shores Library again lent close to 50,000 items and had 27,000 visits in May. There has been no let down in business since the doors opened in September. Compare these numbers with Downtown (78,000 items lent, and 48,000 visits), combined with managing four busy community rooms, it is easy to see that our design for the library resulted in a great user-friendly library and an efficient and effective operation. Café improvements should start soon and a grand opening will be planned.

Sequoia High School students visited Downtown Library. These “reluctant students” approached their international social justice projects, with challenging topics like drug policy and violence in Mexico, with interest and intelligence, and had as much to offer as they had to learn. Almost every member of the class visited the library to meet with a librarian to begin to learn about research methods, including searching library databases. Most importantly, they learned that there is help to be found at the Library.

Memorial Day brought the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Union Cemetery. Local History staff attended in full historic costume and portrayed the women of 100 years ago laying flowers on the graves of the Union soldiers in the GAR plot.

 Family Learning:

• 264 hours were logged in Project READ’s computer lab. These computers supplement our learners’ experiences from young children to adults. For example students may be researching end of the year papers, teens and tweens writing essays, younger students learning new words through web-based phonics programs, tutoring pairs working together on literacy software, and adults using our lab to help better manage their bills, email family members, and even find new apartments.

• Another example: a family new to the program that has transitioned over from our jail program, is working on a drop-in basis on her reading and writing skills, in addition to attending our monthly story hour with her 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. While mom works on her reading and writing, her son works with tutors on his homework and reading skills, and her youngest is exposed to reading through stories read by our tween tutors (5th through 8th graders), and taking part in pre-literacy crafts. It truly is a shared family experience!

• End of the year conferences have proved to be a very positive experience for many of Project READ’s families. One mom came in to share her 3rd grade son’s success since working with Project READ; “he has shown a 30% increase in reading, writing and math since his last conference.” His teacher wrote to us saying, “With your help he has greatly improved his test scores and his confidence has increased.”

Twenty new tutors graduated from Project READ’s May Tutor Training Workshop. In the 15-hour training, the new tutors learned all about Project READ and the materials and methods they will need to individualize their tutoring sessions based on their learner’s goals and learning style. Each new tutor will be matched one-on-one with a Redwood City adult or child who wants to improve their reading, writing and critical thinking skills.

The Youth Services Department celebrated Children’s Book Week by presenting a series of events for “Cowboy Week.” Cowboy themed craft, bookmaking and storytelling programs at all libraries attracted over 600 children. Thanks to the Girl Scouts working on community service badges and our teen volunteers who helped out.

April 2009 Report

Library Director’s Report- April 2009 

Our PACT (Partnership Academy for Community Teamwork) session was very successful with 34 of 38 participants rating the library’s presentation as excellent (4 rated it good). These citizen sessions which inform residents about city services is a tremendous communication and community building program. Folks were amazed at how much the library is doing to help our community thrive. Many of the PACT participants go on to volunteer in one of the many opportunities available in the library and/or city; many become more active in our government or their neighborhoods; and all are more knowledgeable (and grateful) about city services and how they are delivered.

 Library use is increasing. Visitors to our libraries are up 20% and materials lent increased  14% compared to April 2008. The Shores Library continues to be as busy as ever, with no decrease in business since opening day.

 Through our PLS consortium we are applying for federal stimulus dollars to upgrade our materials checkout technology to RFID which will create many process efficiencies, enhance customer satisfaction and reduce our loss rate. Another package includes purchasing laptops for public use.

 A group of 15 librarians, designers and architects from Virginia Beach, Virginia received a tour of the Redwood Shores Branch Library on April 2. The group is in the process of building a joint-use facility in Virginia Beach and wanted to see our new library. They were extremely impressed with the facility and commented and remarked on how they loved all aspects of the building. The group was very grateful for the tour and remarked how fortunate Redwood City is to have such a library.

 The library completed the review process of the Request for Proposals (RFP) that were submitted for the café space at the Redwood Shores Branch Library. The library has accepted the RFP that was submitted by Fresh & Natural Food Service Group. Library staff and City staff are working and meeting with Fresh & Natural Food Service Group staff in regard to the details and logistics of the café. A “Coming Soon” sign has been placed in the café space informing library customers of the anticipated arrival.

 The Dia de Los Niños/Dia de los Libros was celebrated at all the libraries with a week full of literacy events. There was a big kick-off event on Sunday April 26 in the parking lot between Fair Oaks Branch Library and the Fair Oaks Community Center where about 1,500 people attended; 910 people visited the library to listen children bilingual storytellers. All families received a bag with library information, a book, bottle of water and a box of raisins.  On Monday, 4/27 there was a special presentation at all libraries by Lucia Gonzalez, author of many children bilingual books. 

 The Downtown Library’s adult nonfiction collection is getting an infusion of over 2,000 new items; the relocating of the fiction collection is slated for May; and the 2^nd floor remodel is being finalized to go out to bid.

 We have created a new position, Library Recreation Leader, to create a positive atmosphere for teens in the library. We want these staff members to know teens by name so that teens will feel part of a community. Sarah LaTorra created an extensive manual that will help these new workers to accomplish their job.

 The Customer Service Team has created customer service outcome measures and will be discussing with all staff for feedback. The outcome measures were added to this customer service goal statement to make it measurable: Provide a customer service experience that strives for the highest level of customer satisfaction. Measures include make eye contact, smile, greet/acknowledge, approachable and pleasant demeanor, positive attitude, pleasant tone of voice, make a teachable moment, walk customer to materials/locations (no pointing), circulate – roaming in public areas (do not be tied to the desk), follow-up, the use of customer satisfaction surveys and personal appearance.

Staff from the library and PRCS is undergoing training in the Youth Development Learning Network principles. We are planning the next phase of the YDLN process—an organizational review of the effectiveness of our services to youth. The inter-departmental Youth Agenda team is working on a coordinated website of city services for youth and families; a possible “youth card”; capturing data for John Gardner Center analysis; and aligning with Redwood City 2020’s strategic plan.

The library is in collaboration with Familias Unidas at Hoover School. Familias is a wonderful program developed by a Hoover teacher which is designed to introduce families to various aspects of their child’s education. Parents are taught how to read report cards and contact teachers. The whole family works on projects together, such as reading a book and illustrating the theme, the main characters, and the plot on posterboard. The creativity and variety of responses are on view in the Family Place. The program has been so successful that it has attracted grant money and expanded from one session a year to three. Cristina Thorson is part of each session to promote reading. She gave out seventeen new library cards at this past session. She also gives the closing speech at graduation. Graduation is a big party, with everyone wearing their best, and each participating parent going to the stage to receive a diploma.

The 2009 San Mateo County Reads: One Book, One Community selection is Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices, a best-selling novel set in the San Francisco Bay Area, and explores the Indian immigrant experience through prose and poetry.  “Divakaruni’s prose is so pungent that it stains the page, yet beneath the sighs and smells of this brand of magic realism she deftly introduces her true theme: how an ability to accommodate desire enlivens not only the individual heart but a society cornered by change.” Read more about the book the publisher here http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385482387

 A faithful library customer, Peter Adams finished his book, An Annotated Index to Selected Articles from The Musical Courier, 1880-1940 Volume 1 and Volume 2.  In the acknowledgements he states, “I am also deeply indebted to the library staff at the Redwood City Public Library, Redwood City, California, where I completed this lengthy project, especially to Carol Moniz of the Redwood City Public Library for procuring the microfilm of MC that allowed me to complete this index.

March 2009 Report

Library Director’s Report- March 2009 

 Several budget meetings have been held this past month and all staff have attended at least one of them. Lots of valuable feedback and discussion. Recommended options are being developed by Department Heads for Council review in June.

 I can’t say enough about the success of the new Redwood Shores Library. This past month the library lent over 50,000 items, and had 27,000 visitors, more than any other month! And the facility looks great, hosts tours from libraries and architects from around the country, has hundreds of kids at storytime and teen programs, and hundreds more receiving homework help. A big thanks to the Shores staff and our PRCS facility and custodial staffs.

 Liz Meeks, Chuck Ashton, Sarah La Torra, Maria Kramer and Maria Diaz-Slocum attended and participated in four (4) full days of Emergency Management Earthquake training. The staff was part of a large group of approximately 70 City of Redwood City employees that participated in the training that was presented by California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI). The training included lectures, presentations, and exercises designed to familiarize the staff with the principals of emergency management and prepare them to respond to an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the event of a disaster. These library staff members have been designated as EOC workers.  

 Building community—one group at a time

One of this month’s highlights for Traveling Storytime Coordinator Jan Pedden, was providing a tour and storytime at Redwood Shores for the “Schaberg Moms”. This a group of mothers and their children that first met several years ago at her Tuesday afternoon Tiny Tales at Schaberg. Over the years of attending storytimes together, these mothers formed a close-knit group that began meeting for playgroups and other activities outside of the library. A year ago, one of the original mothers announced that she was expecting her second child and they all celebrated with her. A week later the group was the first to learn that this same mother had just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. They grieved with her when she lost her baby and encouraged her as she faced many difficult medical procedures. The “Schaberg Moms” helped by providing childcare, meals and unending support. The group still meets in each other’s homes for storytimes and play groups. The event at Redwood Shores served as a celebration that she is now a cancer survivor!  This is certainly an example of community building at its finest!! 

 Collaboration the key

Thanks to generous funding from the Friends of the Library, we had another sparkling Family Author Night in the Schools event. Upwards of 275 people jammed into the gym at Taft school to hear author and illustrator Yuyi Morales. So many people came that they ran out of chairs! The turnout included an impressive number of fathers, and older brothers and sisters. Each classroom received a set of Yuyi’s books, again courtesy of the Friends, which teachers used to stoke excitement for the visit. Judging from the turnout, the vivid artwork that decorated the gym, and the breathless anticipation of the kids, the teachers promoted the event with real dedication. Many teachers were there that night, too, waiting patiently in line with their students for Yuyi to autograph their copies of her books. Yuyi gave a multifaceted bilingual presentation that culminated in the creation of a drawing of her beloved character Señor Calvera which the principal of Taft plans to frame and display as a reminder of a wonderful night for the Taft community.  A big thanks to our library staff, and, of course, our Friends for financial support.

 Better than 5 Stars

This from Chuck Ashton, our Youth Services Manager: As far as Chuck and Cristina knew, they were just going to do their usual schtick at Hoover School’s Reading Assembly. Then they were asked to dress as first graders. No problem, as Cristina could borrow a white polo shirt from Homer, and Chuck had another excuse to wear drag. Yes, he found a navy blue pleated skirt, and yes, his legs look great in tights. But when they went up on stage to receive their Reader of the Month certificates, they were surprised by the presentation of a banner, beautifully hand-painted by one of the Hoover moms, congratulating the library on receiving the Five Star award! And then they were given graduation gowns, crowns, flowers, and basically kicked out of first grade, which was bittersweet, since they were just getting used to it. Seriously, it was such a wonderful surprise, and really touching. The teachers at Hoover were genuinely excited by our award, and transmitted that excitement and community pride to the kids. We got a sheaf of letters from them telling us so. The library has developed a terrific partnership with Hoover over the years, with regular assemblies, the Family Author Night, parent connections, and tons of classroom visits. And what a rewarding partnership it is! We put the banner on the wall behind the desk in the Family Place. Come down and see it and share the pride.

 Two Project READ volunteers were among the teens honored at this year’s Sequoia Awards.

Molly Prado, a senior at Sequoia HS, has been a KIP tutor since 10th grade. She received the Spirit of Project READ award at the 2007 Trivia BEE for her outstanding tutoring and her initiative to do in-class presentations to recruit more high school tutors. She also volunteered during summer KIP, is a ‘regular’ at KIP story hour, and is currently matched with two 3rd grade girls, Leslie and Marlene, and is loved by all KIP students. Her sister, Melissa Prado, was a page at RCPL and is also a KIP tutor.

Vanessa Torres, a senior at Woodside HS, has been a KIP tutor since 10th grade. She has made personal book donations to Project READ, applied for a matching grant with her employer, Starbucks, to further help Project READ, and is a ‘regular’ at KIP story hour (and brings her little siblings and family). Vanessa is determined to go to college and has sought out and received several scholarships to that end. She is currently matched with a third grader, Erika, and also volunteers during summer KIP.

 Fair Oaks Report (Maria Kramer)

• Fair Oaks Branch circulated 10,619 items, a 30% increase compared with last March. The library had 10,111 visitors, an increase of 33%!
• Dr. Francisco X. Alarcon, author of many bilingual books, English/Spanish, gave a wonderful presentation of his latest bilingual book, Animal Poems of the Iguazu / Poems de los animals de Iguazu. He was surrounded by 283 children and parents that attended the afternoon of Wednesday, March 4 at 5:30 pm in the Fair Oaks school auditorium. Dr. Alarcon presented this book in a video style. All children were amazed of the great photographs of the animals and the Iguazu waterfalls of Argentina. The greatest thing was that Dr. Alarcon made his presentation in both English and Spanish. 
• Students at Opportunity School Weekly Book Club were treated to a special lunch program with author Viola Canales after reading her book Tequila Worm. Viola read a chapter from the book; then she answered student’s questions.
• Armando, Elisa and Cristina presented storytimes to more than 500 children that enjoyed listening to stories while lying down on the turtle floor cushion! The children love to sit and rest on it while they read books.  Participants of PCRC Leadership Group that use Fair Oaks for their meetings also enjoyed a special story time. In addition, Armando continues to read to approximately 225 preschool students every week.
• Computer classes with Martina on Mondays; on Tuesdays with Armando and on Wednesdays with Angelica are well attended. 
• Maria D-S successfully completed  SEMS Introductory course and Introduction to Emergency Management: Earthquake training. Also, Maria has been busy organizing the PACT session with HR and the next Immigrants Day Festival. She and Armando met with YS team to discuss a library wide celebration of Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book) for which MDS has designed the flyer. Also, Maria is working with the County to resolve some Parking issues; she is getting an estimate on getting two reserved parking spaces.

