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On Tuesday, September 26, 2017, the Santa Barbara Public Library System will participate in National Voter Registration Day, a non-partisan voter registration drive. Volunteers will be available to assist individuals with the registration process in an effort to ensure every eligible voter has an opportunity to register and vote in the 2017 election.
Author Jennifer Torres will visiting the Santa Barbara Central and Eastside Libraries on October 6 and October 7, 2017 to help us celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with two special bilingual storytimes and a children’s writing workshop. This program is supported by a Community Arts Grant from the Santa Barbara Office of Arts and Culture.
The Santa Barbara Public Library will be commemorating the day with celebrations of Mexican culture at the Eastside and Goleta branches on Saturday, September 16th, 2017.
Workshops for teens and parents to discuss these issues, develop tools for communication, and connect participants to resources will be held in two locations within the Santa Barbara Public Library System:
Santa Barbara Central Library, 40 E Anapamu St
Wednesday, September 27th 6 pm
Carpinteria Library, 5141 Carpinteria Ave
Wednesday, October 4th 6 pm
This summer several Santa Barbara area community members came together at the Library for a two day workshop with StoryCenter, an organization that supports individuals and organizations in using storytelling and participatory media for reflection, education, and social change.
Join the Central Library for stories and songs every Tuesday at 5:30 pm!
On Wednesday, September 20, between noon and 2:00 p.m., the League of Women Voters will have a panel discussion on voting rights in the Faulkner Gallery at the Central Library.
Are you a lover of words? Want to have a great time and support reading in your community? Join the Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library at the 7th Scrabble Night for Literacy at the Central Library on Friday, September 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. This special one-night fundraiser welcomes all players, from children to adults, beginners to experts, to enjoy two rounds of the world’s favorite word game.
The Santa Barbara Central Library is now accepting reservation requests for the use of the lobby display cases for the year beginning January 2018.
Central Library will open at 12:00 pm. All other Branch Libraries will open at 1:00 pm.
Each Branch of the Santa Barbara Public Library System is giving away a free registration to the Central Coast Writers Conference, September 28-30, 2017 valued at $250. Deadline to apply is September 1, 2017.
Zinio for Libraries has merged with RBdigital. Starting June 27, the Zinio app will be updated with a new design and user-friendly interface. Look for the new RBdigital app. Stay tuned for more details.
All Santa Barbara Public Libraries will be closed on Friday, March 31, in recognition of Cesar Chavez Day.
All Santa Barbara Public Libraries will be closed for the federal holiday honoring Presidents' Day on Monday, February 20, 2017.
All Santa Barbara Public Libraries will be closed for the federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16, 2017.
Are you a results-oriented librarian who embraces collaboration and innovation? Do you have a record of leveraging technology and teamwork to meet customer needs? If the answer is "yes," then read on.
We've got a new position open! We're looking for Digital Services Librarian. Applications are accepted until October 19th, 2016.
Volunteers will be able to assist voters with registering at all Santa Barbara Public Library System locations...
The Santa Barbara Public Library System is excited to announce the addition of thousands of popular movies, TV shows, music, eBooks, audiobooks, and comics available for mobile and online access to stream or download 24/7 with a valid Santa Barbara Public Library card. Click here to get started.
An informational presentation with a panel of physicians, social workers and chaplains who will discuss the potential implications for the terminally ill in the Santa Barbara community.
Due to a planned system upgrade, patron accounts, some downloadable materials, and the Library Catalog will be unavailable Tuesday, July 12th. You will need your library card to checkout materials. We apologize for the inconvenience.
On Thursday, June 9 and Friday, June 10, Central Library will be closed to the public for some interior renovations. Big things are happening! Come in on Saturday, June 11 to see the changes!
Eastside Library will be closed to the public until noon on Friday, June 10.
All other branches remain open as usual, on both days.
All libraries in the Santa Barbara Public Library System will be closed on Monday, May 30 in observance of Memorial Day.
The Santa Barbara Public Library System has been selected to receive a National Literacy Directory Innovation Grant Award for its innovative approach to equipping children to be family literacy promoters.
State of the Library Presentation from April 26, 2016.
Pat Mora Podcast from April 15, 2016. See link below to listen to the podcast.
