Who are the Friends? What do they do? Why are they passionate about our libraries?
By Max Guerra
At the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries, everyone can be a friend. Thousands of people use the Santa Cruz libraries every day: to print, to organize a meeting, to complete work, to help their children learn to read, to find community.
For those who want more, Janis O’Driscoll, President of the Friends of the Santa Cruz Libraries, said that volunteering with the Friends is a way to go beyond and be part of the action.
“Whether you’re a 6-year-old or an 86-year-old, this is a way for anyone in the community to be part of a very important public service that’s available to everyone who lives here,” she said.
A Community of Volunteers
The Friends serve as a connection between the library system and the larger community that depends on its resources. They raise money, advocate for pro-library policy, and complete volunteer work for the ten branch locations: Aptos, Boulder Creek, Branciforte, Capitola, Felton, Garfield Park, La Selva Beach, Scotts Valley, Live Oak, and Downtown Santa Cruz.
In Aptos, the Friends host regular book sales that help support their library branch’s efforts to finance vital resources. But over the years, it’s become more than a simple fundraiser and transformed into an event that brings joy and hope to the community.
“It’s fun. We have fun doing it,” Debby Peronto, who volunteers in Aptos, said. “Whenever we have sales, people are really appreciative.”
During a December book sale one year, a woman who bought three books told her that — if it weren’t for the book sale put on by the Aptos Friends — she wouldn’t be able to get Christmas presents for her family.
“It just makes you want to cry that people are being that creative to help other people when they’re really on a limited income.” Peronto explained. “It’s nice to be able to help people afford books that they never would be able to afford otherwise.”
Advocacy in Action
According to those who work with the Branciforte Friends, libraries are incredible places to volunteer because the benefits that libraries bring intimately affect the lives of community members.
“Through fundraising, I realized how many people really just love the library,” said Sarah Clark, who volunteers at the Branciforte branch. “You realize that everybody has a library story.”
The Branciforte Friends are true advocates for the library. For a long time, patrons had expressed concern about the crosswalk in front of the Branciforte Library, worried it posed a safety risk.
One of the Friends knew a city council member and invited them to a chapter meeting, where members learned how to formally submit their safety concerns to the city. The crosswalk hasn’t been addressed yet, but the Branciforte Friends are hopeful for change. Clark said the ability to make positive change on such a local scale is a big draw to volunteering in support of the libraries.
“It’s a very local connection,” she said. “It’s your neighborhood, it’s your neighbors, it’s the people you know. It was something that immediately affected my local community.”
Libraries Reimagined
Even beyond the Santa Cruz area, libraries have a changing identity. Across the nation, what used to be places for research and information access are transforming into centers of education, artistic expression, and community.
“That’s just the nature of libraries.” Michele Mosher, who volunteers at the Felton branch, said. “They have become more and more community oriented, and less shh, shh, no eating, no drinking, all that.”
The Felton Friends say that they feel it’s important to identify and adapt to what the community might need. In the years after the CZU complex fire tore through the Santa Cruz mountains, the Friends set up multiple educational programming sessions on fire safety and home hardening and prevention. These Friends-led sessions, along with access to the branch’s seed library, have helped the library become a hub for recovery education.
“There’s not that many things that we share as a community,” Mosher said. “Yet, we’re sharing this incredible resource.”
Art for Everyone
Margaret Niven, who volunteers with the Scotts Valley Friends, has a background as an art teacher. She’s leaned on that experience to ensure that her local branch reflects the cultural richness of the community through art.
“Where I see the greatest value in what I’m doing here is getting art in front of the public, and they’re not having to buy a ticket,” she said. “They’re not even coming here for the art necessarily, but then it’s here. And I get a lot of positive feedback.”
The art exhibits at the Scotts Valley branch are gorgeous, inventive, but most importantly, local. Art exhibited in the Scotts Valley library comes from painters, photographers, and even a high-school maskmaker, who live in nearby neighborhoods.
“The artists enjoy the exposure, they enjoy sharing their work with the public. It’s a beautiful space to hang your work,” Niven said. “It’s a great way to get your stuff out where it can be seen. Some artists may feel that any exposure is good for business, but it can be as simple as: art is meant to be seen.”
Finding Belonging
The work done by the friends is transformative for Santa Cruz communities and the libraries they depend on. But volunteering for the Friends does more than improve local libraries. For those involved, it’s a way to create space for belonging.
When Steven Silveira moved to Santa Cruz, volunteering for the libraries was one of the first steps that he took to be involved in the larger community. He says the Friends helped him and his family feel integrated and welcome in their new home.“I’ve always had the libraries be a part of my life,” he said. “As soon as I met them, I could tell the values were there. It’s a fun group to work with.”
The Friends identify their work under three main categories: fundraising, advocacy and volunteer services. But, the work done across the ten branches goes far deeper. The Friends welcome volunteers of all skills and professional backgrounds.
Learn more about the work of the Friends. Find your branch: friendsofsantacruzlibraries.org/find-your-branch
Max Guerra lives and writes in Santa Cruz County, currently serving as Co-Editor-in-Chief of City on a Hill Press, the student-run newspaper at UCSC. He enjoys reporting on science policy, the politics of the environment, and any interesting people he happens to meet along the way.
