Reimagining the Sonoma County Library
In late 2019, we were well underway with a new strategic
plan, a process the library undergoes every five years. Then, the pandemic hit
us and we had to pivot to a new type of service.
This winter, we restarted our plan and we’re now calling it
a Reimagining Plan. We know that your lives have been disrupted and your
libraries have to change to serve you in this new normal. We are determined to
meet this challenge.
Our Reimagining Plan will address library services, but as
we gather information, we recognize that we have to think beyond the walls of
our branches, and put our best efforts into planning for a future that
addresses the realities of an extended fire season, annual power outages,
floods, and a stubborn pandemic., with all the changes it brings.
School-age children and their families, community elders,
and emerging community and business leaders have always been our core library
boosters, but we have a responsibility to reach beyond these beloved supporters
and learn who else needs us and why.
Our Reimagining Plan includes in-depth interviews with
community service leaders, who are providing valuable insights into community
needs. Along with staff feedback and your input, our final plan will be a
comprehensive approach to serving our community in the uncertain times ahead.
We have three public listening sessions scheduled for our
Reimagining Plan, and I’d love to see you join us at one of them. You can join
us at 10 am on February 22, 10 am on February 27 or 6 pm on March 4. Please
email reimagining@sonomalibrary.org and we’ll get you information on how to
register for a session.
The Friends of the Library are pleased to announced that book donations will be accepted on a limited basis by APPOINTMENT ONLY beginning Sunday 9/27 at the library. Call Tony Pisacane at 415-987-9026 and leave a message to make an appointment. No donations will be accepted without an appointment.
On October 8, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Sonoma Valley Library will hold the annual meeting at 3:00 p.m. via Zoom.
The purpose of the meeting is to elect officers for the Board. Terms are two years. The nominees are:
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Member-at-Large
Other nominations will be accepted from the floor at the Annual Meeting.
To attend the Annual Meeting, contact Diana at: dspaulding@sonomalibrary.org to get the zoom link.
If you wish to propose any changes to the By-Laws of the Friends of Sonoma Valley Library, please contact Diana at the above address prior to Oct 8, 2020.
We know that many or all of you have been eagerly awaiting news of our library. When will our library return? When will we who volunteer be able to resume our work? How can we help now?
Library leadership has developed a phased plan for opening the branches in four stages. Our Library Commissioner has warned that the return to full services will be a long process and the ways our libraries serve the community will probably change as well.
The Friends cannot begin to receive donated books or plan on book sales until it is safe to do so. When that will be is still unknown.
However, volunteers, including Friends, will be able to return to their library duties in Stage 3 of the process. And, after the deep sanitizing of the branches, curbside service will be available to patrons. There are plans that this service will begin in late May or June. The Sonoma Valley Branch is scheduled to be one of the first 5 to be able to begin this service.
It’s frustrating not to be giving the help we used to give to our beloved library. But there are many other organizations in the Valley who are able to receive help and do need financial support right now. They are providing food, financial assistance, and other support to those in our community who have been hit hardest by the coronavirus and the efforts to mediate its impact.
Among those organizations are:
FISH
La Luz
Redwood Empire Food Bank
Sonoma Family Meal
Sonoma Overnight Support
Vintage House
Some need volunteer help, all need financial help.
Go to sonomacity.org/food-security
and
sonomavalleyvolunteers.org for more information and links.