Santa Clara City Library
Foundation and Friends

Volume 5 Number 1 - Spring, 2010
To download a PDF version of this newsletter, click here.

Table of Contents

Make a Splash—Read!
Story Times & Art Activites at Local Homeless Shelters
Your Gifts & Donations at Work
Digital Books & Music in Many Formats
Use Link+ to Access Over 9 Million Books!
Becoming a “Friend Forever” of the Library
Transcription Volunteers Wanted
Library Rated Third in Nation and First in California
Literacy Tutors Needed
Gifts and Grants Received

Make a Splash — Read!

The Library’s 2010 Summer Reading theme is “Make a Splash – Read!” Events will include story times, concerts, and special performances for both children and teens. Children who meet their reading goals will receive a free paperback book, and teens will receive a Borders’ gift card. Please see the Library’s website for registration information and scheduled events. There will be an Adult Summer Reading Club, too.

“Make a Splash” is important because children who participate return to school with expanded vocabularies and improved comprehension skills. “Make a Splash” also provides families with great summer activities that are free.

Story Times & Art Activities at Local Homeless Shelters

Librarians from both our Youth Services and Literacy departments regularly present library programs at three Santa Clara family transitional housing shelters: HomeSafe, the Bill Wilson Center, and the Sobrato Family Living Center. Each program includes a story time and a light supper for families, and craft activities for kids.
Families also receive gift books, can apply for their own library cards, and check out books from the “Read to Me” collection for young children. The goals of this program are to bring library services to those in the community who find it difficult to visit the Library, and to encourage early literacy among families currently living at these Santa Clara shelters.

These activities are funded through various grants secured by the Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends.

Photo: Artwork was made by a child at the Sobrato Family Living Center.

Your Gifts & Donations at Work

The donations that you and other generous donors give to the Foundation & Friends make it possible for the Library to offer programs and collection materials that it would otherwise be unable to provide for children, teens, families and the community at large. Following are some recent examples of how funding by the Foundation & Friends has supported our Library:

Around 30 events held year round that educate and entertain children, adults and families
“Summer Reading” for children, teens and adults
Adult Literacy
“Online Homework” help for elementary, middle and high school students
“Reading Outreach” programs for children living in transitional housing shelters
New PLAYAWAY® digital e-books for children
New kiosks that display important information
140 new foreign-language DVDs

Contributions to the Foundation & Friends by individuals and families funded many more activities and purchases of materials, as well. Many thanks for all of your support!

Summer programs in Central Park sponsored by the Foundation & Friends

Events for kids and their families at the Central Park Library

Digital Books & Music in Many Formats

The Library offers a digital book collection called the Northern California Digital Library (NCDL). This collection includes downloadable e-books, audiobooks, and music. You can read an e-books from the collection on your computer, a Sony Reader, or a Barnes & Noble Nook. E-books are in Adobe PDF format. You can listen to a digital audiobook from the collection on your computer, MP3 player, iPod, or a similar device. The digital audiobook collection includes fiction and non-fiction titles, such as Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. The digital audiobooks are available in MP3 and WMA formats. You will find classical, chamber, orchestral, and other types of music in the collection.

To learn more about the Northern California Digital Library, or to download a digital book, view the Self-Guided Tour on the NCDL home page. To get to the NCDL home page, click on the Research/Resources link on our home page, http://library.santaclaraca.gov/. From the drop-down menu, choose Electronic Resources. On the Electronic Resources page, choose Northern California Digital Library.

Use Link+ to Access Over 9 Million Books!

LINK+ (Link Plus) gives you access to over 9,000,000 books at other California and Nevada public and academic libraries. And the service is free! For all the facts, visit the Library’s website or talk with a Reference Librarian.

Becoming a “Friend Forever” of the Library

If the Library has been a special place for you and your family, you can give a gift now that will keep the Santa Clara City Library a very special place for families far into the future. The “Friend Forever” planned-giving program of the Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends can serve your best interests and the best interests of the Library, as well.

Of the plans listed below, some earn income for the giver, and some provide tax benefits—such as exemptions from estate taxes. Please call Maria Daane, the Director of the Foundation & Friends, at 615-2987 for more information. She’ll help you consider the best giving plan for you and your family.

Bequest in a Will or Trust
Life Insurance
Charitable Lead Trust
Charitable Gift Annuity
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust

Transcription Volunteers Wanted

Mary Hanel, Local History Librarian, is looking for volunteers to transcribe oral history interviews. Please contact Mary at 408-615-2909.

Library Rated Third in Nation and
First in California in Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings

Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings for 2009 ranked the Santa Clara City Library third in the U.S. among all libraries serving populations of 100,000 to 250,000. In California, the Library finished first in that category.

Central Park Library—a clean, well-lit place for books, computers, movies, music and more

Children’s programs both entertain and teach them about the diverse world we live in.

Participants in the Teen Tech Week Video Commercial contest competed for prizes that included iPod Touch devices and Amazon gift cards.

Literacy Tutors Needed

The “Read Santa Clara” literacy program for adults needs tutors this spring and summer. If you are at least 18 years old and can commit to tutoring 2 hours a week for at least 6 months, you can help eager adults learn basic reading, writing and math skills. Volunteers receive 14 hours of tutor training after attending an orientation.

Photo: 87-year-old Moses Priester proves that it is never too late to learn! With the help of “Read Santa Clara” tutor, Linda Watkins, Moses is achieving his goal of improving his writing and spelling.

Gifts and Grants Received

The Santa Clara City Library and the Foundation & Friends thank the following individuals, companies and foundations for their generous financial support.

Michael J. Kirsch Foundation provided funding for e-book readers as prizes for teen programs throughout 2010.

Santa Clara Lions Club funded the Library’s Summer Reading Program for visually impaired children.

Lois Lenski Covey Foundation granted funds to provide a circulating collection of books for children at the

Sobrato Children’s Shelter and for families of domestic violence at the county’s Homesafe Center.

Mission City Community Fund (MCCF) provided new workbooks, hands-on learning tools, and developmental software for the “Read Santa Clara” Adult Literacy program.

National Semiconductor joined with the Foundation & Friends to fund the “Brainfuse Online Homework Help” program for children in grades 3 through 12.