This is a longer article than we normally run. It’s an excerpt from our printed newsletter that went out last week and should be in your mailbox shortly, if you’re on our mailing list.
The Santa Clara City Library Foundation and Friends would like to extend a warm welcome to Patty Wong, the new City Librarian! You may have seen her at Central Park Library or during Librarypalooza. And if you have, you know that Santa Clara’s new City Librarian is passionate about libraries and the Bay Area.
She has a long history here, having grown up in San Francisco, graduating from UC Berkeley. She’s worked in both Oakland and Berkeley public libraries. She eventually pursued other opportunities further afield and landed in Santa Monica, whose libraries she ran for four and a half years.
Her goals for the Santa Clara City Library
Patty’s goal is to make the Santa Clara City Library a showcase for the community. As Santa Clara is the center of what’s possible, where can a Santa Claran find what’s possible? At the library! It’s the place to inspire and innovate and spark imagination and creativity. Santa Clara City Library is for people to explore and develop into the people they want to be, for all ages.
As Santa Clara is the center of what’s possible, where can a Santa Claran find what’s possible? At the library!
Expanding international languages collection and refreshing technology
In Patty’s first months at the library she undertook two big initiatives. The first is expanding and refreshing the international languages collection. Forty-two percent of Santa Clarans are Asian, and those languages needed new books. They also needed to be available at Northside Library as well as at Central Park Library. So if you’re looking for books in a language other than English, you can find them at more branches!
The second initiative is a technology refresh. The staff is upgrading their older desktops to newer laptops so they can be more mobile. And the technology available to patrons is also getting an upgrade. The computers in the Tech Center are newer as are the self-checkout machines (which handle 85% of all checkouts).
Goals going forward
Going forward, Patty wants to ensure that Santa Clara City Libraries work for everyone, no matter where they are. Specifically, this means revitalizing the homebound program and addressing the increasing community interest in the Bookmobile.
It also means making better use of data. Everyone at the library should have numbers and stories on the tips of their tongues to be able to answer questions about library use. The library also wants to start a better collection of data about its classes and events. This means asking patrons things like:
– did they like the event,
– was it immediately useful to their lives, and/or
– would they come to a similar event or class at the library again.
What about the Foundation and Friends?
These stories and data will be helpful for the Santa Clara City Library Foundation and Friends too. As you know, to be effective, the Foundation wants to ensure that the money its giving to the library is going to support good programs. We also need to know not only how many people are the classes and events serving, but how useful were they? How can we ensure that our funds are being used in the best way and how can our donations make a difference in the future?
The Foundation and Friends looks forward to continuing to be a key partner of the library moving forward. We can be the 501(c)(3) arm of the library, as we are with a recent grant from the California State Library. We are also excited about the possibility of expanding opportunities around our book sales and fundraising events like Librarypalooza.
The Santa Clara City Library Foundation and Friends is excited to work with Patty going forward!