Final Farewell

As many of you know, I have announced my retirement as Director of Library Services for the City of Livermore. I came to Livermore from Tacoma, Washington, 28 years ago as the new Director of Library Services following Don Nolte and Sallie Gray--- hard acts to follow. Livermore, a community of 45,000 at the time, intrigued me because it was very similar to a Texas community I had worked in that was smaller when I started there but enjoyed significant growth which I found challenging and rewarding. Today, Livermore is a community of approximately 85,000. I have had the opportunity to grow with the City and to implement many of the services the larger community wanted and needed. Livermore was and is a great place to live and work, so I have stayed much longer than I originally anticipated. Much of that is due to the fantastic community support this library has from all of you. Your support and, in many cases generosity, has allowed me to develop many wonderful and exciting library services. I have been very fortunate to have a staff that has gone along with some of our more interesting and different ideas to deliver to you the best possible services for your community.

In 1985, when I first became your Library Director, Livermore had a single library on the Civic Center site south of downtown Livermore. I was hired by then City Manager Lee Horner to bring automated technology to the library and to develop outreach services to the community to increase use of the library by those not currently taking advantage of its offerings.

We began our outreach by opening the Springtown Branch Library. Formerly a convenience store, the building had been donated to the City. It was moved to its current site by the duck pond, remodeled and opened in 1986. I fondly call it our “7-11” library where you can run in, grab some books and run out.

Also in that year, 1986, we offered our first incentive based summer reading program where children read books for prizes donated by merchants in the community. The top prize was for 100 books read and one of the prizes for reaching that level was a presentation of the Super Readers to the Livermore City Council. That year we took 19 kids to the City Council. We have been doing the summer reading program every year since. Last year, we had over 800 children earning the presentation to the Council. One of the highlights of the summer reading program for many years was the annual sleepover at the Civic Center Library. I often hear from young parents with children of their own how they spent the night at the Civic Center Library!

In the late 80’s and early 90’s, we continued outreach in other parts of the community through the Library in a Box program. During the summer months, we placed a 12’ X 12’ construction box filled with books at strategic places around town to bring the summer reading program to underserved areas of the community. Ultimately the Library in a Box resulted in the construction of the Rincon Branch Library. The Livermore community voted to allow the City to spend windfall money on a modular library with unique round shelves to be placed in the May Nissen Park in the Rincon area of Livermore. The Rincon Branch opened in 1992 and continues today to serve a very diverse and unique community in the western part of the city.

Another milestone in my early years here was the establishment of the Livermore READ literacy program. This one on one tutoring program where volunteer tutors are matched with adult students who need to learn to read and write is still going strong with an average of 200 tutor-student pairs at any given time.

Another of my objectives was to bring technology and automation to the library. In the late 1980’s we introduced a computerized check out system and an online, automated catalog, eliminating the old card catalog. This technology, modernized as it has improved, continues in place today. It now allows our library patrons to use our library anywhere, anytime and to do much of their library business on their own. It wasn’t always easy to convince some of our patrons that this new technology was the best thing, but ultimately the modern world becomes the norm. And the introduction of technology has allowed us to much more effectively and efficiently operate the library. Today, we have not only an internet based catalog but automated materials handling check-in, self-check out and the virtual library where most library business can be conducted right from your home in your PJ’s. The Library is continually improving its use of technology as it evolves and as funding allows including the recent addition of e-books for borrowing.

During the 1990’s the library introduced free access to computers for the public. We started with four computers available for use and today have over 80 free computers for use by our patrons. In the late 90’s the Library’s policy of free and open, unfiltered internet access for anyone, children included, was challenged by a parent. The case went to court three times, and in all three instances, the courts upheld the library policy, indicating the library should not dictate to anyone what they can read, see or hear.

Perhaps my proudest achievement in my career is the construction and opening of the new Civic Center Library. In 1999, the citizens of Livermore passed a unique three agency general obligation bond measure which funded a new library, a new community center and maintenance and repair of the schools. The 56,000 s.f. Civic Center Library opened on the Civic Center campus in 2004. It has become a show piece for the City, much loved and enjoyed by all and a real community hub--- Livermore’s living room.

However, it was not without its controversy. The facility has much public art in it which contributes to its beauty. One of the public art pieces is a tile mosaic by artist Maria Alquilar at the entrance to the building. This art piece features icons representing the tree of life, the disciplines found in the library and images of Livermore. The artist decided to label many of the icons and in doing so managed to misspell 11 of the labels! These misspellings created much controversy and after much press including national and international attention and discussion, the artist returned to correct the misspellings. The mosaic continues today be a much loved art piece making for a very colorful entrance to the library.

For years the City and the Library enjoyed adequate funding to provide our services. However, in 2007, the national economy fell on hard times and so did the City’s revenues. This necessitated considerable belt tightening by all City departments including the Library. As a result of budget deficits, the Library first reduced the hours at the branch libraries to three days per week and cut the materials budget by one quarter. The revenues of the City continued to fall and the Library was further forced to cut the materials budget again ultimately to half its original amount and to close the Springtown Library. By borrowing staff from the Civic Center Library, we were able to reopen the Springtown Branch one day a week. In the meantime, the Library was successful in obtaining a grant to create the Springtown Easy Access Library.

In 2013, the Springtown Easy Access Library, which is a completely self-serve library at the Springtown Library building, opened. It is available when the staffed library is not, from 8am to 8pm every day. Patrons may obtain an Easy Access card which gets them into the building where they may borrow books, DVD’s, pick up holds and return borrowed materials.

What does the future hold for libraries and for Livermore Public Library? The role of the public library is changing. It is still a place for book borrowing but those books may be electronic as well as hard copy. Another core purpose of the public library is the provision of computer access, especially for those who do not have such access. More and more of today’s business is conducted online and patrons need to be able to do this even if they do not have their own computer. The public library will continue to grow as a community hub, providing programs of interest and importance to the citizens it serves. Emphasis will continue to be placed on introducing children to the world of books and knowledge through the provision of age appropriate materials and children’s programing. The Library, as the world in general, will become increasingly self-service. However, the human touch will still be available to keep the library a warm and inviting place to spend some time. In order to better communicate with our patrons, the library has and will continue to embrace social media as a way of getting our message across and encouraging people to take advantage of our services.

So I say farewell to my 28 year career here as your Library Director. It has been so very rewarding and exciting and inspiring. I will cherish all of the friendships and acquaintances I have made over the years. Thank you, Livermore, for allowing me to serve you and create  the quality library services you so richly deserve.