 Downtown Report (Maria Kramer)

• Downtown library this month circulated, 76,032 items, 2.5 % more than last year.  45,252 visitors, up 10%. 
• Staff is working on the maintenance of the collection; this is in preparation for new non-fiction orders, to clean up the collections, and to make room for the Fiction collection to move downstairs mid-May.
• A Custom Library Services analysis was done on the cost/benefits of using Baker and Taylor to catalog materials. It was decided to use the fiction collection as a pilot.
• We hosted a new partnership with Peninsula Works, to offer technology-based job training programs at the Downtown Library. Employment specialists will offer monthly employment seminars such as resume writing tips, transferable job skills or sharpen your interview skills among others.  Also, we are offering, by appointment, a 15 to 20 minutes session of Free Help with Resumes and Cover Letters twice a week.
• Two literary events brought 30 adults to the Downtown library.  The book group tackled Toni Morrison’s new novel, A Mercy, with all the rigor and toughness needed to give the challenging and lyrically beautiful work their full attention. Redwood City author, Pearl Sofaer, introduced her memoir, Baghdad to Bombay – In the Kitchens of My Cousins, with stories, songs and recipes from her upbringing, offering a rare picture of her Eastern Jewish traditions. 
• On the medical field, 56 people came to find out how the shoulder works and what to do about shoulder pain. Dr. Cheung from Stanford University Medical Center presented Shoulder & Elbow Trauma:  Current Trends for Treatment.  She is terrific speaker, making complex anatomy intelligible. 
• Jenny Davis and Serena Gregorio are attending the Leadership Academy.
• Staff involved with programs and presentations has been trained on the new projection equipment in the Community Room.

 Redwood Shores Report (Liz Meeks)

• The Redwood Shores Branch Library has exceeded the 50,000 mark in circulating library materials. This month, the library circulated 51,946 library materials! This is 5,821 more library materials than the previous month. What an accomplishment!
• 27,844 customers visited the library this month, the highest month since opening.
• 739 children attended the various storytime sessions. 
• 31 teens participated in the weekly Wednesday “Teen Activities and Gaming” program.
• The Homework Center staff assisted 141 students with their homework and assignments.
• The newly installed Interpretive Center has turned out to be quite an attraction and an educational component for our library customers. Open one full month now, it is heavily used. The Interpretive Center has captured the interest of library users, exposing them to the various different birds, fish, animals and wildlife in general, that inhabit the Redwood Shores area. The ever popular micro life exhibit, which demonstrates the types of wild life that live in the water, appears to be creating some budding scientists amongst some of the younger children. The aquarium serves as a focal point as people browse through the exhibit.  Many library customers have expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the library staff.  The Interpretive Center is open and available during the library’s regular operational hours.
• Jacky met with members of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club to begin planning a public celebration of American Wetlands Month. The event will be held Saturday, May 9 at the Redwood Shores Branch Library and is billed as “Keeping Our Baylands Wet and Wild”. Local and national wetlands and ecology groups are invited to participate by giving out information and freebies, presenting family activities, showing a movie, or speaking on their area of expertise. The event will take advantage of the beautiful slough setting of the Library and will showcase the recently opened Environmental Interpretive Center.
• The Redwood Shores Branch Library Book Club meets the second Thursday of each month at 12:00 noon, in the Community Room. In March, the Book Club read and discussed Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. 
• The Library now has a “Quiet Reading Room” for library customers that are seeking a quiet place in the library.  Meeting Room C has been transformed into a “living room” of such, with leather lounge chairs; end tables; a curvy bench; and a few reader tables and chairs. Library staff has received expressions of gratitude from our library customers for creating another space in the library that has a quiet environment.
• The Library welcomes Paul Gunning as a much needed Building Attendant.

 Schaberg Report (Liz Meeks)

• Wendy Mathers Lapp celebrated 20 years of service with the City of Redwood City. 
• 17,081 library materials checked out, an increase of  30%. 7,642 visitors more than doubled last year’s use.
• 331 students utilized the Homework Center.
• 296 children attended the storytime sessions.
• 95 students visited the library during school class visits.

 Youth Services Report (Chuck Ashton)

• The monthly Dad and Me @ the Library program featured juggler/balancing act artist Owen Baker-Flynn  who wowed an audience of 100 with his juggling abilities. The program culminated by moving to the sidewalk in front of the library where Owen juggling flaming torches before extinguishing them – in his mouth!
• Daffy Dave – magician/juggling/madman – had an audience of 150 begging for more after his Family Night performance. Dave’s mix of magic, juggling and slapstick humor had the parents laughing just as much as the kids.
• The library’s own Chuck Ashton presented a program of stories, songs and puppets at the 3^rd Saturday of the month Family Program at the Shores Library. Chuck was pleased to see that some of the new faces in the audience found their way back to the library for his Tuesday night storytime a few days later.
• Jacky was interviewed for an article about Paws for Tales. The article will appear in the next issue of Bay Area Parent.
• When you have a moment, please come check out our new sign for the children’s Program Room.  Children’s book author/illustrator Bob Barner created the original art for the sign which was then blown up to fit the space and mounted on the wall by Dpi of San Francisco. The sign depicts a dinosaur head and dialog balloon saying Program Room, both of which are “popped out” about an inch from the yellow background festooned with flowers. It’s a visual treat, so come have a look. Thank you to Bob Barner for the fabulous art, his wife Cathie for finding Dpi to reproduce it, and to Louie Tse of Dpi for faithfully reproducing Bob’s artwork and for mounting it on the wall. Once Bob and Cathie get back from a trip to Maui we’ll figure out a date and time to dedicate the sign and have Bob do a presentation for the kids. With Elizabeth Gomez’s wonderful mural, Gianna Marino’s joyous pillars, and Bob’s fabulous sign we have the makings of an art museum for children that hopefully we can add to over the years. The next spot to consider for some additional artwork is the wall space in the alcove behind the Children’s service desk. Stay tuned for further developments.
• Fair Oaks school’s 5 kindergarten classes made the trek to the Fair Oaks library to hear Cristina read stories. It’s been so much fun that they’ve been coming every month!
• During the month of March Jan finally was able to spend some additional hours in her office and reconnect with many of her volunteers. As a result, two volunteers asked for additional placements.  Jan’s storytimes at Redwood Shores continue to attract a large number of people. Jan also completed the training of the new Chinese reader for Redwood Shores and she attended her first storytime.  Jan also took on the responsibility of working with two special needs students from Menlo Atherton High School. She was able to put her many years of special education experience to use and was able to create several meaningful tasks for them that would result in expanded skills for the two young men. The activities provided many teachable moments for their job coach.
• Sarah has started analyzing the Summer Reading collection to make sure that the library will have enough books for our High School students. She ordered books for Woodside High School’s summer reading and is now working on Menlo Atherton High School’s list.
• The Library Teen Council worked on flyers for the Mask program and discussed the upcoming Talent Show for Teens. This month during the weekly art activity, children decorated boats with crayons and sequins, they made rubbings of shamrocks, created clover wands, decorated flower magnets and created Chinese lanterns. A total of 46 people attended the art activities.
• The library continues to provide job experience for 3 students from Menlo Atherton High School. Jan found many activities for the students to perform. 
• Sarah attended a Fishbowl Forum on Drugs and Alcohol at Menlo Atherton High School.
• This month 7 people participated in a lively book discussion of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Next month the group will read The Boyfriend List.  This month teens made fantastic masks using feathers, sequins, rhinestones, etc.
• Sarah led a library tour for 25 students for Teen Reach.  Also as part of Teen Reach, Sarah will host a table at a career fair to let students know about the different volunteer opportunities at the Redwood City Public Library.   Sarah will also present volunteer opportunities to Citizen School at the Community Affairs Building on the 27^th.

 Project READ Report (Kathy Endaya)

We are just about finished with our current tutor training for March; we will have 18 new volunteer tutors to match with adults and children.

 Learners’ Accomplishments:

One of our regular learners, Jaymee, a second grader, surprised us all this month a few times. Recently Jaymee’s parents came in to talk to us about Jaymee’s status in school. According to Jaymee’s teacher, she was endanger of failing this term, and was given some additional testing through the school district. Her teacher and learning specialist sent home a note to her parents and to us, highlighting the areas that she needed to work on. We created an individualized learning plan to help Jaymee progress in these areas. The next week Jaymee’s dad told us that since Jaymee has been working with Project READ, she has excelled in school, especially in the areas that we are focusing on here at FLIC. Additionally, after being tested this week, we were told that Jaymee’s multiplication skills impressed everyone—such a thrill since Jaymee works every day on her multiplication “games” with her tutors. 

 A Family Affair: In addition to Jaymee’s success this month, we have another family member to celebrate… Jose—Jaymee’s dad, who comes in each session with Jaymee to encourage her and learn with her. Now that we have are new computers, Jaymee’s dad asked us if he could practice his computer skills to help him “with his work, and most importantly…to help (his) kids.”  Now, when Jaymee comes into FLIC, her dad is learning right beside her. One of Jose’s goals is to work with Jaymee on reading and math computer programs, so they can continue to learn together. (Jaymee’s mom is already a Project READ learner, so we now have a complete family of learners.) As we celebrate our goal of eliminating family low literacy, we celebrate this Project READ family!

 Another one of our youth learners had a really productive month. Edgar, a 3^rd grader, and his mom Juana are both learners in our FLIC program, and come in regularly each week. Juana has been concerned with Edgar’s progress in school and told his teacher about his work with Project READ. His teacher has partnered with us to help Edgar succeed, and recently send a detailed letter, bulleting areas that Edgar needs to work on. After creating a learning plan that matches his teacher’s goals, we have been seeing progress in Edgar’s work, especially with his multiplication skills—a major learning goal for Edgar. Last week, we were so pleased to hear from Juana that since working with Edgar’s new learning objectives at FLIC, he has been receiving notes home from the teacher with “excellent” in these areas!! She was so happy and proud of Edgar.  Everyone at FLIC can see how proud Edgar is of himself and his progress. And Edgar is now the reigning Math Bingo (multiplication) champion at FLIC—he is even giving our AmeriCorps a run for their money!  He is so proud of his accomplishments, Edgar has even started graphing his Bingo results—there’s no stopping him.

 Robert, one of our adult learners highlighted in our accomplishments last month, has been matched with a tutor through our Adult Program. Robert and his tutor, Gregory, meet at FLIC each week, and have hit it off from the start. We are all pleased that in addition to working with his tutor, Robert has continued to come to FLIC regularly to supplement his work with his tutor. This month Robert shared his own poetry with us, and worked on learning new words that he uses in his own writing. Inspired by Robert’s poetry, we went downstairs to find books of poetry for Robert to read. He came in this week, with a smile on his face. When I asked him what he wanted to work on, he replied proudly, “I want to read!” He took out his book of poetry and recited a beautiful poem by Neruda that he has been working on with his tutor. Later that evening he shared that he has a new goal: He wants to get his poetry published.

 The Family Literacy Instructional Center (FLIC) had an exciting month. We finally launched our new computer lab, which was a huge success. We opened the lab up to a small group of students during our KIP program, as a trial run to get initial feedback from our learners before opening the lab up to all Project READ learners the first week of March. We were thrilled by the response from our KIP students and their tutors.  The user accounts have been set up to make learners’ computer experience a positive one, with easy access to learning programs, and word processing software.  The kids were overjoyed; everyone wanted a turn on the new computers. With our new fully functioning lab we are able to accommodate each of our 40+  KIP students, allowing a computer time slot for every learner and tutor each week. After working on a phonics-based reading game that lists the words learned in each lesson, Maricruz (KIP student), turned to her tutor with a huge smile and proudly said: “Look at the words I learned!” It looks like the computer lab was worth the wait!

 This month Project Read’s adult inmate program launched its second book club collaboration with Life Learning Academy on Treasure Island.  Inmate learners have completed their first round of writing compositions, which include essays and Found Poetry and are waiting for responses from their classmates on Treasure Island.  Together, inmate learners and Life learning Academy students are critically analyzing writings about the prison system and are engaged in dialog focusing on ways to lower recidivism. 

 Project Read’s adult inmate program also hosted its first ever Scrabble tournament in March.  After stiff competition, which spanned over 2 weeks, a learner/tutor pair were named Scrabble Champions.  This tournament served as a community building activity for learner and tutor pairs and, helped learners discover a fun way to improve spelling skills, while simultaneously boosted their self-esteem. 

 On March 12th we completed another F.A.T.H E R S. course on 06 West with 6 guys from EAST and 6 from WEST. Of the original 12 students, 10 completed the entire course and received their certificate of completion from Project READ. We sent home 11 books and 10 audiocassettes of dad reading to his child. We had a graduation on last day of class and shared Pizza and soft drinks. It was a lot of fun.

 Kids in Partnership (KIP) story hour at the Fair Oaks Community Library drew over 75 KIP learners, tutors and families.  Everyone came out of the cold, wet weather to enjoy the lively and educational entertainment of the Lori and RJ from the Cotton Candy Express.  Adults and children alike joined in the fun by singing, dancing and playing instruments. Each family received a children’s literature classic, Leo Lionni’s A Color of His Own, to take with them to add to their home library collection. Participants also used their imagination and creativity to make beautiful valentines to share with their friends and families.

 We welcomed 6 new teen tutors during a mini midyear teen tutor training.  These high school students are now matched and tutoring in the KIP at the library program!  In addition to their individualized plans, KIP pairs also worked on math literacy through creating multiplication flipbooks, math fact dominoes and story problem vocabulary and templates.

 KIP pairs were also thrilled to be the first to use the new Project READ computers!  As students worked with their tutors on the educational websites, staff heard exclamations like, “I’m reading!” and “I read all these words!”  Wacky Web Tales, an online version of madlibs was also very popular and many KIP pairs selected, a spooky night at the library, as the their first template.

This month at KIP, we also began our annual BBQ art service project.  In the teen hour, tutors and AmeriCorps members worked together to design, paint and construct beautiful decorations for Project READ’s Award Ceremony and BBQ this July.

 

February 2009 Report

Library Director’s Report- February 2009 

 

Redwood City Public Library has received a “five star rating” from the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service, a new public library national rating system instituted by the Library Journal. This makes the Redwood City Public Library the top-rated library of any size in the Bay Area, and it’s one of the two top rated mid-sized libraries in all of California. There are only five libraries in California that achieved the five star rating, which is based on per capita measurements including number of items borrowed, number of visits, number and types of programs offered, attendance at activities, and level of public Internet use. The Library Journal is the premier professional national publication for librarians, recognized as the standard resource for the industry. Its national rating of public libraries, the LJ Index of Public Library Service, identified only 85 “5-star” libraries in the entire United States. Overall, it rated 7,115 public libraries, and the top libraries in each group got three, four, or five Michelin Guide-like stars, to rank their overall achievement. Our challenge ahead is to keep providing stellar service in very perilous economic times. However, we achieved this recognition through the continuous hard work of the entire Library staff and the support of the Library Foundation, the City Council, and the community.

