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.”