Friends of Santa Barbara Public Library

The Friends of the Library is the non-profit branch of the library dedicated to the growth and development of the Santa Barbara Public Library ensuring free access to information and resources to all members of the community. The Friends do this by inspiring interest and enthusiasm for providing financial support to the library. We invite private individuals, businesses, government agencies, found

ations, and other grant-giving organizations to join us. The Friends endeavor to preserve and strengthen the importance of our Library in this community as a vital, irreplaceable source of information, education and culture - thereby providing everyone with opportunities and resources for lifelong learning. The Friends will continue advocacy efforts working with City leaders and Library administration to ensure that adequate public funding exists to support a first-class public library for our community. The Friends believe that a good library is essential to the intellectual and cultural growth and general well being of the community. On May 1, 1952, the first meeting of the Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library was held. Since that first meeting many advances and changes have occurred in the world, and in our lives, that were unimaginable at the time. The past five decades have brought us the polio vaccine, frozen food, contact lenses, and the pill. We now have credit cards, laser beams, computers and digital cameras. Man has invented air conditioners, clothes dryers, and fast food. Over the years, the Library, through the support and funding from the Friends has also seen many advances and changes. The Library started its collection of long playing records in 1955. That was also the year a $300,000 bequest made it possible to renovate and remodel the library. We have provided the seed money first for the Library's books on tape then for Books and Music on CD; first for video tape and then later the DVD collection. We acquired drive-up book bins, equipped the Faulkner Gallery for a wide range of activities, with gifts of a movie projector, sound apparatus, chairs and a lectern. Through the generous gifts from the Friends, the Library was provided with many extras from clocks to patio beautification to book fairs; from large print books to radio programs, from an aquarium for the children's room to culturally-rich music, dance and art programs, and of course book collections. The Friends are dedicated to fully funding the entire Children's Programming at the Library. In 2002, during the Golden Jubilee of the Friends of the Library, the Board recognized and acknowledged all that had been accomplished in the past 50 years. We also realized that in order to insure that our Library and our community were positioned to embrace the advances and changes that will come in the next 50 years, an endowment fund would be needed. Several bequests and gifts have given us the seed money for this recently created Endowment Fund which will serve our community for generations to come. Since our 50th Anniversary, we continue to partner with the Library staff to help fulfill their greatest needs. It was during this time that we started our annual Special Campaign to raise money for the expansion of a specific collection or to enhance and support programming. We have focused this campaign to "Buy a Book for the Library," "Buy a Book on CD" or "Buy a DVD" to expand these collections. This year our Special Campaign is to fund the Children's Programming at the Library. As book lovers and lovers of reading, the Friends believe that a good library is essential to the intellectual and cultural growth and well being of our community.