 

Why is this library, this city and this community so special? Here are three examples:

 

Over 180 people crowded into the cafeteria at Hoover school for the Second Annual Family Author Night, featuring Elizabeth Gomez, the wonderful local illustrator of many books and of the mural in the Family Place. Elizabeth gave a lively, funny, and moving presentation en español (with English translation available) all about how she achieved her childhood dream of being an artist, thanks to her parents who strongly believed in education. In fact, her mother believed in education so strongly that she went to school when Elizabeth did, not having had the opportunity to do so before. Eventually, Elizabeth’s mother made it all the way through the university. It was a very empowering message for the Hoover community, since Family Author Nights, as the name implies, are not just for students, but for their families as well. And whole families turned out to hear the talk; to eat dinner which was sold as a fund-raiser for outdoor education; and to cross their fingers in hope that they’d win one of the prizes from the Big Raffle. Also, thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Library, who sponsored the event, each student from kindergarten through fourth grade received a copy of one of Elizabeth’s books. The best news is that there will be several more Family Author nights this year, thanks again to the Friends. The next will be on March 25 at Taft school, with Yuyi Morales, followed by a May 21 appearance by Viola Canales at Garfield School.

 

This was our biggest KinderCard Super Saturday yet! This is an annual program that works to ensure every kid in Redwood City kindergarten—public and private—gets a library card. It’s really proven to help young kids develop an early love of reading and learning, and to understand that the library is a great place to learn and grow. 650 people attended, and over 200 kindergartners proudly got their library cards! With the help of staff, along with teen volunteers, the kids also received goody bags with library info, a book in Spanish or English, a library card holder, a pencil and eraser. We should all be proud of this program.

 

On Friday, February 27, the Interpretive Center Donor Party was held at the Shores Library. The interpretive center is just awesome, and even more awesome, was the collaboration and hard work of staff to make such a unique exhibit a reality; and also to put on such a great event! Thank you to our Mayor and City Manager for speaking; Library Board members and City Councilmembers attending; and thank you to our own Jacky Averill for her tireless efforts in bringing the interpretive center to reality. 

 

Fair Oaks Branch circulated 25% more library materials compared with last year, a total 8,187 library items. Nicely done Fair Oaks staff!

 

Other highlights happening in our Fair Oaks area (besides the huge family author program of course!):

• 68 participants at Valentine Day program. 
• Armando continues to read to approximately 225 preschool students every week. He also leads Storytimes on Mondays, the Tuesday Bilingual Tiny Tales, Learning Together for parent and child, which is presented using computers, and the Opportunity School weekly book club.
• Giving that we have a long waiting list for computer classes, Angelica is teaching Basic Intro to Computer, Internet Searching, e-mail and Word resume template.
• Maria did a presentation to the parent group of the Menlo Park Head Start program.

 

The library was present at the First Gang Prevention and Education Conference at the Sequoia High School. Carrington Hall was packed with parents, children, teens, teachers and community leaders. Superintendent Dr. Patrick Gemma spoke about all the opportunities at the Sequoia Union High School, Chief Cobarruviaz emphasized that gang prevention starts at home and spoke of programs available for teens at the Police Department. Leaders of this conference closed by asking parents what commitment they are willing to make after attending this conference.  

Redwood Shores

 

• 46,125 library materials were checked out.
• 24,150 customers visited the library.  (Note:  one of the gate counters malfunctioned two days this month.  The total number of visitors is not reflected, due to the malfunction.)
• 1,001 children attended the various storytime sessions at the Redwood Shores Branch Library this month!  This is a record number since opening.
• 109 students attended and utilized the Homework Center.
• 39 teens participated in the weekly “Teen Activities and Gaming” program. 
• The Redwood Shores Branch Library hosted a community blood drive on Saturday, February 7, 2009, which was sponsored by Blood Centers of the Pacific.  The Bloodmobile donor coach was set-up in the library’s parking lot.  A total of 21 units of blood were collected from 26 donors.  We would like to thank the Redwood Shores community for their contributions.
• On Saturday evening, February 7, 2009, the Redwood Shores Branch Library served as the venue for the Sandpiper Social & Auction, which was sponsored by the Sandpiper Elementary School PTA.  The library was abuzz with over 200 community members in attendance.
• The Redwood Shores Branch Library held a public reception on Thursday, February 19, 2009, for the new installation of art work that is on display in the art gallery.  “About Nature: A Student Exhibition” features original landscape paintings by students from Notre Dame de Namur University, in Belmont.  The paintings are available for viewing through April 12, 2009, during the open hours of the library.
• A donor reception was held on Friday evening, February 27, 2009, to recognize and thank the donors that contributed to the Redwood Shores Branch Library Interpretive Center.   Also in attendance were Library staff, Library Board members, Library Foundation members, City staff and City Council members.  The Interpretive Center is an asset to the library and community, providing an interactive educational experience about bay life within the area.

 

Schaberg

 

• 14,330 library materials were checked out.
• 5,844 customers visited the library.
• 347 students attended and utilized the services in the Homework Center.
• 292 children attended and enjoyed the storytime sessions.
• 104 students visited the library during school class visits.

 

Customer Service Team

 

• Members of the Customer Service team attended an all-day workshop entitled “Fully Engaged Customer Service”.  The team members found the workshop to be very valuable, with a wealth of tips.  Components of the workshop will be shared with the staff as team’s work progresses.

 

An early review of the Interpretive Center:

The Interpretative Center at the new Redwood Shores Public Library opens this week and it makes an already wonderful library absolutely beyond terrific. It features a supersized replica of the mud from Belmont Slough, the natural wonderland right behind the library. And at 800 times larger than life size, the faux mud teems with gigantic animals—Dungeness crab, a bat ray, orange anemones, Japanese littlenecks and other clams, spaghetti worms, snails and more—that are simultaneously fascinating and gross. In short, it’s kid heaven.

 

Babies and toddlers can crawl through mud tubes and press their noses against a tank with fish from the slough. Older kids can explore more than a dozen hands-on exhibits that encourage discoveries about who eats whom; how animals move through the mud; what advantages arise for birds from different types of feet, beaks and feathers; survival adaptations like camouflage; the tides and salt pond restoration; the microbial life in the slough; and that ever-popular topic—sharks. Adults can get a short course in bird-watching. And then everyone can go outside to keep an eye out for bat rays—because they have been spotted right behind the library—and to see how many birds they can identify.

 

Does a mini discovery museum belong in a library? Perhaps not in every library. But in this one, absolutely. It’s a perfect halfway point between the building’s unique outdoor setting and the rich, indoor resources of its books and online information. The Interpretive Center makes you want to go outside for a closer look. And at the same time, it makes you want to hit the books inside for the pleasure of more information. Please watch for future posts on kids’ bookmaking projects tied to the Interpretive Center and Belmont Slough in particular and to estuary ecosystems in general. To keep reading about the Interpretative Center—and to see more pictures—please click the link.

 

Of the many things I like about the Interpretative Center, I’d like to call attention to just two. First, it’s not a hyperactive, loud, in-your-face place. It’s an adjunct to a library. And it wisely resists slipping down the exhibit-as-entertainment slope.

 

Second, it raises more questions than it answers for inquiring visitors, kids and adults. Do egrets have any predators? Can people see leopard sharks right behind the library? Could the stinging cells in orange anemone tentacles hurt people? Is California’s drought affecting Belmont Slough? What’s a salt marsh harvest mouse look like? The obvious next step, happily, is to take a look in a book.

 

*You won’t find the word mud-luscious in the Interpretative Center, but you can find it elsewhere in the library. It comes from an ee cummings poem that celebrates children’s excitement about spring, called In Just Spring. The Interpretative Center was designed by Split Rock Studios, a firm of “museum outfitters” in St. Paul. Its wonderful, oozy-looking mud, known as “eco-sculpture,” was created by Minneapolis artist Gina Louise. And the go-between for the design team and library has been children’s librarian Jacky Averill, who playfully calls herself an “exhibitionist.” And in fact she’ll be speaking about her new cross-over role at the American Library Association convention, on a panel titled “The Librarian as Exhibitionist.”

 

 

January 2009 Report

Library Director’s Report- January 2009 

 

 

We are planning different ways to engage and inform staff around the upcoming City budget process. Weekly drop-in brown bags, regular unit and all-staff meetings will be held, along with frequent updates from me via email. I would like all staff to stay informed and feel like they have a say in the hard financial decisions ahead.

 

Sign of the times: computer use for resume writing is increasing daily. Staff is spending a lot of time assisting folks; and classes are being scheduled.

 

Our Youth Agenda Initiative, the collaboration with Library, PRCS, PD and the City Manager’s office, is winding down an intensive training on serving youth. We will then begin to train all staff, and look towards phase two: organization assessment on how effective our services are. This will include community surveys, on-site consultants reviewing and analyzing our programs, and making recommendations. This is very exciting, and although it is a multi-year process, should help us tremendously.

 

Redwood Shores use continues to be heavier than anticipated—not only in lending materials, but program attendance, visitor count and meeting room bookings. RFPs for the Café space will be reviewed in early February. We will also be adding a nice quiet room off the lobby for those who would like to read in absolute silence.

 

A crew from Split Rock Studios arrived January 16 with a truckload of custom fabricated mud, birds and fish which were squeezed through the doors of the Redwood Shores Branch Library. Over the next 7 days, Jacky Averill and Carlos Espinoza orchestrated installers, electricians and aquarium specialists while the Environmental Interpretive Center took shape. Work continues on several exhibits before the completed project opens to the public at the end of Feburary.

 

We are fortunate to have some intensive City IT assistance working at the Library during the next few months—training staff, upgrading our network and servers, and standardizing our desktops, hardware and protocols to City standards.

 

A contract has been signed for a small CIP project to upgrade the signage system at the Downtown Library. The learning center/teen space remodel/HVAC project has not gone out to bid yet due to issues with the rooftop placement of the new units.

 

The library’s Customer Service Team is meeting twice per month. The team is currently working on devising standard telephone guidelines; email guidelines; a customer service survey; and consistent circulation policies.  Information will be shared and discussed with all library staff.

 

Thanks to generous funding from the Friends of the Library, an exciting slate of Family Author Nights in the schools is being planned for the late winter and spring.  Family Author Nights are the ultimate in community building, partnering with schools to provide books and an evening presentation at the school that is open not only to students, but their entire family as well. Last year’s pilot program at Hoover School drew over 350 people to hear writer Francisco Jimenez, who not only inspired his audience but who stayed for hours afterwards to sign copies of his book – copies which had been given to every middle schooler at Hoover as part of the program. This year, the Friends have allowed us to expand the program to four schools, and to provide copies of the authors’ books to students for free. Talks are given in Spanish, with simultaneous translation provided. Support from the schools is terrific, with parent groups selling food as fund-raisers, organizing raffles and child care, and teachers generally collaborating enthusiastically in order to guarantee success. The Family Author Nights scheduled so far are:

• February 12 at Hoover School: illustrator Elizabeth Gomez, local artist and painter of the mural that hangs above the Spanish books in the Family Place Downtown.
• March 25 at Taft School, Yuyi Morales, just named winner of the Pura Belpre prize. Check out her website: http://www.yuyimorales.com/
• May 21 at Garfield School, Viola Canales, author of The Tequila Worm, ex-army captain and currently teaching at Stanford.
• Viola Canales will also be appearing at Hoover for an afternoon assembly in May.
• Fair Oaks will also host a program; stay tuned for details.

The Library also received a grant from Maureen Hayes Author/ Illustrator Visit Award for $3,800 to host an additional author visit to Garfield Elementary Charter School. Noted children’s author, Pam Munoz-Ryan, has agreed to visit and we are in negotiation to include 2 more schools.

 

 

Reports from Library Managers:

 

Redwood Shores

• 46,429 library materials were checked out.
• 14,468 customers visited the library.
• Storytimes at the Redwood Shores Branch Library continue to be very popular with 685 attending this month!
• In response to our teen customers looking for programs and activities geared towards their age group, a weekly “Teen Activities and Gaming” program has begun.  Each Wednesday, from 2:00pm – 5:00pm, library staff (Ray) is available in the Teen Room to work with teens from the ages of 12 through 18 and grades 6 through 12, providing gaming with the Wii and other activities of interest.  This month, 44 enthusiastic teens participated in the activities.  The teens are very thankful for the program and they have mentioned that that they will tell their friends about it.  The library will be adding additional programs in the future.
• Library staff (Leti, Lucy, Ray and Liz) received an information questions-answering training session provided by a Downtown Library staff member (Roz).  The training covered the types of questions that the staff is asked during the course of their work; open-ended reference questions and responses; and information on utilizing the various databases and online services that are available.  This training has proven to be very valuable to the staff.
• Library staff (Lucy) is going through storytelling training and once completed, will be able to assist with and provide storytelling during the storytime sessions that are offered at the library.
• 104 students utilized the Homework Center this month.  The Homework Center is open Monday and Tuesday, 3:00pm-6:00pm; Wednesday, 1:00pm-6:00pm; and Thursday, 3:00pm-6:00pm.  Any students that need assistance with their homework or a place to do their homework in an environment that is conducive to school work are welcome.
• Library staff (Kasia) has spent a significant amount of time this month working on and resolving a variety of computer related issues at all of our library facilities.  The library staff is very appreciative of Kasia’s knowledge and expertise in this area. 
• Artwork by 3^rd grade students from Sandpiper, Belmont Oaks and Nesbit Schools is on display in the Storytelling Room.  We are very pleased to have the students’ original artwork featured in the library.
• The Redwood Shores Branch Library invited the community to celebrate an historic moment, by hosting a viewing of the 2009 Presidential Inauguration on Tuesday, January 20, when Barack Obama was sworn into office as the 44^th President of the United States of America.  The library opened the doors to the community room at 7:00am and provided continuous coverage of the day’s events on our big screen television, as 60 community residents enjoyed each other’s company and shared stories as they witnessed history.  The community was very appreciative and thanked the library for providing the venue and the opportunity for community building.

