Our Impact
Every day our libraries feed our minds, while providing an enormous range of programs and services to everyone who needs them, entirely for free. Learn how you can support our vision.
YOUR GENEROSITY SUPPORTS OUR 10-BRANCH LIBRARY SYSTEM
Dear Friends,
Your story is likely among the many library stories of the last year. People became friends when they attended a class together. Someone received support for a job hunt and then landed a fantastic position. A parent felt gratitude for a program that really got their kids excited about science. A whole crowd contemplated the meaning of a book they had read.
Can we even imagine how many individual Santa Cruz Public Library stories there were in the course of the last year? We could start with the 852,176 library visits, including ten branches plus an annex, plus Juvenile Hall, and the other outreach locations, and the places where the bookmobile and the book bikes visited, plus all the things that were done remotely. Then we could consider all the people who borrowed one of the 2,146,403 items that were checked out, plus the 4,844 programs that ran, plus the list of hundreds of things you can do at our libraries. There may not be a knowable number of stories, but whatever you did in the library was entirely up to you!
Here at the Friends, we are really proud that we could help support many of the things the library has offered. This was because generous people in our community made donations. Through our role as the libraries’ nonprofit partner, we gave these funds to the library for core literacy programs, collections of books and digital items, presentations, hands-on materials, equipment, and so much more.
Please join me in celebrating the impacts and highlights of 2025 with Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries.
Sarah Beck, Executive Director
Our Impact
“As a retired teacher, I know how important access to literature and information is. A library is a valued community center as well as a resource.”
“Santa Cruz Libraries are open to all, whether I am rich or poor, black or white, straight or gay, none of this matters. Thank you.”
“Thank you for supporting intellectual freedom. And providing a safe and inclusive environment for all.”
Literacy Fund
In 2025, donor contributions fully funded the Santa Cruz Public Library’s literacy-centered programming — including Summer Reading, the R.E.A.D. comprehension program, Bookmobile Outreach, and services for incarcerated youth and adults. The system hosted 901 youth programs and 260 adult programs, with over 4,000 youth and 3,000 adults attending. Summer Reading attendance jumped 19% over the prior year. The Literacy Fund also supported outreach to County Correctional Facilities, delivering books and maintaining human connection during difficult times.
Friends at the Branches
Friends volunteers contributed over 16,000 hours across Santa Cruz County in 2025. Branch chapters ran book sales, art exhibits, author talks, and community learning programs. Highlights included Felton’s CZU Fire 5th Anniversary events, Aptos’ Our Community Reads project and new Sensory Path, La Selva Beach’s 75th Anniversary celebration, Garfield Park’s sold-out murder mystery fundraiser, Scotts Valley’s Girls Who Code launch, and Capitola’s solar energy project. Branches covered costs for programs, collections, equipment, and advocacy throughout the library system.
Downtown Branch Library Capital Campaign
With nine of 10 library branches already upgraded in the past decade, the Friends launched a capital campaign to rebuild the main Downtown Santa Cruz branch. By end of 2025, the campaign reached 87% of its $3 million goal, boosted by a $400,000 matching grant from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. The new downtown library will serve as the hub of the entire library system — a landmark civic resource for people of all ages, anchoring collections and programs countywide.