This is another in our ongoing Why We Love the Library series from our volunteers and board members.
Why I Love the Library
By Nancy Coleman
I’ve been a book lover and library lover all my life. As I was growing up in the Chicago area, my father used to take all five of us to the library every Saturday, and I would start reading one of the treasures in my stack on the way home, even though reading in a car often made me carsick! I just couldn’t wait! Our red brick library was a second home to me.
When my husband and I moved to Santa Clara in 1982, one of my first tasks was to get a library card. In 1994 when my husband and I decided to look for another home, I said I wanted to be even closer to our Central Park branch so our kids could walk there. So you can imagine how devastated I was when the city decided, shortly after our move, to close the Central branch for a complete renovation! And yet, I still remember the thrill of opening day, crowding around the doors so we could be among the first to come, oohing and aahing, into the cathedral of a library we now enjoy. Since then Santa Clara has added the sleek, bright Northside branch and completely renovated the cozy, cheerful Mission branch. How fortunate we are that our Santa Clara leadership has remained committed to keeping our libraries as the centerpieces of their neighborhoods!
Now, as a board member of the Santa Clara City Library Foundation & Friends, I am honored to join with the Foundation staff, dedicated volunteers, and generous donors to help support the many programs and activities of our three busy libraries. I’m awestruck by how our library staff keeps innovating to find creative ways to bring books and programs online as we weather this time period where we cannot be inside our beautiful buildings, surrounded by books and the people who love them.
One day soon, I’ll see you at the library!