 

Schaberg

• 13,823 library materials were checked out.
• 5,806 customers visited the library.
• 235 children attended the various story time sessions that were held this month.
• The Homework Center was well attended this month, with 318 students coming in to get assistance with their homework.  The Homework Center is open Monday through Wednesday, 2:00pm-5:00pm; and Thursday, 1:00pm-5:00pm.
• Library Assistant Carla Nolasco has transferred to the Schaberg Branch Library—welcome Carla.
• Library staff (Mary Lou, Wendy and Carla) has worked diligently to keep the Schaberg library collection “refreshed” by featuring and merchandizing the collection and maintaining various displays throughout the month.

 

Fair Oaks:

• Statistics—Fair Oaks Branch circulated 7,716 library items, 13% more compared with January 2008.
• Programming—Programs continue to be successful.  This month Rosca de Reyes program drew 125 participants.  Other standing monthly program, Basic Computer classes on Monday evenings has 4 to 6 participants per session. Family Friday Night, a parents support group, presented Personal Finance and budgeting workshop to 62 participants. El Concilio de San Mateo continues its nutrition workshops with an average of 12 participants per session.
• Beginning January 13, Armando Ramirez started a trial of Tiny Tales story time, one at 12:00 noon and another one at 3:00pm.   We are testing which will be the most popular to decide on schedule.  It was a great start with 6 participants to up to 16 participants.
• Armando started a book club with students from the Opportunity School which helps High School students who at risk.  The school is located in the Fair Oaks Community Center.  This month they are reading The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez, they will continue with Breaking Through to finish with Reaching Out.
• Staff—two new faces are part of the Fair Oaks Library Team.  Erica Gonzalez-Palafox is our newest Part-Time Library Assistant and Luis Sosa, a new Page.  Staff has been working with them on providing a good customer service, keeping the collection in order and making materials available to customers as soon as possible. Also, duties performed by Carla Nolasco will be distributed among all Fair Oaks staff.  Kasia have been working on fixing the problems with the public computers.
• The Fair Oaks Branch received a grant from the Friends of the Library for programs.  Maria Diaz-Slocum attended the Friends meeting and gave an update on all the Fair Oaks programs sponsored by the Friends and how much we have spent to date. Also, Maria as the Library Representative at the Immigrants Day Committee is working on the publicity part. 
• Downtown:
• Statistics—Downtown circulated 67,326 library materials; 7 % less than last January 2008.
• Shifting:—Jenny and Elisa coordinated a major collection shifts which: brought more capacity for materials downstairs, compacted and refreshed the fiction collection, added a gondola to the New Fiction collection and Home and Garden section.  Travel DVDs are in the travel section allowing easier access to customers to this collection. New mysteries have moved to the Reading Room and the Friends of the Library have been able to expand their book selection to the public. Science Fiction paperbacks have been added to the new science fiction section. And to inform the customers where the collection moved, staff has been working on signs for both Downtown and Redwood Shores.
• Plans are to move the Fiction collection downstairs for better customer service.
• We instituted the Quick Picks program which will allow customers access to non-holdable items in our collection. This collection of materials is meant to keep hot-ticket items on our shelves.
• Purchases—We bought  new trade paperbacks, computer books for Downtown and Redwood Shores, new cookbooks, new Books on CD; working on a $50,000 acquisition of  Adult DVD order for Downtown; staff has been quickly working through the large J DVD order and repackaging needs.
• About 75 people attended Dr. Amy Ladd’s excellent presentation on hand arthritis.  This program was co-sponsored by Stanford Health Library and the Friends of the Library.  Information on the standard of care for this common ailment held interest from many in the Redwood City Community and beyond.  The talk was filmed for more online users in the future.
• Local Self-help author and coach, Maryam Webster returned to the Downtown Library to discuss weight loss, and increased her audience by focusing on this popular topic.  A great story-teller, Maryam told about her personal journey, recovering from a major trauma and losing fifty pounds, sharing energy techniques that anyone can employ.
• Panelist Moazzam Sheikh, author of The Idol Lover and Other Stories from Pakistan, complimented our questions as being “on the intelligent side,” which is saying a lot given that the subject matter was South Indian literature and poetry.
• Knitting class continues to be popular; at the last class the group took up three tables in the fireplace room, including two children.
• In attendance for all our January 2009 adult programs were163 participants.
• Upcoming Programs—the library is partnering with PeninsulaWorks.  Peninsula Works will offer a workshop on computer based job search and career research on Thursday, March 12 at noon in the Computer Lab.  This workshop is being presented by Yvette Alzugaray, San Mateo County Employment Services Specialist. 
• Professional Development—Maria Kramer attended American Libraries Association Midwinter Conference in Denver, Colorado. 
• Molly Spore-Alhadef attended the 2009 Digitization Symposium held on January 9 at San Francisco Public Library. Topics of interest at this symposium were on copyright, imaging issues, digitizing newspapers & newsletters and primary resources.
• Interesting questions—we had several researchers who are writing books whose subjects that touch Redwood City in some way, e.g. the man writing a book about the man who attempted a solo round-the-world bicycle trip and passed through RC making the front page of the newspaper in 1892. There was also the documentary film maker who wanted the photo of Varney the pilot who was so active at the RC airport in 1920, and subsequently founded United Air Lines.
• Certainly the most memorable event was the publication of “Art Deco San Francisco” which traces the career of Timothy Pflueger the famous Bay Area architect who designed the Fire Station which houses the Downtown Library.  The writer, Therese Poletti, came here to research the Fire Station construction, and graciously thanked Molly and the History Room in her Acknowledgements at the beginning of the book.

•  

  Youth Services:

  • Along with planning the Family Author Nights, Cristina and all the Youth Services librarians have been busy getting ready for the KinderCard SuperSaturday on February 21. Every kindergartener in the district got a library card application and a visit from a librarian, plus an invitation to the open house.
  • Caroll and Jan had a table at the Pre-School Preview Night at Red Morton on January 28.  They distributed library card applications and flyers on February events and story time schedules.
  • Chuck was the guest storyteller and wrap-up speaker at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s “Raising a Reader Early Literacy Conference” held at Sequoia High School on Saturday, January 24^th.  130 parents, preschool teachers and day care providers attended the event.
  • Jacky and Sarah created a display of Marley and Me books, calendars, and pamphlets which were provided free from Fox Pictures to coincide with the release of the movie. All of the materials were given to surprised and happy kids and teens.
  • Caroll co-hosted the San Mateo County Reading Association’s Author Breakfast featuring Cynthia Chin Li and Ashley Wolf at Redwood Shores Branch Library on January 31.
  • Fearing that no one would come for a program immediately after New Year’s Day, Chuck decided to save a performers fee by putting on a puppet show himself for the monthly Dad and Me @ the Library program. Amazingly, nearly 100 kids and parents attended the Saturday morning program.
  • The monthly Family Night program featured Fratello Marionettes performing a show of the classic fairytale “The Frog Prince.” The measure of a good show is how well it holds the audience’s attention. Not only was the audience completely involved in the performance, many (including two other puppeteers in the audience) stayed fifteen to twenty minutes after the show to look at the marionettes and talk with puppeteer Kevin Menegus.
  • Traveling Storytime volunteer and now paid on-call storyteller Judith Roman began Wednesday morning Preschool and Tiny Tale storytimes at Redwood Shores. The storytimes were added in response to the large audiences attending Jan Pedden’s storytimes there on Thursdays.
  • Teen Area and Collection: Sarah created a display with books that had faces on the covers.  The display was called “Putting your best face forward in the New Year.” These attractive covers have been popular and Sarah needed to refill the display twice.
  • Volunteers: Sarah worked with 38 volunteers for a total of 84.75 hours in the month of January.  During the weekly art activity, Sarah noticed that the teens were not spending as much time with the kids as they should be so Sarah has started modeling behavior with the teens again.  She also took them aside and talked about her expectations and what they could do to be positive role models for the children.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks they will be able to embrace these ideas.  This month the children made owls from heart shapes, snowmen with buttons, polar bears covered in cotton and foam mittens.  A total of 57 people attended.
  • The Library Teen Council met to create fantastic posters for the Twister Event and to help develop publicity for the Valentines in February.
  • School Collaboration: This month Sarah worked with an Intern (Cinthia Zamora) from Summit Preparatory Charter High School.  Cinthia completed the following tasks during her 85 hours at the library: created a storytime including flannel board, queried customers for a customer service survey, analyzed data from the surveys and created a report, observed storytimes and reference desk interviews, ran Nintendo Wii gaming at the Redwood Shores Library, and created a children’s program on water sports which she will run in May or June.  Cinthia will be returning for another 85 hours in May.
  • Sarah attended the monthly High School Librarian’s meeting at the Menlo-Atherton Library.  She is trying to find dates to run Library Card Registration day at each of the High Schools.  
  • Sarah started a new Teen Book Club which has been named “Talk Soup.”  They will be meeting on the first Tuesday of each month.  In February they will discuss Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson.  The first meeting was a great success with 9 teens and 2 adults attending.  The rules for the group are as follows: 1. Dialog not Debate; 2. Everyone’s Opinion is Valid; 3. Have Fun; 4. Good Food.  Sarah was excited to see so many teens connecting over literature. 
  • Jan’s Redwood Shores storytimes are being very well attended with an average total of 150 people attending her three weekly storytimes.  Jan helped oversee the addition of two more storytimes at Redwood Shores by training Judith Roman in the “fine art” of reading to babies and their parents.  Judith’s storytimes are also growing each week!  
  • Jan also has the opportunity to help the new Spanish bilingual storyteller prepare for her first event at Redwood Shores and to meet with families at the Preschool Preview event.

   

  Project READ

  • Project READ trained 16 new tutors in January.  They completed 15 hours of training and will be matched in one-on-one pairs with learners from Project READ’s youth, adult and family programs to improve their literacy skills.
  • In December, over 100 KIP learners, tutors and families came together to celebrate a successful semester of tutoring, learning and community service.  Our teen and preteen tutors completed over 1200 hours of community service tutoring in the KIP program during the fall 2008 semester!
  • In January, we kicked off the New Year with a story hour at Fair Oaks Community Library.  Over 60 students, tutors and family members joined in the sing-along story time and the musical instrument crafts.  Everyone also had the chance to make their very own 2009 KIP Story Hour calendars, an annual highlight.
  • KIP at the Library is also up and running with 40+ pairs.  All students have an assessment-based, individualized tutoring plan, which their teen tutors implement during their sessions.  In addition, KIP pairs have been working on their expressive language skills, telling and writing stories in a variety of formats including using story boards, creating video books, folded booklets, and finger puppet scripts.
  • In addition to KIP at the Library, 9 other students are paired with AmeriCorps members at Fair Oaks Elementary in a program that has affectionately become known as “bonus KIP.”  These pairs were formed to meet a wide variety of individual needs, including students who are receiving special education services, students who are significantly behind their peers and students who are at grade level, but still need the extra support as they enter more advanced grades and make the shift from learning to read, to learning from reading.
  • We continue to welcome new learners and families to our Family Literacy Center, and work together with our established community of learners. This month we have seen some amazing progress with both our adult and children learners. We are excited about getting our new computer lab up-and-running, as are our learners. In January alone, 40 learners used our lab, clocking in over 90 hours of computer usage.  While learners are on the waiting list or between tutoring sessions they are now able to receive help at Project READ’s new Family Literacy Center.  We are very fortunate to have our AmeriCorps members are here to help with our instruction time, both homework help, and drop-in tutoring. We also have welcomed new volunteers that help on a drop-on basis, and are looking forward to more volunteers in the upcoming months. With the help of our volunteers we were able to offer 62 hours of instruction that included homework help, one-on-one tutoring, and even some small group tutoring.
  • Project READ’s first FFL Story hour of the New Year brought in a lot of laughter. Daffy Dave clowned around with the families, showing off his wacky moves. He got a lot of laughs! More than 80 learners and family members attended this month’s Story hour, and took part in five pre-literacy crafts centered around homemade musical instruments. Families were able to go home with new books to build their home libraries, including this month’s family book, “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring.”  The event was a success with the help of many community volunteers, including 15 Hands On Bay Area volunteers.

More Project READ Success Stories!

 

We know we are successful at Project READ when our learners return to the program as tutors. The ripple effect, however, is even greater than we suspected. Marta and her three children — Diego, Erick and Carolina – all former learners in our program have graduated from Project READ’s tutor training and now volunteer their time to tutor other new learners in need of literacy help. Diego, now 18, was the first in the family to make the move from learner to tutor in 2005. He tutored while he was in high school and is now attending college. Marta was next; encouraged by her son, she became a tutor in 2007. Erick, 15, and Carolina, 14, are now learners-turned-tutors too. They are a family of diligent and hard working learning partners – proof of the profound effect of Project READ and lifelong learning.

 

Robert, one of our adult learners who came to us to improve upon his basic reading and writing skills, achieved some major goals this month. In addition to building his basic reading skills, he has grown his own vocabulary and spelling words to enable him to complete a sample invoice from his work, one of Robert’s major learning goals. In addition to improving reading, he’s been writing, spelling and even completing crossword puzzles! This was a great month for Robert.

 

Louis, an adult learner, has been in the construction industry for over 30 years, but has never actually been able to read numbers, or understand measurements. This month Louis learned how to measure using a tape measure and ruler, understanding the appropriate mathematical terms, units of measure and even conversions. We tried different learning techniques, until we found one that worked. Louis was so happy and proud of his accomplishment. He asked a pretty simple question: “Why didn’t someone just show me this years ago?”

 

Another new member is Kevin, a second grader. Kevin, a very shy, emergent reader, came to Project READ just a month ago. Since that time he has certainly come out of his shell, and loves to play word building games with our volunteers, and other learners. He comes in regularly with his dad to work on homework, reading, and computer games. We started duet reading with Kevin, and last week Kevin and his dad came in to show off his reading— he read his first book to us and even wrote a few sentences about the story (with the help of his dad). It was a great learning moment for both Kevin and his dad.

 

December 2008 Report

Library Director’s Report -December 2008 

 

 

Due to budget reductions the Redwood City School District decided not to fund their half of the School Media Specialist’s contract. Library staff and School staff met to strategize on how to continue to support the school’s libraries within our current budgets.

