April 2008 Report

Library Director’s Report- April 2008

 

We received word last week that the California Coastal Conservancy has approved a grant of $150,000 toward the cost of the Environmental Interpretive Center at the new Redwood Shores Library. With this grant, we have taken a major step toward securing the funding necessary for the entire project. The Interpretive Center will make the Redwood Shores Library a hub for environmental learning and interactive fun. In addition to the exhibits, Marine Science Institute staff has planned a series of after school classes and weekend Seaside Storytimes at the library. Volunteers from Sequoia Audubon are ready to provide birding walks, family activities and adult programs. The Library recently held a “contest” for the bird photographs needed for the Interpretive Center signs and exhibits and we received over 800 photographs that our team of experts chose the 35 pictures we needed.

 

The Library Foundation has completed raising the entire $850,000 for the opening day collection for the Redwood Shores Library. This is a significant achievement! We will formally acknowledge this commitment with the Library Board, the City Council and the community.

 

Construction progress on the Redwood Shores Library is moving along well and getter closer to completion. The building is 91.77% complete. The colorful interior painting is underway, light fixtures are in and the wood decks are being installed in back of the library. Casework is in place in some areas and metal shelving is going up. Construction progress (exteriors and parking lot landscaping) can be viewed by webcam accessed through http://rcpl.info/ebranch/redwoodshores.html

Library staff continues to work on various aspects associated with the project:

• Collection ordering is about 75% complete.
• Review of the furniture package proposals complete.
• Networking issues, wiring and technology, including audio visual needs complete.
• Signage program verified.
• Vendor for café in progress.
• Art walls in progress.
• Dave and Liz are working with PRCS on the use and procedures of the five community rooms. Four uses were identified: meeting space for non-profits (similar to Downtown Library), library programs, fee-based programs sponsored and coordinated by PRCS, and rental use for weddings and parties.
• Staff hiring and scheduling in progress. The tentative hours: Monday thru Thursday 10 – 8; closed Friday; Saturday 10-5; Sunday 12 – 5.
• An opening day celebration team formed for the September 6 event. All City Council members have verified the date.

 

PACT—the Library held it’s annual Partnership Academy for Community Teamwork session. The objectives of PACT are to involve and engage people in learning about and understanding the operation of City government. All participants gave the library very high praise on evaluation forms (included in the Board Packet). Thanks to Maria Diaz-Slocum for coordinating the program with help from Gene Suarez, Shirley Schwoerer, Chuck Ashton, Jenny Davis and Pam Patek.

 

During the week of April 27^th the library celebrated National Volunteer Week for the volunteers who serve the Redwood City Public Library: community members working for the Friends of the Library, Project Read, Traveling Storytime, Homework Centers, Teens and Outreach. The Project Read volunteers have their annual appreciation bbq; and the Traveling Storytime volunteers were recognized last month by City Council, so staff held a surprise party for the Friends of the Library who tirelessly sort donated books, staff the bookstore and have a table at the weekly farmer’s market. Many thanks to library staff that made this event possible, especially Carol Moniz and Maria Kramer; Rachel Delgado for making the banners, the displays and gift tags; Stewart Lollar, Gene Suarez, Jan Pedden and Shelia Guzman for helping with the gifts. And most of all, thank you to all our volunteers for their commitment to building community.

 

Deputy City Manager Magda Gonzales, Police Chief Lou Corbarruviaz, Parks & Recreation Director Corinne Centeno and I will be presenting to City Council on May 19. We will summarize our progress to-date about our Youth Agenda collaboration.

 

We will participate in the county-wide One Book, One Community San Mateo County Reads 2008 this October. The book will be What is the What: by Dave Eggers http://catalog.plsinfo.org/record=b1711073. On October 1 the author will be interviewed by Michael Krasny at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. 

We are always impressing other libraries. The Deputy County Librarian of Contra Costa County Library emailed me: “I was in RCL this weekend and was (again) impressed with how pretty the reference room is. I am starting a remodel of one of our libraries and wanted our staff to see this for inspiration.”

 

A collection development team comprised of staff from all branches and departments was formed to improve marketing, acquisitions, and growth of the library’s collections. The team has reviewed circulation statistics in an effort to boost circulation of under-utilized collections.

 

Programs for adults:

Meet the Author:  Don Borchert – Free for All: oddballs, geeks, and gangstas in the public library
An amazing crowd of thirty-one past and present Redwood City Library staff, SJSU graduates (circa ‘96), author’s entourage and assorted library and literature lovers packed the Fireplace Room. If you missed all the earlier PR about Don’s Book:  http://catalog.plsinfo.org/record=b1769923

Stanford Health Lecture Series – Farewell to Falls

Ellen Corman, Injury Prevention Coordinator for Stanford’s Trauma Services department held the attention of 31 participants interested in maintaining their independence by avoiding falls.