Two local institutions long ago grabbed my heart: our public library and CALM (Child Abuse Listening and Mediation). If you’re a reader and book lover, both have upcoming events that would be worthy your attention.
One of my strongest memories as a child was walking under the Central Library’s colorful, artistically carved door, then the main door, on the Anapamu Street side of the building.
The Central & Eastside Libraries will be CLOSED on Friday, March 4 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm for staff training. Buellton, Carpinteria, Goleta, Montecito, and Solvang Libraries will be open as usual.
From December 14 to 21, the Santa Barbara Central and Eastside libraries “Food for Fines” drive will help support the Unity Shoppe of Santa Barbara. Patrons will be allowed to exchange canned goods and other foods for library overdue fines.
Little literati are learning the love of reading and a whole lot more...
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What made this event stand out, however, were the hundreds of kids on hand for the event. Did I say hundreds? By the end of the day, it would be thousands. And their families. Yes, there was free food, face painting, music, jugglers, and a sketch artist who allegedly draws the fastest caricature this side of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Daniel Santos loves books, especially ones about soccer.
So when the new Children’s Library at the downtown Santa Barbara Public Library opened Sunday, it didn’t take the 7-year-old long to find the right aisle and section to settle down and relax.
“It’s big,” Daniel said about the library.
His mother was thrilled.
“This library is going to help him enjoy literacy,” Lupe Santos told Noozhawk. “It’s going to help him become a great reader.”
Come help celebrate the new Children’s Library at the free Grand Opening party on Sunday, September 13 from noon to 4:00 p.m.!
Members of nonprofit Friends of the Montecito Library are fighting to keep the doors open after recent county budget cuts forced the library to decrease its hours by 25 percent.
Central Library elevator will be out of service for up to 8 days, beginning Tuesday, July 28.
Buellton Library changes jurisdictions, leaving the Lompoc Library System and rejoining the Santa Barbara Public Library System. In the early 1960s, Buellton Library became part of the Lompoc Library System. The reason for the change stems from a desire to provide more comprehensive service to the residents of Santa Ynez Valley and use financial resources efficiently by sharing staff and programming with the Solvang Library located 3 miles away.
From June 9 to July 31, all branches of the Santa Barbara Public Library System will offer a Summer Reading Program for youth. The teen program differs from the children's program, but both programs have reading incentives and fun activities for participants.
Tues. April 28 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM. This training prepares adult volunteers to take a 5 minute pro-reading, pro-library message to K-5th grade students during the Library's May School Outreach efforts. Join library staff as we visit Santa Barbara Unified School District classrooms to promote the Library's 2015 Summer Reading Program, "Every Hero Has a Story."
Eight actors will recite from Shakespeare's works about love and loss on Sat., April 25 at 3:00 in the Faulkner Gallery, followed by Q&A.
Enjoy this free lecture and slide show presented by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council, Wed., April 29 at 3:00pm in the Faulkner Gallery of the Santa Barbara Central Library.
The Real Story Behind Orange is the New Black. Free reading, lecture, and book-signing by Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison.
La biblioteca Central ofrece, en colaboración con el Family Service Agency, una seria de talleres gratis en español acerca del tema del cuidado de los hijos.
Two free workshops for those new to grant writing will be taught on Thursday, April 23 by a training specialist from The Foundation Center. Preregistration is required.
1-2 pm: Introduction to Proposal Writing will cover the key components of a grant proposal to a foundation.
2:15-3:15 pm: Proposal Budgeting Basics is geared to the novice grant-seeker and will focus on how to prepare and present the budget in a grant proposal.
Tuesday, March 24, Santa Barbara native Kristianne Clifford, incarcerated 18 years in a maximum security California prison, will speak at Central Library about her experiences in the criminal justice system, what she found in the Santa Barbara Reads 2015 book, Orange is the New Black, that resonated with her, and the program and concepts that changed her consciousness behind bars and back in society.
Co-sponsored by the Freedom to Choose Foundation.
Work began Monday, February 23 on the long-awaited Children's Library on the lower level of the Santa Barbara Central Library.
The Solvang Branch Library will host acclaimed presenter and historian John Voehl, speaking as President Abraham Lincoln, on Thursday, March 26.