 

Library events and programs flyers and email blasts have the same look and feel as Parks, Recreation and Community Services. The two departments are also cross posting programs.

 

Thank you, thank you, to the incredible work of the Parks staff!  The “Ray of Light” bird bath has been installed at the new Redwood Shores Library. Paid for out of the GR Cress Fund, this is the first acquisition and installation of public art which also functions as a working bird bath. The vision of Mr. Cress for the care and feeding of birds in Redwood City, along with the vision of the Civic Cultural Commission to enhance the aesthetics of our City through public art, has created a wonderful new attraction for birds and people alike. Another installation is in the planning stages next to the Downtown Library, across from City Hall.

 

Our annual Fair Oaks Library La Gran Posada del Ano was a great success. Approximately 1,000 people attended the different activities throughout the afternoon including a picture with Santa, bilingual storyteller, Victor Hugo Santos, an outside procession asking for lodging at the Fair Oaks Community Center, and more festivities with food and piñatas.  Fair Oaks Branch Library also made it at the 11:00 pm news– the Spanish Television, Univision 14, aired about 5 minutes of this wonderful celebration. 

 

The $325,000 Redwood Shores Environmental Interpretive Center is set for a January installation. All funds have been raised from corporate and community donors. Festivities slated for February.

 

Sarah LaTorra taught a class on Trends in Young Adult Literature at Canada College. Dave finished grading papers for his Issues in Public Libraries class at San Jose State!

 

We celebrated the accomplishments of the 2008 year with a Holiday staff luncheon; it was well attended by library staff.

 

Santa Claus was the special guest at all four libraries in December. Over 100 children made his acquaintance at Downtown, Fair Oaks and Schaberg libraries, and over 300 met him at the Shores library! He made himself available for photos ops and distributed candy canes to all.

 

The monthly Family Night program found 150 children and family members enjoying the antics of Nick Barone Puppets. The show featured monster puppets ready to perform a Halloween show quickly adapting their show to a Christmas/Hanukkah theme.

  

The monthly Seaside Storytime presented by the Marine Science Institute featured sharks, including a live leopard shark for the kids to touch if their psyches allowed. The presentation was so popular the MSI crew repeated it immediately after the first presentation for late comers.

 

The monthly “Dad and Me @ the Library” program featured a truncated version of the Carnival of Chaos. Usually a two person troupe, the juggling/magic/unicycle program was presented by one member as the other was laid low by a bad back. The audience of nearly one hundred was still mesmerized by the performance, especially when Mark rode an 8-foot tall unicycle while juggling five rings.

  

Five preschools brought their young charges into the library in December for stories and orientation. More than one mother told Chuck she remembered coming to the library when she was in preschool and/or elementary school to hear him tell stories and sing songs. Just how many more than one Chuck refuses to divulge.

 

The city’s Youth Forum group was audience for a presentation on what services and programs the library has to offer the city’s youth and their families. They seemed impressed by the number and types of programs the library has to offer.

  

Jan Pedden completed distributing 770 holiday books to the Traveling Storytime sites and spoke to a group of Redwood Shores Girls Scouts about volunteering found a placement for them at the Sequoia Adult School.

 

53 teens volunteered for a total of 140 ¼ hours in the month of December. The Library Teen Council planned events for the next 5 months. They created posters for the Gingerbread Houses and created flyers for the upcoming Twister event.

 

Here’s a preview from Roz Kutler of highlights of adult programming to come:

 

Authors – Upcoming Highlights

Thursday, January 29, 2009

7:00 PM

A Unique Evening with South Asian Writers

…of both fiction and poetry, representing Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India. They are the face of the a new wave of South Asian writers, tackling complex issues and challenges, both political and artistic, while resisting their work to be influenced by mainstream expectations.  With:  Pireeni Sundaralingam, Neelanjana Banerjee, Tanuja Mehrotra & Moazzam Sheikh

 

Saturday, February 7, 2009

2:00 PM

Meet the Author:  Meg Waite Clayton

Bestselling Author of the Wednesday Sisters 

 

Thursday, February 26, 2009

6:30 PM

Bluegrass Authors Symposium

With Brenda Hough, Bay Area Bluegrass Music Critic & Author, Lisa Aschmann of Nashville, TN, Creativity in Bluegrass Songwriting and Roger Siminoff, Arroyo Grande, CA, author of The Lore of Loar.

 

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

7:00 PM

Meet the Authors: Jen Myers & Shannon

Can I Sit With You Too?

 

Thursday, March 19, 2009

7:00 PM

Meet the Author:  Pearl Sofaer

Bagdad to Bombay In the Kitchens of My Cousins

 

Thursday, April 23, 2009

7:00 PM

Meet the Author: Richie Unterberger

The Golden Age of Soul

Film

I’ve attached the film schedule for the February – July 2009 Film Schedule for the Downtown Library, including the Heist Film Festival, the Bluegrass Film Festival and a film for teens, selected by Sarah LaTorra.  To add interest and unique content to the program, the festival will be introduced by a filmmaker and a local film professor.  The Heist films were chosen by popular survey, offered on the Library Website.

 

Health Programs

The successful Kaiser and Stanford Health Lecture series will continue, with new program content beginning in January from both institutions.  Community health organizations continue to offer complementary therapy programs, such as meditation and yoga, which we will offer as scheduling and demand allows.

 

Technology and Careers

We’re seeking a consistent perfect partner to sponsor programs at the library.  The Regional Occupational Program office on Main Street has closed, so they are no longer a Downtown neighbor, but may still be interested in working with us.  I’m also in contact with Peninsula Works.  The organization that offers resume classes for teens at the library focuses only on youth.  This is an area where we urgently need more energy in 2009.  See this article:

More people using libraries in tough times

Julian Guthrie, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Nona Nangalama checked out a dozen books from the San Francisco Public Library this week, saying that in better economic times, she would have gone to Borders to shop for the items.

The San Francisco resident and unemployed mother of two is using public libraries even more in these tough times. She is checking out books instead of buying them, and using the Main Library’s job and career center to begin her search for employment.

“I live right near the Borders South of Market, so that would be easy for me to go there,” Nangalama said, holding 12 books on mastering algebra and geometry that she had checked out for her daughters. “You come here and get advice, guidance and books – all for free.”

As the economy slides into a recession and families are cutting back on expenses big and small, libraries in the Bay Area and beyond are experiencing a big increase in membership and circulation.

But as demand rises, libraries are also seeing a squeeze in funding. Libraries rely on property taxes, and city coffers everywhere have been hit by the bad economy. Library officials from San Mateo to Marin County are beginning to look at ways to cut costs without reducing services.

“We’re trying to be conservative looking at the next fiscal year,” said Martin Gomez, director of library services for San Mateo County, which has 12 libraries in 11 cities. “All of our numbers, in terms of visits and circulation at branch libraries, are up by around 5 percent. But real estate drives our revenue, and property taxes are down. We’re not looking at layoffs or reduced hours of operation, but we know the economy is going to take a while to bounce back.”

San Francisco’s public libraries have seen a 27 percent increase since July in the number of people seeking library cards, and a 12 percent increase over the same period in the number of materials checked out. That amounts to 32,000 cards issued and 3.8 million books, CDs and DVDs checked out.

“We are seeing a significant increase in folks coming into the library to access our computers, to visit our job and career centers, and find information on government aid and look up credit ratings on financial institutions,” said Luis Herrera, city librarian for San Francisco, which has 27 branch libraries and the Main Library at the Civic Center.

“When the economy is down, library use is up,” he said.

More library cards

More Americans have library cards than at any time since 1990, according to the American Library Association.

“Across the country, in every kind of neighborhood and community, library use, by various measures, is up,” said Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association, which has 66,000 members and promotes libraries and librarianship. “At this point, we have an entire population affected by the recession. People are discovering they can save money by using libraries, and they can develop their knowledge and seek employment.”

Rettig said the 2 billion items checked out from U.S. libraries this year is 10 percent more than during the economic downturn in 2001. But books, DVDs and other material are only part of the story, he said.

“In 73 percent of U.S. communities, the only place a person can get free Internet access is libraries,” Rettig said. “Libraries in areas hit hard by factory closings are playing an especially important role in the economic recovery. Most job applications are now submitted online.”

Branches closing

Rettig noted that a number of cities, including San Diego, Philadelphia, Trenton, N.J., and Mesa, Ariz., are looking at closing branch libraries. “Public libraries are facing the most severe cutbacks in decades,” Rettig said.

He said the American Library Association will submit a proposal to Congress early in the new year seeking $100 million in stimulus funding. The funds would go to enhance services and materials; extend hours of operation; and offer more classes and workshops focused on financial literacy, housing counseling and small business development. He also hopes a portion of the funds would go to renovating and upgrading facilities.

San Francisco’s Herrera said the city’s funding for libraries is holding steady.

“We have support through a set-aside in the city’s general fund and property taxes,” he said. “But we are going to be very prudent in how we approach spending. San Francisco is really committed to providing library services for free.” In fact, Herrera said, San Francisco has been increasing hours and services. In November, seven of the 27 branches opened for an additional day each week. Four libraries are under renovation. The number of public computers at libraries has increased by 48 percent in the last two years.

Job seekers

Susan Cohen, a librarian for 15 years who now runs the job and career center on the fourth floor of the Main Library, is seeing more people come in asking for help with resumes and job searches. She said applications for most jobs – from dishwashers to civil service positions – are submitted online.

She has worked in recent months to increase the number of books on how to find a job, start a small business or change careers.

Standing next to stacks of job-related books, with titles including “Jobs Directory,” “Resume Book,” “Your Next Move” and “Hire Me, Inc.,” Cohen said she’s doing what she can to help those who are struggling.

“I chose this job because I thought I could be useful,” Cohen said. “It’s as satisfying as it’s ever been. But I can feel that times are tougher. There’s a nervousness that people have over the economy. I’m happy I’m in this position to be helpful.”

Popular picks at the library

The most frequently checked-out books, CDs and DVDs at San Francisco public libraries in 2008:

Fiction books

“Lao Fuzi,” by Wang Ze

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” by J.K. Rowling

“A Thousand Splendid Suns,” by Khaled Hosseini

“The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel,” by Michael Chabon

“The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini

Nonfiction books

“The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals,” by Michael Pollan

“Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia,” by Elizabeth Gilbert

“The World Without Us,” by Alan Weisman

“In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” by Michael Pollan

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life,” by Barbara Kingsolver

DVDs

“Ba qian li lu yun he yue (Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon), part 2″

“The Little Mermaid”

“Ba qian li lu yun he yue, part 1″

“SNL (Saturday Night Live)”

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”

Spoken word CDs

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” by J.K. Rowling

“Ying yu jiu bai ju xing; English 900,” by Edwin T. Cornelius

“A Thousand Splendid Suns,” by Khaled Hosseini

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” by J.K. Rowling

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” by J.K. Rowling

Music CDs

“Loose,” Nelly Furtado

“Not Too Late,” Norah Jones

“Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection”

“Help!” the Beatles

“Love,” the Beatles

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/27/BA4814U7KK.DTL&hw=libraries&sn=002&sc=659

 

 

 

November 2008 Report

Library Director’s Report- November 2008 

 

We will be presenting an overview of our services to youth this month to our collaborative city partners—Parks, Recreation and Community Services and the Police Department.

 

Sarah Nunes, our Management Exchange Fellow from the City of San Jose, wrapped up her three month’s stay at the library. She helped tremendously in kick-starting a customer-service initiative; she also helped create a more effective organizational chart, and a myriad of other accomplishments. In her evaluation, Sarah thought this was a tremendous opportunity for her own professional growth and was time well-spent.

 

At the UC Santa Cruz Latino Literature / La Literature Latina II Conference, Maria Kramer presented, “Public Libraries and Latino Users and the perspectives of national organization REFORMA–The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking.”

Maria Kramer was also part of a panel at the California Library Association Conference and shared her experience planning and implementing Dia de los Niños; Dia de los Libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book) celebrations.

 

We have purchased a subscription to MyiLibrary, downloadable audio books that are ipod compatible. This should be live within the next few months. The biggest obstacle to our existing downloadable books was that ipod users were excluded. MyiLibrary does not require any third party software and Ingram’s existing publisher relationships make it a worthwhile and calculated risk. They have an agreement in place with Penguin and one with Random House is pending.

 

Thanks to Jenny Davis we have introduced our new online book recommendation service, Good Reads, which reviews hundreds of books as well as author biographies and title lists–all easily accessible online. Good Reads also offers email newsletters–new books in the subjects of your choosing are sent right to your inbox. This service is made possible by a generous donation from the Friends of the Library. To access Good Reads, visit our web site at www.rcpl.info or go direct to the Good Reads page.

 

Redwood Shores—Liz Meeks

• Sandpiper School students made a very generous donation of $400.00 in library materials to the Redwood Shores Branch Library this month. The school held its annual Scholastic Book Fair during the week of November 17 and students that purchased books at the fair donated the change from their purchases to the Library.  The Library extends a very heartfelt and gracious “thank you” to the students at Sandpiper School for their generosity.
• The number of library materials checked out continues to increase each month since the library opened.  This month, 46,975 library materials were checked out. In the first three months the library has circulated more items than Schaberg does in one year!
• 20,808 people visited the library. (Note: the gate counter malfunctioned at the end of the month.)
• Weekly storytime attendance is ranging from 30 to 80 per program. More sessions to meet demand are being planned.
• In collaboration with PRCS, we will have weekly teen programs after school. A staff member will be hired from revenues that are being generated from the PRCS classes held at the Shores Library.
• Lucy, Leticia and Ray attended the City’s New Employee Welcome orientation on November 6. The all-day session began with a breakfast with the Department Heads and continued with a fun-filled and active program which included an overview of the City; a tour of the City; lunch with the City Manager; a values discussion with the Department Heads; safety and policy information; and networking with colleagues from other departments.
• The Library Board held its monthly meeting at the library. After the meeting the Board received a tour of the facility by library staff.
• The Homework Center opened on Monday, November 3.  nu Sumabeena is the Homework Center Supervisor.
• The Library held an “Election Day” event on Tuesday, November 4. The Community Room was open and available all-day as community residents dropped in throughout the day to watch the election day results on the big 65” flat screen television, engage in conversation and enjoy light refreshments.
• A variety of different groups and organizations are reserving and utilizing the meeting rooms at the library.
• With the recent award of grants from Oracle and Electronic Arts, the Redwood Shores Library Interpretive Center has achieved the fundraising goal of $297,120! All of the funds for the project were raised from corporate and foundation grants as well as generous donations from members of the community. The Interpretive Center is scheduled for installation in mid-January and a public opening is being planned.
• Our November 15th birdwalk was led by Sonny Mencher of the Sequoia Audubon Society. Thirty people came to the Redwood Shores Library Community Room for a slideshow of birds seen in Redwood Shores the previous week. About 10 people then headed to Nob Hill Pond for a great showing of real birds!