Best Tip – If you are or love someone over 65 years of age, check out the Beers List – Potentially Inappropriate Medications for the Elderly. According to Ellen, a recent San Mateo County study showed that most local physicians are unfamiliar with the list: http://www.dcri.duke.edu/ccge/curtis/beers.html

Word for Word – Ancestor

“The best program I’ve ever seen at the Library.” – Program Host

                                 

       April program information -

 

Wed, April 02	7:00pm	Peninsula Writer’s Bloc		8
Sat, April 05	2:00pm	Gardening Workshop	Drought Tolerant plants	20
Thurs, April 10	6:30pm	Word for Word	Ancestor	20
Sat, April 12	1:00pm	Knitting at the Library		11
Wed, April 16	10:30pm	Kaiser Senior Health Lecture	Senior Fraud (avoiding fraud and identity theft)	20
Thurs, April 17	7:00pm	Meet the Author: Don Borchert	National Library Week / Free for All: oddballs, geeks, and gangstas in the public library	31
Thurs, April 17	Noon	Book Group	Poetry of Wilfred Owen	5
Wed, April 30	7:00pm	Stanford Health Lecture Series	Fall Prevention	31

 

Total Attendance   -           146          

 Fair Oaks report:

• Armando Rameriz made 36 individual visits to Fair Oaks Pre-School and Head Start classrooms in the North Fair Oaks service area, reaching a total of 862 students and providing storytelling.  He read to 89 children and their families during his weekly Monday evening bilingual storytime session.
• The Fair Oaks Library partnered with the San Mateo County Library “Raising a Reader” program and hosted Literacy Night in the library on April 14 for a group of 38 students and their families from the Fair Oaks Head Start program.  
• Children’s illustrator Yuyi Morales delighted the 44 participants of the Day of the Children/ Day of the Book Celebration on April 30^th,
• On Sunday April 27^th the Fair Oaks Library joined Casa del la Cultura Quetzalcoatl for the 2nd   Annual “Carnaval Infantil. The celebration started with a Parade from Fair Oaks School to the Fair Oaks Community Center. The event was attended by over 300 children and many other community members.  Council members Alicia Aguirre and Barbara Pierce were also in attendance as well as Library Board Member Reina Barragan.
• Cristina Thorson will meet with staff at Hoover school and have them choose between Viola Canales and Yuyi Morales for the next library/school collaboration. She thinks that Francisco Jimenez will be a good fit for Fair Oaks and Garfield and Jorge Argueta for Taft. Cristina will write up the plan and then will work on securing the funding for all the programs.
• Maria Diaz and Cristina will be meeting with Yolanda Llamas who is the Child Care Coordinator for the Sequoia Adult School to work on a joint parent education program.
• Another project that Maria is exploring is a joint Summer Reading program with Adelante School during the month of July.  
• Maria attended the 2^nd Workshop for the Hoover Area Connection:  Linking your Neighborhood.  Many items added to the wish list will help citizens to remove barriers and make it easier for them to take advantage of our services. Here are two examples: a railroad crossing close to Fair Oaks, improvements/changes in transportation, adding bike lanes and the Woodside pedestrian bridge as well as the railroad crossing bridge. 

 Youth Services report:

• Three more classes at Hoover School made their reading goals of 100% participation at target and earned themselves a visit to their classroom by Cristina. This is Hoover’s third year holding their Reading Campaign, and participation has increased. Also up since the winter break is the number of Hoover students bringing their Reader of the Month certificates to the library in exchange for a free book. Twelve students from grades kindergarten through sixth came in the months of March and April. Most come with their proud parents and spend a great deal of time carefully choosing their prizes.
• Chuck was a guest reader at Laurel School for its annual Day of the Reader festivities.
• Finalists in the annual Youth Poetry Contest read their poems to an appreciative audience of over 100 at the McKinley auditorium. The five Grand Prize winners received trophies and $100 gift certificates to Kepler’s Bookstore. All of the finalists received medals, a poetry book, book bags, and gift certificates to eateries in downtown Redwood City.
• The audience for Cristina’s storytime at the Fair Oaks library has been growing steadily since it was started in January and also includes a cadre of faithful regulars. The overall numbers can’t yet be called large, so let’s describe the increase as exponential.
• Jacky provided a showcase for area talent with the annual Kids’ Talent Show. Forty-five kids from as far away as San Francisco participated in the 80 minute show. A professional photographer offered to take photos of the event which are/will be posted on our website.
• The monthly Dad and Me @ the Library program had one of its largest audiences ever as 175 family members attended a puppet show by Redwood City’s own Nick Barone Puppets.
• Author/illustrator Yuyi Morales gave presentations at the Fair Oaks and Downtown libraries to 80 appreciative children and parents. She spoke about her art, the games and toys she had as a child in Veracruz Mexico, and shared stories using props she had created.
• Children’s book selector Caroll Webster attended Hicklebee’s Bookstore Spring Preview and came back with a list of Valerie Lewis’s top choices for spring.
• Chuck, Sarah, and Caroll attended the annual Association of Children’s Librarians Institute. This year’s theme was “Baby Bounces:  Books and Music for the Very Young.” Staff came away with new ideas in developing preliteracy skills for toddlers and preschoolers.
• Chuck attended the Redwood City Educational Foundation’s benefit dinner at the Pacific Athletic Club. The benefit was to raise money for art and sport programs in the schools. Chuck sponsored two principals to the dinner, husband and wife Josh and Michelle Griffith (Taft School and Hawes School respectively), with whom he has worked for over twenty years in library presentations at their schools. The benefit raised over $125,000 for the schools.
• Teen Librarian Sarah LaTorra created a display of books on the topic of April Fools—practical jokes and humor. Midway through the month, Sarah changed the book display to Poetry books. Sarah acquired the 2008 High School Reading Lists from Sequoia, Menlo-Atherton, and Woodside and then compared these lists with last year’s lists to weed old books and buy new titles.
• As of the 26^th of April, there were 30 teen volunteers who worked for a total of 83.75 hours. The Library Teen Council has become a strong group of friends; almost all members are Seniors which means this group will need to be recruited again next year.
• The Teen Talent Show held on April 24^th was a great success!  45 came to the event and 7 teens participated by singing or rapping. On April 5^th, a SAT/ACT Practice Test was hosted by Kaplan. 8 students took the test and 6 came to the follow-up session.
• Jobs For Youth came to the library on the 24^th for a resume workshop. Sarah visited Peninsula Works to pick up handouts for the library as well as for a Woodside Counselor. 

 Project Read report:

• KIP learners, tutors and staff have continued to enjoy the “KIP at the Library” Pilot Program. Now in its seventh week, this new and improved KIP program has served 40 1^st-4^th graders, 6 preteen tutors and 20 teen tutors. Students and tutors alike were thrilled to receive their own personal library cards and are becoming more knowledgeable in using the library, especially with maneuvering the self-checkout system. 
• In addition, our learners continue to benefit from the one-on-one and small group tutoring taking place throughout the library. Individualized assessments were conducted during March and April, which have provided insights into students’ learning styles, preferences and aptitudes. Specific intervention plans were developed and our dedicated AmeriCorps members and tutors have been working tirelessly with Project READ staff to plan tutoring sessions that will help their learners meet their goals while also making learning fun and meaningful.
• Another highlight this month was a special nutrition presentation conducted by our longtime community partner, Second Harvest Food Bank. During this interactive show, KIP learners and tutors had the opportunity to review how our bodies use nutrients to remain healthy. We also had the chance to thank Second Harvest for providing our wonderful daily snacks.
• One Teen Tutor writes about her experience as a KIP tutor: “As I have been involved in this program for almost two years, I have grown very attached to both of my learners. I sometimes feel like they are my little brother and sister. And I can tell that they feel the same because they are always willing to tell me their thoughts and what is going on in their lives. I feel like I am their role model and that they truly look up to me.  I support them all the way and I hope that with my support, they will get ahead in their education. I work hard at KIP with these two students because I know they are learning a second language and I know how hard that can be because I was in their place and I never had anyone to help me. People from my background don’t make it very far in education here in the States and I am trying to raise that standard by giving them all the support I can…I see hope in my students. I’ve learned that if you give a child the necessary tools and support, you are setting up a road for them which they will walk on, making the correct way into their own success. And I have also learned that a little volunteer work can really go a long way…Through being in this program, I feel like I have changed. This program gives me resources in my public library and helps me with pretty much everything…I feel like I have grown along with my learners and I am excited to see what the future has in store for us.”
• A Glimpse of Life Beyond High School For Our Teen Tutors: during spring vacations we had the opportunity to give back to our teen tutors by taking them to tour several Bay Area colleges and universities. KIP teen tutors attended information sessions and toured San Mateo and Skyline Colleges. We also ventured to two distinct four-year universities, San Francisco State and Sonoma State where teens got to experience and compare the city campus with its more rural counterpart. In April, teen tutors, AmeriCorps members and Project READ staff had the pleasure of also attending an information session, tour and tasting at the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell.

