THE NORTH HIGHLANDS-ANTELOPE LIBRARY IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Have you stopped by the library lately? We are open for browsing and computer appointments, Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am - 6 pm.
And after a pretty chaotic time due to the COVID-19 epidemic and staff turnover, our branch is welcoming a new leader - Vanessa ‘Chacha’ Centeno. She is best known for her work with immigrant and refugee families, advocacy for at-risk youth and diversity representation in libraries. Before her career as a librarian, Vanessa worked with chronic homeless populations and interned with her local Juvenile Probation Department while completing a Baccalaureate Degree in criminology & criminal justice. She has brought services to at-risk communities through partnerships with groups serving youth in special education, and by advocating for change in policy and service to foster and group home youth. Vanessa was raised amongst family with diverse Chicano and American Indian backgrounds and credits her grandmothers for teaching resilience and nurturing her love for younger generations. She enjoys storytelling and believes it teaches and preserves culture while healing the wounds of generational trauma. She is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
BE A PART OF THE NORTH HIGHLANDS-ANTELOPE FRIENDS
Our membership has lagged during the past year, and if you haven’t renewed your membership, take a moment to do it again.
It is time to begin planning a return of our normal volunteer activities, everything from book sales to the tea that we had to postpone in 2020. And maybe a giant welcome home party as we all begin to return to our new normal post-pandemic. We need you more than ever!
Donations https://saclibfriends.org/donate/
Membership https://saclibfriends.org/membership/
BIG DAY OF GIVING A HUGE SUCCESS
The Friends of the Sacramento Public Library, in conjunction with SPL, saw an outpouring of community support on May 6, the Big Day of Giving. With the help of several matching grants, about $103,000 was raised for next year’s Book First program. Out of 688 nonprofits participating from all over the Sacramento Region, the Friends were number 27 on the leaderboard, which is a pretty spectacular result for an all-volunteer organization.
In our community, many schools are eligible for Book First, and our first graders have benefited greatly over the years.
If you donated on the Big Day of Giving, thank you! And if you are interested in volunteering to join with our Youth Services Librarian, Denise Lee, on a virtual Book First visit, that is extremely valuable to our Book First team. Contact Katherine McMillan for more information, k_mcmillan@comcast.net.
BOOK FIRST VISITS
Over the last several weeks, I have had the great pleasure of joining Denise, our Youth Services Librarian, as she visits first grade classrooms throughout the community.
Our visits are via Zoom. It’s a delight to see the mosaic of smiling faces on the computer monitor as we enter the virtual classroom. It’s amazing to see the expression on the children’s faces as they learn about their new books and the wonderful resources that are available at the library.
Scheduling the virtual meetings, maintaining ongoing communication with the teachers and ensuring the Book First packets are delivered and received by the teachers is a significant commitment and just one of the many activities Denise manages each day at the library.
The virtual visits have reached at least ten different schools, numerous first grade classrooms and several hundred students and dedicated teachers. The visits will continue through the end of May and resume sometime in the fall at which time we are hopeful that we’ll be able to resume the in-person visits where we’ll be able to bring the books directly into the classroom.
As a result of the success of the Big Day of Giving and the Friends of the Library, first graders received two books this year, one fiction and one nonfiction.
Take a look at this wonderful video promoting Book First: https://youtu.be/5z_47wsPl-k.
- Katherine McMillan