 

Schaberg

·         181 students attended the Homework Center this month.

·         The various story time sessions at the Schaberg Branch Library are well received, with 284 attending this month.

·         5,224 visitors came to the Library this month.

·         13,300 items were checked out, 0% increase.

 

Fair Oaks—Maria Diaz

• Fair Oaks circulated 6,991 items in November, a 40% increase over November 2007!
• During November Cristina, Armando and Maria continue to work on planning for the Family Author Night programs in partnership with the four schools.

• The Hoover School program is set for January 12, 2009 at 6 p.m. with Elizabeth Gomez and Yuyi Morales has agreed to do 1 or 2 programs at Fair Oaks and maybe Taft.
• Cristina and Maria met with the director of the Child Development Centers to talk about possible outreach opportunities and need for Traveling Story Time volunteers. Cristina will work with the Parent Advocate on outreach at future parent meetings. The Director will contact her staff and let Jan know what the need is for Traveling Story Time volunteers.
• While at Taft Maria and Cristina also met the staff from the Family Center to reconnect and explore future outreach opportunities. Cristina will work with Carlin Politzer the Community Schools Coordinator to plan outreach to the Taft parent community.
• This month we also have been working with Leslie Kanno. Leslie is a San Jose State Library School student who is writing an application for the 2009 Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Visit Award. The application is for Pam Muñoz Ryan, a Pura Belpré Medal recipient to do an author visit to Garfield Charter School. 
• Angelica and Karla have started training in Technical Services. They each help process materials one morning per week to help eliminate the backlog of materials and help to get them out into and available for our customers.
• This month we have two programs in partnership with El Concilio of San Mateo County. Tuesdays at 5 p.m. we have the Plaza Comunitaria and students are working on continuing their education with specific goals like getting a GED.
• On Thursdays at 4:00 p.m the Nutrition workshops took place. Adults learn how to prevent illness and how to help your family be healthy by eating healthy foods. 
• This month we had three high school students volunteer 20 hours and help us with story time and page duties.
• Maria Diaz attended the PLS Multicultural Committee Meeting and made a presentation on Bi-Lingual Storytime with Armando. 
• Maria has been working with Magda on changing the message on our check-out receipts. We want the message to be bilingual and to encourage our customers to avoid paying fines by calling or going on line to renew their materials.
• Maria continues to work on CBET class visits and the Posada event.

 

Downtown Library

• 63,358 in circulation, a 1.5% increase.
• Staff is dealing with the amount of processing with the increase in new materials this year. More staff is being directed to getting new materials to the customer faster.
• The 2^nd floor remodel still has issues with the new HVAC units on the roof. Do not know when it will officially go out to bid. Plans are being made to move the Adult Fiction collection downstairs—and have all adult English books together—when the project begins. The Fiction collection will stay downstairs.
• 71 folks attended our adult programs this month.
• Four ESL classes visited and got a tour of the library. 

 

Youth Services—Chuck Ashton

Outreach

• Cristina got to visit this year’s version of Familias Unidas Para Aprender, a wonderful parent education program at Hoover School. Organized and run by 3rd grade teacher extraordinaire Ninfa Zuno, Familias Unidas aims to teach parents about their child’s schooling. They are taught how report cards and the grading system works, what a book report consists of, and other arcana of public education. The library has been a big component of Familias Unidas for several years. Cristina explains the importance of reading aloud to children and offers an overview of the library’s programs and services, and hands out library cards — thirty-seven new ones on this occasion. She will also attend the graduation ceremony at the end of the school year.
• Cristina was the surprise visitor at two Hoover classes in which all of the students reached their reading goals for the month. She told stories (scary, of course), and handed out treats and kudos to the proud students. Hoover has a thriving Reading Program. Kids who bring their Reader certificates downtown or to Fair Oaks get a new book of their choice to keep.
• Chuck was guest lecturer at Cañada College’s Early Childhood Education class where he taught budding preschool teachers techniques of oral storytelling and other pre-literacy skill activities to use with preschoolers.
• Chuck took his storytelling/puppet/music program on the road to entertain an audience of 100 at the Portola Valley Library. The new library building there is nicely crafted in unfinished wood and is very attractive.

Programs 

• Jacky worked with the Peninsula Humane Society to schedule Paws for Reading events Downtown and in Redwood Shores for 2009. Volunteers were scheduled and trained for both locations. Jacky assisted PHS in scheduling a Sports Illustrated photo shoot in December which will feature Jonny Justice, a pit bull terrier rescued from the Michael Vick compound. Now a spokesdog for Pit Bulls, Jonny is a happy volunteer with Paws for Reading and other programs.
• The monthly Dad and Me @ the Library program featured puppeteer extraordinaire Art Gruenberger (a.k.a. Puppet Art Theater) who amazed an audience of nearly 100 with his handmade puppets and original puppet show.
• November’s Family Night program featured the music of Zun Zun, a two person music group playing the music of Mexico, Central and South America. Their infectious music had the audience playing along on rhythm instruments and dancing throughout the Community Room.

Traveling Storytime

• In November Jan trained five new volunteers, including one that will begin a new Spanish storytime at Redwood Shores in January.  Work has begun on a new Traveling Storytime web page, under the direction of one of Jan’s volunteers.  Jan continued the tradition of writing Thanksgiving letters to all of her volunteers thanking them for the fantastic work that they do all year. The holiday book distribution is well underway with over 650 books distributed to the volunteers to give to “their kids” at Christmas. 

Teen Services 

• Sarah is planning a Fishbowl where teens could talk about the results of the 2008 election.
• In the month of November, Sarah worked with 39 volunteers who worked a total of 103 ½ hours.  During the monthly art activity (led solely by the teens) children made Fall Cards, Scarecrows, and Turkeys.  A total of 40 children attended.
• Sarah hosted an Open Mic Night in November.  The teens decided they wanted to allow everyone to attend.  There were about 25 people both young and old that came to enjoy food and the entertainment provided by the teens.  Teens brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and homemade lasagna. Sarah provided a veggie tray, pumpkin bread and tangerines.  The evening was a big hit with teens staying for 2 ½ hours.  Many of the teens would like to do this event on a regular basis.
• Sarah met with a freshman from Menlo Atherton who would like to start a teen book club.  Their first meeting will be in January.
• Sarah attended two meetings of the Youth Development Learning Network.  In these sessions they talked about building relationships with teens and youth participation.  Sarah networked with many local community agencies.

 

 

 

Two great articles about the benefits of computer use: 

 

Time online teaches kids important skills, study finds

By Sharon Noguchi
Mercury News

Posted: 11/20/2008 12:01:00 AM PST

Hear that that clicking sound?

It’s the wired generation forwarding a new study to their peers and parents that suggests always-online digital kids aren’t wasting time and deadening brain cells — they’re actually engaged in important work.

By socializing, tinkering with technology and intensely delving into media, teens and children on the Internet “are picking up basic social and technical skills they need to fully participate in contemporary society,” according to a three-year national study released today. That may give kids like David Portales ammunition for a few more minutes of computer time tonight.

“I’m going to tell my mom!” the excited sixth-grader at Foothill Adventist school in Milpitas said when he heard about the study, the largest of its kind in the U.S.

Researchers, including participants from University of California-Berkeley and San Jose State University, conducted interviews, studied diaries, convened focus groups and collected nearly 10,500 profiles on sites such as Facebook and Neopets. The $3.3 million study, funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, found that youths use online networks to extend friendships, acquire technical skills, learn from each other, explore interests and develop expertise. This all takes “ongoing maintenance and negotiation.”

In what researchers call “hypersocial” behavior, media at the fingertips enable teens to always be connected. And instant messaging,

 

text messages and Facebook have changed dating as well: Couples “telecocoon,” creating a full-time intimate community even while physically apart.

As for mere socializing, “It is not a waste of time for teens to hang out online,” said Mizuko Ito, a professor at the University of California-Irvine and lead researcher for the study “Living and Learning with New Media.” Kids online, the study said, are learning to be “competent citizens in the digital age.”

But what about learning quadratic equations, drying the dishes and talking to parents?

Ito conceded that teens aren’t learning the causes of the Civil War via instant messaging, but they are using new media to learn from their peers. The subject is more likely to be how to spiff up a YouTube video or design a more fashionable avatar.

Yes, researchers noted, they suspended value judgments in their study.

For parents wondering where they fit into this picture, the researchers aren’t very encouraging. First of all, MySpace is not Your Space.

Teens view adults lurking online as awkward, creepy and violating trust, researchers found. The exceptions are when kids are “geeking out” — that’s slang for really getting into tech mode — and welcome adult participation, for instance in an interactive game like the “World of Warcraft.”

But researchers have bad news for parents who believe that your kids shouldn’t be anywhere where you’re not.

The study found that youths perceive erecting barriers — like limiting computer time — “as raw and ill-informed exercises of power.” And teens, being teens, develop “workarounds,” ways to subvert those barriers thrown up by parents and schools.

Instead, researchers suggested, parents need to appreciate kids’ social interactions with their peers and recognize their children’s expertise. Then “new media practices can be sites of shared focus rather than anxiety and tension.”

A dinner conversation about “Halo 3,”, anyone?

Still, Ito says that families need to discuss the tug-of-war over kids’ media use. “It’s not just about stranger danger and predators. We need to have conversations about concrete strategies and practices” so kids can set priorities and use the Internet safely. “Simply banning them (from the computer) is not going to help.”

David’s mom, Sarah Portales, knows the struggle. She limits David’s online time to two hours. When he’s on, “I want him to do something more productive, and when I ask him to get off, he says, “Five more minutes, Mom!’ “

For parents who despair at the findings, the researchers did have one undeniable bright spot: They found no evidence that kids are engaging in behavior online any riskier than what they do offline.

Portales concedes that playing games has taught David some lessons. She’s refused his requests to get a family dog. But on Club Penguin, a popular site for children, he “bought” two dog-like “Puffles.” He “fed” them gum, and while caring for one, the other ran away.

“See?” his mother said she told him. “That’s what would happen if we had a dog.”

 

Internet searching stimulates brain, study says

Heidi Benson, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, November 30, 2008

 

Can Googling delay the onset of dementia?

A new UCLA study, part of the growing research into the effects of technology on the brain, shows that searching the Internet may keep older brains agile – it’s like taking your brain for a walk.

It’s too early to conclude that technology will help vanquish Alzheimer’s disease, but “our study shows that when your brain is on Google, your neural circuitry changes extensively,” said psychiatrist Gary Small, director of UCLA’s Memory & Aging Research Center.

The new study, which will be published next month in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, comes at a time when medical experts are forecasting that Alzheimer’s cases will quadruple by 2050. In response to such projections, “brain-gyms” and memory-building computer programs have proliferated.

The subjects in Small’s nine-month study were 24 neurologically normal volunteers ages 55 to 76, with similar education levels. They were assigned two tasks: to read book-like text on computer screens and to perform Internet searches.

While doing so, their brains were scanned inside a specially equipped magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. Half the group was familiar with Internet searching; the other half was not.

Subjects viewed simulated Web pages through goggles, then, using a finger pad to approximate an online search, pressed one of three response buttons to control the cursor. For the book reading task, they pressed a button to advance text pages.

To increase their motivation, subjects were told in advance that they would be assessed for their knowledge of the topics they researched. Topics included the benefits of eating chocolate, planning a trip to the Galapagos and how to choose a car.

The MRI results showed that both text reading and Internet searching stimulated the regions of the brain controlling language, reading, memory and vision. But the Internet search lit up more areas of the brain, additionally activating the regions controlling complex reasoning and decision making. The increased brain activity, which is probably due to the many rapid choices such searches involve, suggests that subjects had a richer sensory experience and heightened attention.

By focusing on older users, Small said, he aimed to fill a gap in brain research. Few studies have looked at the effects of technology on these “digital immigrants,” who began using computers later in life than their younger counterparts, the “digital natives.” Small’s study was started as part of the research for his latest book, “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind.”

“Our findings point to an association between routine Internet searching and neural circuitry activation in middle-aged and older adults,” the study said. “Further study will elucidate both the potential positive and negative influences of these technologies on the aging brain.”

The implications are provocative, particularly because it is well known that developments in technology affect human behavior.

“People who are more adept with the technology will be more successful in society, and their offspring will be more likely to excel,” Small told The Chronicle.

Some researchers, including Kevin Lee, deputy executive director of the Ellison Medical Foundation, which funds research on aging, say such statements go too far.

“The printed book and typewriters may change our brains, individually, over a lifetime,” Lee said. “But whether using computers would change our genetic makeup is something that would only happen over thousands of years.”

Small acknowledges that our increasing dependence on technology is controversial.

“It’s not all good,” he said. “We know that a teenager does not have the empathy skills of a middle-ager. What will happen if they play video games endlessly?”

The study, he hopes, will be a steppingstone.

“The brain is complicated, and the technology is complicated – it’s not all good, it’s not all bad, but it definitely has an impact on our lives,” Small said.

“We need to acknowledge that and be thoughtful about our relationship with technology so it enhances our lives and our relationships with other people.”