 Teen Librarian Sarah LaTorra attended the Sequoia High School “Fishbowl” on Youth Violence and Safety. These notes and observations are from Chris Beth, Superintendent for PRCS. 

 There were 8 teens in the center, with about 15 other teens in the outer circle listening, and about 10 adults listening as well.  The program was facilitated by YFES (Youth Family Enrichment Services).

 There were some students who spoke up more than others, but all were very open and showed courage talking about this difficult issue.  As you read the notes below, think about how we can use the Youth Assets Model (41 Developmental Assets) to better define and provide the delivery of our programs and resources to our youth.  My feelings from listening to these kids talk was a mixture of sadness for what these kids go through; fear for my own kids’ safety as they get older; and knowing that we have a long way to go to make things better.  BUT, I also felt encouraged that we’re actively making a huge effort to give kids that were serving hope and direction through our after-school programs, PAL, library reading programs, homework centers and teen center – AND – knowing that the investments we’re making are and will make a difference for more kids in Redwood City.

 I.  Issues kids are facing at school:

 ·There is a lot of racial violence

·It’s more about race and sexuality issues rather than gang issues

·Violence is escalating

·It’s more Latinos vs. Tongans vs. Whites vs. Blacks

·Constantly there are fights about who is stronger than the other – it’s a “Ego Show”

 II.  Issues of violence in the community/City:

 ·It all depends on where you live.  Kids that show their area code (650 or 415) are showing off where they live and proving they are tougher (about pride where you are from)

·Kids want to represent something – that’s why they wear “area codes”

·Also, if someone wears red or blue and you look like you might be a gang member – kids from the opposite color (gang) will engage with you

·There are more drug fears rather than gang fears right now (drug dealers waiting around after school)

 III.  Motives for violence:

 ·To be noticed and to show off to others (show strength)

·It’s about self-esteem through force – power over others

·One teen said (and all others nodded) that “It feels good to fight because it releases my pain and anger”

·Fight to gain respect

·Trying to fit in

·Learn from siblings at home – model behavior

·Acceptance from others affects your point of view of yourself (self-image)

·“Violence is a way to get out your emotions” – it’s the only way to be heard

·Violence is a way to get back at others in order to gain respect

·Students who are victims of violence are afraid to get help and use resources (how to solve this?  Join a group at school – positive angle – join a school activity, sports, dance)

 IV.  Violence’s Affect:

 ·Always worried and scarred

·Paranoid, fear

·Fear the outcomes of violence (on the losing side)

·It affects daily life

·“Experiencing violence allows you to learn”

 V.  How have you responded to violence?:

 ·As a victim of violence you feel like you need to do the same to others

·Reason for violence is that it’s the only way the other person will listen

·Seeing the consequences gives understanding why to avoid violent responses

·Violence feels good to some – “it’s channeling like sports or drugs”

 VI.  Resources – who can you talk to?:

 ·One particular teacher who is like a friend or peer

·Adults letting kids know they are there (can call too)

·Adults who reach out to kids makes it easier to talk to that person

·There is a lack of communication and trust on campus

·The key is to build a relationship with an adult who you trust

·If family trust is an issue how can they (we) expect to trust others

·Teen Resource Center is full of good, trustworthy people

·Like the environment, vibe and connection with staff at the Teen Resources Center on campus

·How much an adult invests in them makes all the difference.  It’s not just the I’m here today and gone tomorrow – it’s to be about a relationship and knowing that that person will be there for you the next day and any time

 VII.   Ways to reduce violence:

 ·Music brings people together and breaks down barriers

·Music helps to “blow off steam”

·Music gets kids involved

·Boredom makes kids want to get into trouble

·Need more student activities

·Art – expression

·Get outdoors – natural environment

 VIII.  What can students do to reduce violence? (the question was what they can do to help solve the issue of violence):

 ·Tell friends / stand up to friends

·Tell friends that it’s not cool to fight

·Warn them – scare them “I saw so and so yesterday get arrested…”

·Communicate with peers – share what resources are available – who they can trust and talk to

·Talk friends out of fighting

 IX:  Definition of violence and last thoughts:

 ·Violence not just physical but verbal too

·Other types of violence is more “personal” – and sexual

·Building trust takes time

And an article that reinforces the direction our libraries are taking:

 Excerpt:

“the next hot idea as a downtown anchor will be the fun library.”  It turns out he was right.  Close to 20 cities have constructed elegant new multi-use central libraries — among them Seattle, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Phoenix and San Jose.  Soaring and original exterior designs, brilliantly-lit public halls and intimate spaces, conference centers, connected theaters and teen centers — all are part of the new mix.
        As Project for Public Spaces reports, “If the old model of the library was the inward-focused ‘reading room,’ the new one is more like a community ‘front porch.’” An element in the new liveliness of downtown Charlotte, N.C., for example, has been the combined ImaginOn children’s library and theater, a joint project of the Children’s Theater of Charlotte and the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County.  “Some people come to the library and find the theater; some people come to the theater and find the library,” says Beth Murray, librarian at the ImaginOn.