Kitty and Dave Peri have been going to the Santa Barbara Public Library’s downtown branch for almost 70 years — as children, with their children, and now, gleefully, with their grandchildren. So when they heard the library was planning to remodel its small children’s section, Kitty and Dave donated before the fundraising campaign even began. “This library holds our childhood memories,” said Kitty, “and it’s an excellent cause.”
The Santa Barbara Public Library System begins construction on a beautiful new space for children this January at the Central Library.
For the past 11 years, Beverly Schwartzberg has been running the adult literacy program out of the downtown library, personally training close to 750 volunteer tutors in that time. Schwartzberg recruits and trains volunteer tutors; currently, there are 180, all of whom have received nine hours of training. The next trick is to pair that tutor with the right student. The objective, she said, is not to have people reading War and Peace, but to achieve the goals they set out for themselves. The key is to create a place they feel safe going to and even safer coming back. “It doesn’t always happen the first time,” Schwartzberg said.
While adult literacy is one of the few genuinely bipartisan issues that warring political factions can agree upon—“It’s the cheapest education investment you can make,” she said—the state legislature pulled the plug on Santa Barbara’s adult literacy program during the depths of the Recession. City Hall helped save the program from elimination, and Schwartzberg quietly worked to educate decision makers about the benefits of her program. “When I started out, I was wanted to change someone else’s life,” she said. “But really it’s been my life that’s gotten changed.”
Every dollar given to the Children's Library Project from today onward will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
This opportunity is made possible by the Cheeryble Foundation, which will match donations up to a total of $100,000.
Every $25 will turn into $50; $1000 will become $2000, and will help reach the campaign's goal sooner!
Donations may be made online through the Friends here or directly to the Children's Library Campaign here. Donations may also be sent to: Friends of the SB Public Library, PO Box 1019, Santa Barbara, CA 93102. Please note on your donation that you are responding to the Children's Library Challenge Grant!
Questions? Call the Children's Library Campaign at (805) 564-5675.
All Santa Barbara Public Libraries will be open on Tuesday, November 11, 2014.
The Santa Barbara Public Library System has received a $249,000 National Leadership Grant to promote reading for low-literacy families. The award is part of the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ $9.2 million grant program that addresses challenges in the library field and evaluates library innovations. The Santa Barbara Public Library was one of 51 grant projects selected out of 212 applicants.
The City Council is hosting public workshops to get your thoughts on the condition of the City’s basic infrastructure, including streets, sidewalks, libraries, community centers, police and fire stations, and park and recreation facilities. We want to learn what’s important to you and get your input on how the City Council should prioritize funding. A Council Committee will take the suggestions from the public to develop a plan to upgrade and modernize public facilities.
El Consejo Municipal de la Ciudad de Santa Bárbara desea enterarse sobre cuales son las cosas importantes para usted. Ayude al Consejo Municipal a que determine las prioridades para los fondos de dinero y a planear para el futuro de las calles de la Ciudad, de los centros comunitarios, de las bibliotecas, de los parques y de las instalaciones de recreación, como así también las estaciones de policías y de bomberos. Asista a un taller para el público y participe en la conversación.
The fundraising campaign for creating a state-of-the-art children's library at the downtown Santa Barbara branch has raised $3.4 million, officials announced Tuesday.
"If there was ever a community that would have a first-class children's library it would be Santa Barbara, and we do not," said Peter MacDougall, the Santa Barbara Children's Library Honorary Committee co-chair. "A first-class children's library is what is needed in Santa Barbara."
Imagine being unable to read your child’s report card, fill out a job application, read a bus schedule, or vote. For most of us, it is almost impossible to picture what it would be like to go through life unable to read or even to tell time. It is a sad fact that many in our community, working and raising families, carefully keep the secret that they cannot read. It could be anyone — perhaps someone you know.
Fortunately, volunteers like Linda Solin are there to help. A Santa Barbara Public Library Adult Literacy Program volunteer tutor, she devotes several hours every week helping adults learn to read.
Solin is used to challenges: She began her volunteer career in her teens in the surgical ward of a children’s hospital, helping to change burned children’s bandages. She enjoyed her hospital work but always dreamed of being a teacher.
After attending UC Santa Barbara, she worked in bilingual education in Bakersfield, later moving back to Santa Barbara, where she taught kindergarten and first grade for the next 30 years. Retirement opened new possibilities. A friend recommended the tutoring program and, before she knew it, she was matched with “José” (not his real name).