 

 

 

 

October 2008 Report

Library Director’s Report- October 2008 

 

A week in the month of the library, or when it rains, folks go to the library. The following happened in one week in October:

• 40 parents met at Fair Oaks after the library was closed for a presentation about life skills, including voting, financing and how to relax in these turbulent times; arts and crafts were provided for the children. 
• Also at Fair Oaks Library, a celebration of the Day of the Dead with stories by Armando Ramirez who read to 180 children.
• The 21^st annual Halloween Costume Parade drew over 200 children and family members for a not-so-spooky stroll through the Downtown Library.
• 130 children and families attended a halloween crafts and storytime later in the week at the Shores Library; the Schaberg branch hosted the same event that day.
• 100 kids attended a Halloween program at Fair Oaks.
• At the Downtown Library a puppeteer program had almost 300 children and parents in attendance. 
• And on the same day, the Day of the Dead program that was suppose to happen at the Square Court House, moved indoors to the Downtown Library, with 300 children and adults attending.
• That same day at the Shores Library, a new photography exhibit, 2 Views in B & W, drew 100 people for the opening reception.
• The Children’s Room hosted the Insect Discovery Lab, an African insect experience. 200 preschoolers, and 4^th and 5^th graders from Hoover School, held giant African millipedes and listened to Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
• A bird walk with the Sequoia Audubon Society attracted almost 50 enthusiastic birdwatchers of all ages to the Redwood Shores Library on Sunday.
• All this, 30,000 items checked out (and in and shelved), a few adult programs and our regular daily storytimes, including storytimes at the Shores library, which are drawing 60 to 80 people!

 

Trivia BEE 2008, Redwood City Friends of Literacy’s fund raising event to support Redwood City Public Library’s Project READ program, took place on October 17th at the beautiful Cañada College campus. This year 30 Trivia BEE teams competed for the prestigious title of Redwood City Trivia BEE Champions. Redwood City’s Project READ Trivia BEE event is the original Trivia BEE competition. Since its inception Project READ has packaged up all the details and materials of their annual Trivia BEE and sent the information to literacy programs all over California and the United States helping literacy programs to raise much needed funds. Our appreciation and deepest gratitude goes to the event volunteers, emcee Jim Hartnett, all City Council members, Cañada College President Tom Mohr, Peter Ingram and the college staff and faculty; and especially to the library staff for their help before, during and after the Trivia BEE. A very special thank you to the 30 teams that participated this year, those who awarded gift grants to Project READ and the many donors who contributed to the success of this event. We are happy to say that we are still receiving BEE donations. To date the Trivia BEE has received approximately $33,400 in sponsorships, gift grants and in-kind donations. All monies raised will go directly to instructional costs, programs, learning materials, eyeglasses and educational evaluations for our learners.

 

Scattered Bullets

• Fair Oaks and the Downtown Library are now on fiber optic. Performance on the public computers, including wireless use, should be much improved. This was a huge project that PLAN, the Library and City staff assisted with.
• Flamin’ Dogs will be taking over the kiosk outside the library early in 2009.
• The archives board approved money to pay for the digital conversion of 56 microfilm rolls of old newspapers. 
• In collaboration with the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, classes are being offered and held at the Redwood Shores Branch Library in some of the meeting rooms. The Parks department is coordinating and offering a variety of classes, and the Library is providing the space in the meeting rooms to accommodate the classes, which further exposes the community to the new library and its resources. This certainly is a community building partnership amongst the departments that enhances the services provided by the City to our residents.
• We are retooling our events calendar and email list to align with the City’s. We will then have access to an additional 1,500 people who signed up to receive notices about the library from the City’s website; we are planning to expand this number.
• We signed on for the online book list service, Bookletters. BookLetters offers reviews of books, audio books, films as well as hundreds of author biographies and title lists – all easily accessible online. BookLetters also offers email newsletters that are customizable so new books in the subjects of your choosing are sent right to your inbox. BookLetters can be used at home or at the Library.
• Library staff (Liz and Maria K.) participated in a half-day Emergency Operations Center exercise. The Library shares the responsibility for the Plans section of the Emergency Operations Center.
• The library donated over 100 VHS tapes and Books on Tape from the collection to the Veteran’s Center in Redwood City. We will continue to donate tape materials as we phase these collections out.
• An incident last month made us all think about public gathering rights and policies. A Proposition W table was up in front of the Downtown Library prompting many folks to question the legality of this. Several library and city staff had different information when asked. The City Attorney’s review found that it is legal for any group to gather for whatever reason in a public space as long as there are no code violations (blocking entrances, disturbing the peace, etc).

 

Redwood Shores (Liz Meeks)

• 45,130 library materials were checked out in October.
• Two months statistics:

o   Total checkouts: 89, 871 —Adult Media: 28%, Adult Books: 20%, Children’s Media: 14%, Children’s Books: 38%.

• The library has been very active with 42,328 visitors coming through the doors in October (twice as many as last month).
• 453 new customers received library cards for the first time.
• Storytimes began this month, with close to 600 attending the Bedtime, Preschool, Hindi and Tiny Tales programs. Plans are to offer more beginning in December.
• 5^th grade student and journalist Rosie Crisman wrote a front page article about the library for her school newsletter, The Sandpiper Gazette.
• The Pilot wrote a feature article about the opening of the new library and its services.
• The Chamber of Commerce held a very successful mixer at the library on October 15 in the Community Room.
• Anderson Brulé Architects arranged for the library to be professionally photographed.  Photographs will be made available to the Library next month.
• The Redwood Shores Library Interpretive Center received $2,300+ in donations in honor of Jacky Averill’s dedication, hard work, stress and strain to the project! The Interpretive Center is in the final days of permit approval; fabrication and installation will begin in January.
• Café vendor is pending.

 

Schaberg (Liz Meeks)

• Welcomed new Library Page Cinthya Vieyra.
• The Homework Center at the Schaberg Branch Library opened this month and newly hired Homework Center Supervisor Stacy Starr is doing a wonderful job. Averaging 60 students a week.
• 14,206 library materials were checked out.

 

Fair Oaks (Maria Diaz)

• Maria and Chuck participated in the Taft Community School Festival on October 4^th.
• Art in Action arrived at Fair Oaks on October 14^th. Jay Whitehill did a great job explaining and demonstrating the art of Sudanese Mask Making. 36 children enjoyed the sound of the African music and had a great time making the masks. 
• Our partnership with El Concilio continues to grow and we celebrated the 8th Annual Bi-National Health Week Fair on October 18^th. The library hosted workshops on nutrition, exercise and dental care in the computer area. We also had Health screenings for diabetes, HIV/AIDS and blood pressure in the periodicals area.
• Also on October 18^th we had a “Making Piñatas!” programs. This was a hands-on craft and 70 children made a piñata together with their parents. We had about 150 total participants. 
• Staff performed storytime for several groups of kids at the Olive Festival. We shared a table with Local History and had crafts for children also.  . 
• Cristina continues to do a fabulous job with the Fair Oaks School Kinder class visits. Each month we have 120 students and over 20 parents visit the library, check out materials and get treated to stories from Cristina our master storyteller.
• On October 28^th we had a CBET class visit with 20 students and 7 children.  Angelica processed the library card applications and Maria gave them a tour and introduction to the library. Maria also talked to them about the importance of reading and how the library can help them help their students to achieve academic success.
• Board Member Reina Barragan just happened to stop by that evening and she also talked to them about the library and asked them what other services they would like the library to offer. One item that came up was that the parents also want tutors to help them with their English homework so they can improve their English and be able to better help their students.
• This month both the carpet and the windows were cleaned and have greatly improved the look and feel of the library. We also have added 16 new computers in the adult area, moved the self check out and will be adding two computers for toddlers. 
• Continue to work on: Library and Schools Literacy Partnership – author for Garfield; improving customer service at the service desk; increasing attendance for programs and storytime; flyers and promotional materials.

 

Youth Services (Chuck Ashton)

• Chuck was the guest performer at Roosevelt School’s Family Night. Over 200 in attendance were treated to stories and songs. Cookies and milk were the order of the day.
• The monthly “Dad and Me @ the Library” program tied into the “One Book, One Community” theme with African drummer Onye Onyemaechi who entertained over 100 wildly enthusiastic children and their families who took part on the rhythm instruments and had the walls bursting at their seams. A Maasai dance program was also held a few days later where over 50 in attendance were feted to a wonderful program on Maasai culture.
• In a program co-sponsored by Kepler’s Bookstore, pop-up book artist David Carter shared his stories, talked about techniques of making a pop-up book, led a workshop where kids made their own pop-up, and signed autographs for over 60 children and family members.
• Jan was able to train three new volunteers (including one in Chinese) and placed two and also ordered 750  holiday books for the Traveling Storytime volunteers to give to the children that they read to. The books have arrived and will be distributed to the volunteers in November.
• This month 65 teen volunteers worked 180 hours thanks to Sarah’s support.

 

Selected Adult Program Highlight (Roz Kutler)

• 1,328 people attended the kick-off event for our One Book, One Book event at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center on October 1^. Michael Krasny interviewed Dave Eggers and Valentino A. Deng. Youth were well represented.  I was at the table where we personally handed out 300 extra-credit slips to students!
• One Book, One Community programs, Redwood City library attendance total – 610.
• Circulation statistics for What is the What: Book-on-cd—42, Book (English)—416, Book (Spanish) —16.
• OBOC:  A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan, was an exemplary film program. Director, Kim Shelton, said just a few words before screening her inspiring film, set in the Northwest U.S, drawing out participants in a wonderful discussion after the film. A teen who attended asked Kim, ”Were you there?”  And made the connection about what it means to be a film director for the first time.
• Hope with Sudan, a scholarship program for Sudanese Children and Youth living in exile in Kenya and Uganda, offered Redwood City residents the rare opportunity to get a meet an adult “Lost Boy” from San Jose, who told his story in a much more intimate setting than the kick-off event, answering questions from the group.

 

Project READ (Kathy Endaya)

• September and October were very exciting months for Project READ! We welcomed and trained seven Notre Dame AmeriCorps members who will be assisting in both the youth and adult literacy programs. These recent college graduates have come from all over the country to give a year of service to the families of Redwood City.
• Recruitment for KIP tutors was a joint effort between returning teen tutors who did in-class presentations at Sequoia High School and Project READ staff who visited several of the Academy classes at Woodside High School. Over 54 teens expressed interest in the program!
• In September we trained a total of 48 preteen and teen tutors in the KIP program. Each of these tutors was then matched with a 1^st-4^th grader.  These pairs meet twice a week at the library for tutoring sessions. Currently, 46 KIP learners are receiving individualized support from these amazing volunteers. The pairs work together on reading, homework and getting to know the library. In order to orient the little learners to the “big” library, each tutor created a customized scavenger hunt for their learner that highlighted the location of resources that most interested the little buddy.
• In October, KIP tutors and learners took learning outside of the library on two field trips. Twenty-four teen tutors ventured to San Francisco State University where they enjoyed a presentation from an Outreach Specialist as well as a campus tour. For many of the young tutors, it was their first experience on a college campus. Meanwhile, 42 KIP learners and preteen tutors got to see literature come to life on their trip to the Arata Pumpkin Farm in Half Moon Bay. At the farm, students got to pick their own pumpkin, find their way out of a hay labyrinth, pet and feed real animals and experience train, pony and hay rides!
• At the September KIP story hour, over 65 KIP learners, tutors and family members came together for musical story telling, crafts and books. The Mike Eppley and Anjaline duo had the whole crowd singing and playing along with their festive story telling. In October, KIP families had a special treat, a 3-D performance by the AstroWizard. Over 80 youth and adults were mesmerized by the beautiful presentation

 

 

Great article on City Government:

 

San Jose Mercury News THE KEYS TO MAKING A CITY VIBRANT AND INNOVATIVE October 8, 2008      Section: Editorial    Edition: Valley Final    Page: 12A By Carol Coletta San Jose is fortunate to be one of the few U.S. cities whose economy is still growing. It is the exception to generally grim economic news that fills the map with cities that are either in recession or close to it.

 

Since cities and the metro areas produce 80 percent of the nation’s economic assets and economic drivers, it is essential to our national well-being that we get our urban strategies right. Unfortunately, many of our communities are built on outdated assumptions. We thought gas would always be cheap and plentiful, we could always grow our way out of congestion and new sources of labor would always be plentiful. We assumed Americans were willing to abandon a public life, content to live privately in their ever-expanding suburban homes.   These assumptions are no longer true. Gas is expensive and getting more so. We can’t build enough highways fast enough to significantly reduce time spent in traffic. Even though unemployment has altered the near-term outlook, long-term we can expect labor to tighten as baby boomers reach retirement age, and there are no additional college graduates or women to expand the labor force.   It turns out that the most coveted part of the workforce, highly-educated 25- to 34-year-olds, are the most mobile. Two-thirds say they first choose where they want to live, then they look for a job, when deciding where to move.   And the desire for public life is on the rise. It shows up in a number of ways. Young adults are now 33 percent more likely than other Americans to live within a three-mile radius of the central business district, where life is lived far more publicly. Citizens flood great new public spaces like Chicago’s Millennium Park, even passing referendums to tax themselves specifically for parks and public spaces.   These are the new realities. The problem is our strategies of city-making haven’t quite caught up to a new and very different world.   Our research at CEOs for Cities shows that cities best position themselves to succeed when they become very, very good at doing four key things: ·         Developing, attracting and retaining talent. ·         Connecting their citizens to opportunity, their city to the region and their region to the global economy. ·         Understanding what makes their community distinctive and then having the confidence to capitalize on it (rather than chase the same tired strategy that every other community is chasing). ·         Developing the capacity for innovation within government and within your community.   Talent, connections, distinctiveness and innovation. These are “the city vitals” — dimensions on which next generation cities will succeed. Having a strong and vibrant central city is an important accelerator of each of these vitals.   These aren’t your typical list of urban issues or urban solutions. They don’t fit easily into the organizational structure at City Hall or our civic structure.   Is there a Department of Talent in San Jose? A Director of Distinctiveness? Someone devoted to Connections?   Do you have anyone responsible for innovation not just at City Hall (although that would put your city far ahead of others) but in the public realm? Do you have a group absolutely passionate about making your central city vibrant, making it an accelerator of talent, connections, distinctiveness and innovation?   With its economy still growing, San Jose is one of the nation’s few fortunate communities. To remain that way, San Jose will need to assign responsibilities for these new success factors and ensure that its new plan is based on these new realities.     Carol Coletta is president and CEO of CEOs for Cities, and host and producer of the public radio show “Smart City.”  She wrote this article for the mercury News.

September 2008 Report

Library Director’s Report-September 2008

We are fortunate to host a Management Exchange staff member, Sarah Nunes, for the next three months. Sarah is a Division Manager for the Human Resources Department at the City of San Jose. She will be developing a customer service training program for the library, along with helping us with other organizational issues such as succession planning, team building and organizational structure.

