The Library staff had an eventful week of planning for the future and showcasing current services to the community. A group of 20 library staff members met with ABA on Tuesday and Wednesday to develop a plan of service for the library of the future. Staff really enjoyed the process designed by ABA to identify parameters for the types of services that would be important. Our goal is to design services based on the input community members have given over the last few years. Results show that there was a common theme of “keep doing what you are doing and more.”

One of the highlights of the week was the Sunnyvale Public Safety Eighth Annual Community Pancake Breakfast and Safety Fair. In past years more than a thousand community members have participated in this Saturday morning event. While I do not have the final count for this year, I would guess the same was true for Saturday, October 14.


Library Booth at the Public Safety Pancake
Breakfast on Saturday, October 14, 2006

Members of the Library Board of Trustees were on hand to meet and greet the public. Trustee members Jim Griffith, John Lilly, Kathleen Meagher, and Narendra Pathak spent much of their morning at the library’s booth talking about library services and showing examples of library materials. An important topic of conversation was, “What is happening with the plans for a new library?”

Library staff had prepared notebooks with information about the visioning process for the Sunnyvale Library of the Future highlighting the steps that have been taken and those that are to follow. In particular, the future meetings scheduled to discuss this topic - Library Board of Trustees meeting dates, and Council meeting dates, were pointed out.

I thought library staff did an exceptional job developing the themes and pulling together the materials for the booth. It looked fabulous, was very interesting to the community members, relevant, and informative. I’d like to give a special thank you to staff member, Rachel (Ray) McConnell. Ray took the lead in making arrangements for the booth and stayed at the fair the entire morning. Her enthusiasm about the services and materials we provide was evident and infectious.

My most gratifying moment at the booth - the dad and son that noticed the flyer about the November 1 program in which NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, Eric Norris will be at the library to do a presentation titled, “The Golden Age of Astronomy is Now.” The dad’s question, “Is it alright if my son comes along to the program?” Our answer: “You betcha!” And then, the son picked up the book about astronomy or space exploration which was on display at the booth. He quietly started reading it, right then and there! As they say, “priceless!”

Similar results were reported for last night’s City-sponsored event, the Columbia Neighborhood Center Family Fun Night. Staff members Beth Nord and Marti Krow-Lucal arranged for a library booth at the event. They were thrilled with the turnout and energized by their contact with community members. Beth and Marti reported that community members showed a high level of interest in the library, thanks to the bilingual storytimes, displays and gifts. Thank you Marti and Beth for your extra efforts as well! Again, “priceless!”


Columbia Neighborhood Center, Oct 18, 2006