 Full article NEAL PEIRCE COLUMN   
 For Release Sunday, April 13, 2008
        
© 2008 Washington Post Writers Group

  LIBRARIES AND NEW AMERICANS:
  THE INDISPENSABLE LINK

  By Neal Peirce

        What do immigrants and libraries have to do with each other?  As our politicians wrangle over official immigration policies, can public libraries in our cities, neighborhoods and towns help assimilate the 32.5 million foreign-born already here?
        Librarians and their allies argue “yes” — that America’s libraries are successfully carrying out their historic tradition of turning immigrants into productive citizens.
        English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are bring taught.  Special sessions on American culture are being conducted.  Materials in languages ranging from Russian to Hindi are being made available.  Librarians find themselves providing counsel on computer use, Internet access, even on-line job leads.
        In immigrant-heavy Washington, D.C. suburbs, many public libraries have recast themselves as welcome centers.  Some checkout desks have signs in Korean, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese.  A recent immigrant from the Dominican Republic said: “I come to the library almost every day. And two days a week I follow the conversation classes. We have the opportunity not only to improve our English but to get new friends from all over the world.”
        The idea of libraries as social gathering places is hardly new.  Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate who built 2,500 free public libraries around the world in response to the immigrant flows and broad social gaps of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, intended they’d be places to attract young people.  Robert McNulty, a library advocate and president of Partners for Livable Communities, reminds us Carnegie actually built gymnasiums, boxing rings and swimming pools into some of his libraries — hoping that once there, the youth would “be exposed to books and learn to read.”
        Our public libraries, argues library expert Plummer Alston Jones, “have remained a sovereign alchemist turning the base metal of immigrant potentialities into the gold of American realities.”
        But they’re more than that.  They help get children into reading habits.  They can provide authoritative information, book- or Internet-based, that’s more comprehensive and often more reliable than a normal free Google search.  And they can be a fulcrum of renewal in cities and neighborhoods.
        McNulty told me over a decade ago that “the next hot idea as a downtown anchor will be the fun library.”  It turns out he was right.  Close to 20 cities have constructed elegant new multi-use central libraries — among them Seattle, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Phoenix and San Jose.  Soaring and original exterior designs, brilliantly-lit public halls and intimate spaces, conference centers, connected theaters and teen centers — all are part of the new mix.
        As Project for Public Spaces reports, “If the old model of the library was the inward-focused ‘reading room,’ the new one is more like a community ‘front porch.’” An element in the new liveliness of downtown Charlotte, N.C., for example, has been the combined ImaginOn children’s library and theater, a joint project of the Children’s Theater of Charlotte and the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County.  “Some people come to the library and find the theater; some people come to the theater and find the library,” says Beth Murray, librarian at the ImaginOn.
        The new champion of citywide library excellence may be Chicago, which has progressed from its landmark Harold Washington Library Center, opened in 1991, to the building or renovation of 52 neighborhood libraries.  Many replace nondescript storefronts and run-down buildings that were more blight than strong points of their neighborhoods.
        Major credit for the revival goes to Mayor Richard M. Daley and Mary Dempsey, the visionary manager/librarian he appointed library commissioner in 1994.  Based on the library’s first-ever strategic blueprint and a professional development plan for the system’s 1,300 employees, Dempsey was able to persuade the city council to approve $170 million in bond issues to upgrade the neighborhood branches.
        “I’ve purchased and knocked down more liquor stores, more no-tell motels, more really crummy and dilapidated, burned-out buildings in neighborhood after neighborhood and replaced them with libraries than I’d ever thought I’d do in my life,” Dempsey told an annual meeting of the American Library Association.
        A big recognition for Dempsey’s efforts came in 2006 when she received a Governing Magazine award as one of the 10 most outstanding U.S. Public Officials of the Year.
        “The Library is the People’s University, a place where people from all over the world can educate themselves, interact with their neighbors,” says Dempsey.  That’s why, she adds, for “more than 100 years, immigrants have seen the libraries of Chicago and other cities as an indispensable “welcoming institution.”
        For American success stories, that’s hard to top.