October 18, 2007

It’s not your parents’ library

GINGER BRITT
AS I SEE IT

Have you visited the library lately? At first glance, you might not see a lot that looks different at either the Fullerton Public Library Main or Hunt branchs, but if you hang around awhile, you will notice signs of the present and future of libraries.

Library folk are not necessarily early adopters of change, but their mission guarantees changes that keep them vitally alive to serve their patrons.

The mission statement of the Fullerton library system is reviewed annually by the library trustees.

It makes clear the expectations for your library: “It is the mission of the Fullerton Public Library to provide a diverse community with resources and support to use information in many media, to stimulate and facilitate literacy in all its forms, to provide quality collections and effective use of evolving technologies, to emphasize public participation and outreach and to create forums and gathering places to engage in cultural and educational programs and partnerships.”

Ours is a city library system. That means that the primary funding for operation, growth and maintenance comes from the Fullerton City Council, from the citizens of our community.

State funding for libraries has been noticeably reduced each year for most of the last decade.

It appears that California legislators, like most of us, take the library for granted.

After all, haven’t libraries been around forever? Beginning at least with the stone tablets of Mesopotamia, libraries have held the history of humanity, fostering civilized behavior and egalitarian ideals.

Libraries served well the growth of literacy in this country for more than two centuries, and retain that essential role today.

Our library has an outstanding collection of text resources, fiction and nonfiction in all its forms, available free to anyone with a library card.

So, what is new about that? Well, how about digital downloads of books for free? What about self-checkout? How about checking due dates and renewing online? And WiFi at both libraries?

There is a growing teen section, and even a link to Amazon that brings a few dollars of your purchase to the library.

It requires ongoing effort to keep up with new technology resources, but the rapidly evolving Fullerton Library Web site (www.fullertonlibrary.org) has more information every day. The Web site is a jewel, recently acknowledged by CALTAC, the state organization for library trustees.

Or, if electronic devices and the Internet are not your choice, you might enjoy the first Town and Gown lecture series at the Main Library featuring professors from Cal State Fullerton or the first book discussion group for adults at the Hunt Branch Library.

I have attended both, and I am excited about the possibilities for those of us who love books and crave ideas and information.

In recent years, the library has targeted resources and programs for small businesses, a growing list of resources for young adults and a local history room with more resources than it can hold or easily process.

The Osborne Auditorium at the Main Library and the smaller rooms at Hunt Branch are filled with the programs of Fullerton nonprofit civic, cultural and educational groups who usually pay no fee, and small local businesses and for-profit groups who pay a small fee for the use of the space.

The most recent addition at the Main Library is the processing of passports as a service to the community and a small source of income for the library.

These are some of the things you will find today, in this transitional period from the 20th to the 21st centuries. Library leaders know that the future lies in serving the evolving needs of its users.

To that end, library organizations work tirelessly to stay ahead of the curve, to train, fund and reorganize when the community they serve expresses new needs.

In Fullerton, City Councilsupported planning is in the works for a library remodel and expansion of the main library that will carve out space for an enlarged and improved local history area and space designed specifically for young adults.

The expanded building may include a library store and a small outdoor coffee area serving all civic center buildings.

Additional meeting space is planned to draw small conferences and larger meetings. Focused and carefully planned computer areas will serve experienced and inexperienced users.

Small meeting rooms, comfortable reading spaces and natural lighting from new windows facing Commonwealth highlight the basic space plan for a library to serve community needs for the next 25 to 50 years.

In my view, it is very shortsighted to assume that libraries can thrive on the scraps from the table, while government itself grows ever more bloated.

With support from the City Council and City Manager Chris Meyer, the dynamic first-year Library Director Maureen Gebelein and her team of top-flight staff members are finding ways to overcome financial and

technological challenges to guarantee the vitality and resources that will ensure that the Fullerton Public Library system can live up to its mission.

Fortunately for us, the cando approach of the library staff, trustees and volunteers in combination with the civic commitment to grow and change the public library to meet Fullerton community needs promises the best of the old and the best of the new for Fullerton’s library!

Ginger Britt, a longtime Fullerton resident and teacher, gives her thoughts on things in the city once a month. Reach her at fullertonnewstribune@ocregister.com.