The grand opening of the Redwood Shores Branch Library was a huge success. On Saturday September 6, more than 1,200 people came to enjoy the grand opening festivities; 500 of these visitors received new library cards; and 10,000 items were checked out on Saturday and Sunday. I want to personally thank our Library staff, City Council, Library Foundation, Redwood Shores Community Association and all City staff that contributed to this great community building project. We should be very proud to be working and living here. For a community to have four unique libraries (and a brand new beautiful one!), and to receive the support we enjoy, is very rewarding and reflective of our wonderful community.
• We also welcomed newly hired staff at the Redwood Shores Branch Library:
o Raymond Delara, Library Assistant
o Lucy Palasek, Library Assistant
o Leticia Torres-Yee, Library Assistant
o Kristin Hope, Senior Library Page
• In September, the Shores Library checked out 44,116 library materials, and issued 1,164 new library cards.
• 21,270 customers visited the Shores Library during the month of September.
• 75% of all users are families on the weekends and kids after school.
• Sundays are the second busiest day, Saturdays the busiest.
• Saturdays and Sundays have been busier than the Downtown Library!
• Customer comments are overwhelmingly positive and grateful.
• The Parks, Recreation and Community Services department is collaborating with the Shores Library by offering classes in meeting rooms of the new library. This month baby skills, yoga, karate and mad science classes were held.
• 40 people attended the first monthly bird walk from the Shores Library led by a Sequoia Audubon Society volunteer. Participants identified 23 species of birds! This will be a monthly program.
• Jacky Averill has been working to secure the building permit for the Interpretive Center for a November installation. She met with consultants and city engineers and even went under the floor to take photos to gather the needed information for the completion of the technical installation drawings.
• With the Redwood City Library Foundation, Jacky secured a $100,000 grant from Oracle for the Redwood Shores Library Interpretive Center, and we have now raised $282,000, ten thousand dollars shy of the total cost!
• Jan Pedden held a reception to thank the Shores volunteers for their hard work at the grand opening. Over sixty people, including staff, attended the event and enjoyed desserts from La Tartine. We will continue to development volunteer opportunities, including Interpretive Center docents/monitors.
• Rochelle Carr, a local artist with her own gallery downtown, has donated a large painting “love of reading” to the Shores Library. She painted it specifically for the new library as she watched it being built (she lives two blocks away!). We will hang it in the family place above the toddler computers.

Although cities and counties escaped huge cuts from the State budget, there is still uncertainty as another deficit looms for next year. 5% reductions in literacy, PLF (public library fund) and TBR (transaction based revenue—money we receive for lending our materials to other libraries) were implemented this year. The State also took money from all city redevelopment agencies, which will affect all funds. Local and regional economic indicators are uncertain at best, and the City Manager will be keeping the organization updated when solid data is in hand.

The Downtown and Fair Oaks libraries will be cutting over to the new fiber optic network in October. This is huge project, and every computer has to be newly configured.

Also this month, 12 new public computers and 2 toddler computers will be installed at Fair Oaks. All upholstered chairs and benches at Fair Oaks have been replaced; the service desk has been completely re-faced; and the lighting has been upgraded. I am negotiating an early date for carpet replacement. The Library Foundation has committed raising $250,000 to replace and augment the library’s book and media collection; and our Library Friends gave $16,000 for library programs for the Fair Oaks community, including continuing our literacy partnerships with schools in the neighborhood.

With the arrival of the Italian Circus setting up next to the Downtown Library from October 17 – 27, parking lot B will not be available for library customers. Here is press release:
Redwood City, CA – The Circus is coming to town! Redwood City is proud to welcome “Zoppé – an Italian Family Circus” from October 23rd through October 26th for spectacular two-hour performances that will enthrall the entire family! The Circus tent will be set up right next to the Downtown Library (1044 Middlefield Road) in Redwood City and will host a gala benefit performance on October 23rd, followed by 2 shows on October 24th and 3 shows on both October 25th and 26th.
Showtimes:
Thursday, October 23, Special Gala Benefit Performance (details to be announced);
Friday, October 24, 4 pm and 8 pm;
Saturday, October 25, noon, 4 pm, and 8 pm;
Sunday, October 26, noon, 4 pm, and 8pm.

Here is an article Malcolm Smith wrote for the newest edition of the city newsletter:
Spotlight on the Redwood City Public Library
With the grand opening last September of the new Redwood Shores Branch Library, Redwood City’s library system has expanded to four branches, now serving every corner of our community!

And these are not your grandparents’ libraries…at Redwood City libraries, there’s music and fun, a variety of programs and presentations, homework help, computer labs, tutoring, a café, workshops and speakers and activities, specialty programs for kids, teens, families, and seniors, special events, videos, DVDs, and CDs, multi-lingual materials, games, Internet workstations – and that’s just the beginning!

Each library is really a community destination, offering an incredible variety of wonderful materials, services, and activities. All together, there are over 64,000 library card holders in Redwood City, who have access to over 300,000 books, CDs, videos and DVDs. Do you have your library card? If not, just visit any branch to get yours, and then enjoy the wondrous and vast opportunities at the Redwood City Public Library.

During the last year, over one million items were loaned out from your libraries – that’s an average of about 13 items for every man, woman, and child within Redwood City. An incredible 116,000 children and families attended library programs or received homework help – and there were nearly 600,000 visits to our libraries, and over 300,000 computer uses by community members.

The Library is also a place for volunteers – over 1,200 library volunteers participated just in the last year, mostly tutoring or reading to children, and they all add great value to the community. For example, tutors from the renowned Project READ program held a total of 57,000 tutoring sessions with their adult learners, while 60 Traveling Storytime volunteers read to over 675 children each week. In fact since 2001, Storytime volunteers have done over 7,000 sessions, reaching a total audience of over 100,000 children!

Other volunteer’s efforts include the Redwood City Library Foundation – their latest success is the raising of an incredible $850,000 to fully stock the new Redwood Shores branch. There’s also the Redwood City Friends of the Library, who raised $50,000 last year in support of programs for adults and youth. And 157 kids in the Library’s Teen Volunteer Program put in nearly 1,200 hours, helping out in our four libraries.

Have you visited a Redwood City Public Library branch lately? Each one offers so much for the community, so many services, and so many events and activities for the whole family:
• Fair Oaks Branch Library – 2510 Middlefield Road, 780-7261
• Schaberg Branch Library – 2410 Euclid Avenue, 780-7010
• Redwood Shores Branch Library – 399 Marine Parkway, 780-5740
• Downtown Library – 1044 Middlefield Road, 780-7018
For a look at what’s going on at the Redwood City Public Library branch near you, visit www.redwoodcity.org/library.

July 2008 Report

Library Director’s Report- July 2008

The organization has been focusing on the Redwood Shores Library.
• We put (in order!) 27,000 books on the shelves at the Shores Library in one and a half days!!!! (pictures in board packet). An additional 7,000 books will be arriving soon.
• 10,000 dvds and cds have been processed by staff.
• Staff interviews will be held first week of August.
• Technology plans in place and items ordered—computers, copy/fax, self-checkouts, flat screens, power point monitors, phones.
• Furniture arriving. Some shipping dates cutting it close.
• Interpretive Center approved by Council, ready to install later this month.
• Café Agreement on Council agenda. Tenant improvements needed and may not be ready for opening.
• Saturday, September 6, Grand Opening Celebration plans finalized—speakers (Mayor Foust, Councilmember Pierce, Board President Madrigal, State Librarian Hildreth, Shores Cub Scouts flag ceremony. Bands, children’s activities, give-aways and refreshments. Library card processing and additional checkout stations will be added to help ease crowding within the library.
• Community art wall displays set for opening and policy written for future rotation. Art in Action will display children’s art from Sandpiper School on a monthly basis in the children’s area.
• Community Room usage policy needs to be finalized.
• Children’s storytime schedule set. Future programming underway (ie movies, speakers, book club).
• Punch list activities pending; HVAC issues need to be resolved before building is turned over to the City.
• Most signage has been installed.

Meanwhile, business as usual in a busy summer:

The Summer Reading Club is in full swing with over 2,000 readers, listeners and parents signed up to make books an integral part of their summer plans.

New banners will be gracing Middlefield Road—watch for them this fall. Our plastic bags are about to become obsolete as all Redwood City libraries go green with new cloth totes, available for sale starting September 6th. RFP for coffee kiosk with ads on various websites announcing this unique opportunity.

The 2nd floor remodel (new teen room, three study rooms) and the tech lab upgrade have been approved for bid. The construction should begin in October. This project is also replacing the HVAC units for the entire library.

The Fair Oaks Library network has been upgraded to accommodate more computers without delays in speed. Fiber has been installed by ATT, and a new network closet will be added. Fabric has been ordered to replace all benches and chairs. New carpeting will go in sometime this fiscal year. It has been placed in the CIP replacement budget (first time this has happened). The Library Foundation met at Fair Oaks Branch and has formed a working team to explore and recommend funding opportunities for the North Fair Oaks community. The Library will have a booth at the North Fair Oaks Festival on August 24. Sequoia Adult school is meeting with their student parents at the library once a month after 5:00 pm on Fridays. Along with educational presentations, participants can check out library materials and children are delighted with storytelling and craft programs. Looking forward on Angelica Jaimez to return to Fair Oaks after two months of maternal leave.

Local History Librarian, Molly Spore-Alhadef. wrote an article for the local Spectrum Magazine’s “Redwood City Through the Years” section.

Start Your Own Blog was a great addition to July programming. In addition to learning basic blogging skills, all 23 participants left with a G-mail account and exposure to advanced blogging features. Thanks to Sarah for recruiting three teen volunteers who served as lab monitors for the class. More computer classes for the public will be a focus this coming year.

Youth Services
• Five weekly programs were held at all three library sites to promote the Summer Reading Club. The programs featured percussionist James Henry, musical group Hey Mom, magician Timothy James, funny man/juggler/magician Daffy Dave, the library’s own puppeteer Chuck Ashton at Schaberg, and puppeteers Swazzle at Fair Oaks and Downtown. 100 folks attended the Fair Oaks program!
• The monthly first Saturday Dad and Me @ the Library featured Chuck Ashton in a program of stories, songs and puppets. We didn’t expect much of an audience since it was the morning after the 4th of July, but some 25 library aficionados still found their way into the library for the program.
• Chuck was asked by one of his ex-students at San Jose State to present a program at the Cupertino Public Library where some 400 children and parents came to see the program of stories, songs and puppets.
• July has been a busy month for the Traveling Storytime Program with the addition of eight new volunteers to the program, four of which have already been placed in new sites. Jan also saw increased attendance at her weekly Tiny Tales, with an all-time high of 45 on July 15. Jan concluded the Tiny Tales storytime for the summer with a “Teddy Bears’ Picnic” themed day as she said good-bye to many of the children that she has been reading to for the last eighteen months. In September these children will be moving on to one our Toddler storytimes. Jan also filled in for Jacky at her storytimes.
• Long-time Youth Services staff member Cristina Thorson’s father died in late July. Cristina spent time with him at Stanford Hospital and arranging for his care before he passed away. All of our hearts go out to Cristina in her time of loss and we look forward to her return after her bereavement leave. Cristina asked that in lieu of flowers that anyone inclined to do so please make a contribution to either Project READ or to the Interpretive Center at Redwood Shores.
• 26 teen volunteers worked a total of 165 hours. On average, each volunteer worked at least 6 hours. The teens helped keep the children’s collection in order by shelving and shelf reading, they assisted at the Duct Tape program, they led the weekly art activity, three volunteers assisted at the Adult Blog program by helping adults use the computers, and finally a few of our volunteers helped with Summer Reading Club activities such as SRC sign-ups and programs.
• Sarah was contacted by Canada College’s librarian to help create an Urban and Historical Literature Bibliography. She selected titles, added descriptions of the books, and found reviews of each title. Sarah also met with Stacy Wenzel, an English teacher from Sequoia High School, to develop a series of class visits with her struggling readers during the upcoming school year. They will meet, acquire library cards, visit the library, learn about databases and Tutor.com, work on research papers, and perhaps visit the library a second time to see the completed teen space.
• Sarah led a Duct Tape Art program in which 15 teens made wallets, purses, and flowers out of colorful Duct Tape. Three lucky teens won $15.00 to Jamba Juice by entering the One Word Book Review. To enter, the teen wrote the title and author of a book and reviewed the book in one word. This 6 week raffle will continue for three more weeks.
• Sarah attended a meeting by the Youth Development Learning Network. She will meet with representatives from the group to decide if their program meets the needs of the library. If so, then she will be part of a year long program that connects services throughout the area.
• Sarah was contacted by the publisher of Bay Area Parent and asked if they could write an article about Jobs For Youth visiting the library. They hope to include an article in their Fall addition. Jobs For Youth met at the library and assisted 3 teens in developing their resumes. The teens found that by participating in sports, they had something to put on their resumes. Being in sports shows that you know how to be on time, you can be a team player, and you can take direction.

The City’s General Plan is moving forward. The following was input from the library for inclusion. It is good information about our library services.

Partnerships (Human Services Element)
 Seek partners in the community that can help us provide better literacy services and bridge cultural divides.

Community Building and Volunteers (Culture Element)
 Create an environment within the library that helps people meet, interact, and participate through a “third place.”
 Sustain and enhance a vibrant, community-centered Library system.
 Sustain meaningful volunteer opportunities that connect the city with the community.
 Be responsive to the community’s needs and expectations.

Education (Human Services Element)
 Assist and support life long learning for adults through computer training, programs and library collections.
 Help all community members to reach a functional level in reading, writing, math and critical thinking skills in English.
 Help raise a literate and educated next generation by sustaining or increasing library literacy storytime programs; and continuing the level of traveling storytime daycare/preschool visits each year.
 Assist all children to become School Ready by developing the love of reading, learning and libraries from birth to kindergarten.
 Actively support the efforts of students from Kindergarten through 12th grade, including emphasizing the love of reading.
 Sustain or increase the at-risk teen/elementary student tutoring program; and the after school homework help centers.
 Continue to collaborate with the School District through the sharing of library staff, expertise and programs.

External Communication (additional element to consider)
 Public Relations
 Marketing