The public library was my first love outside the family. My relationship mirrored what Susan Orlean describes in “The Library Book”:
“I loved wandering around the bookshelves, scanning the spines until something happened to catch my eye. … It wasn’t like going to a store with my mom, which guaranteed a tug-of-war between what I wanted and what my mother was willing to buy me; in the library I could have anything I wanted.”
The library epitomized independence. I enjoyed losing myself in biographies on hot smoggy L.A. afternoons and collecting stamps on my summer reading card.
COVID-19 has provided ample excuse to lose myself in books again. I have solved a mystery in the 16th century, traveled to Southeast Asia, explored the “lives” of cadavers, and morphed into a young black southern woman in the turbulent ’60s. Sometimes I’m immersed so deeply that when I emerge to get some work done, I’m momentarily bewildered.
The public library has been there for me and thousands of others during the pandemic. From that first weekend mid-March when California ordered libraries shuttered, employees and volunteers have worked diligently to maintain programs and deliver resources to the community.
The first effort was to expand their electronic offerings. A broader range of eBooks and audio books is now available through the library’s Downloads & Streaming. From here you can design your own line-up of summer delights. You can put a hold on up to 10 titles and borrow as many as 10 at a time for three weeks.
Despite having to furlough half the non-librarian staff, librarians have continued to ramp up services. Libraries are highly tactile, so the difficulty is determining how they can safely offer physical books and eventually open their doors.
Many branches now have sidewalk service. You simply place items on hold, wait for notification, then visit the library following their instructions.
A recent addition is SBPL Delivers. One set of up to four books is delivered by USPS free of charge. Anyone with a library card and a Santa Barbara, Carpinteria or Montecito address is eligible for a drop. You can request specific books or ask the librarian to curate them for you.
In this pilot phase, funded by the Santa Barbara Library Foundation, one request per address is allowed. The program, which began in March just for children, added adults and served nearly 1,000 households in April.
Staff has resolved ways to continue other important programming. Children and teens can pick up free, nutritious meals at Library Plaza as part of the USDA Summer Food Service Program Lunch at the library. At least through the end of June, anyone under 18 is welcome. Just come between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. wearing a mask and following social-distancing guidelines.
Meanwhile, online book clubs continue for all ages and interests. Cancer survivors, children (Wiggly Storytime), entrepreneurs (1 Million Cups), and others meet weekly, virtually and freely.
This broad range of activities supports Orlean’s description of the value of books: “Books are a sort of cultural DNA, the code for who, as a society, we are, and what we know. All the wonders and failures, all the champions and villains, all the legends and ideas and revelations of a culture last forever in its books.”
“Helping to deliver reliable information and education is one of the many reasons why the library is especially relevant,” said Lauren Trujillo, Santa Barbara Library Foundation director.
A confirmation of the library’s critical role in the community came at last week’s City Council meeting. The council voted unanimously to restore funds to kick off building the new Library Plaza. When patrons are again free to enjoy the tactile pleasure of perusing books in a bricks-and mortar-library, they can look forward to an enhanced experience at Library Plaza.
— Karen Telleen-Lawton serves seniors and pre-seniors as the principal of Decisive Path Fee-Only Financial Advisory in Santa Barbara. You can reach her with your financial planning questions at ktl@decisivepath.com. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
This article was published on June 29th, 2020 in Noozhawk – you can read it “in print” here.
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.
KTL at CanyonVoices dot com