Saturday, December 8 was the 70th Anniversary of the Linda Vista Branch Library and the 25th anniversary of the current building. What a celebration it was with two such important milestones at the same time! Our newly elected Mayor, Bob Filner was there as was Scott Sherman, Council District 7’s newly elected Councilmember. County Supervisor Ron Roberts attended and so did members of our ever faithful Friends of the Linda Vista Library. Also there were members of the Vietnamese Federation, past branch managers, and library patrons, some of whom grew up in the neighborhood and now take their children or grandchildren there.
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| Mayor Bob Filner presents a proclamation to Branch Manager Jeff Davis declaring December 8 as "Linda Vista Branch Library Day" in the City of San Diego |
On Sunday, December 9 I attended the Grand Opening celebration of EcoVerse, Jing Si Bookstore and Café in downtown’s East Village across from the new San Diego Central Library. EcoVerse Jing Si is an environmentally conscious community center affiliated with the Tzu Chi Foundation. The Library is already collaborating with EcoVerse on community events, including upcoming Chinese classes. Even though the grand opening of the new Central Library won’t be until next July, we are already developing a great bond between our two organizations as community partners.
As I listened to people at both events express their heart-felt connection to one another and to the library, it made me proud to be part of the San Diego Public Library and the wonderful staff who help build the community connections. Our mission of “inspiring lifelong learning through connections to knowledge and each other” really hit home. It is not just a noble goal. It is integrated into who we are and what we do in our effort to positively touch the lives of those we serve in our diverse community.
With these thoughts of our close connections and the many good things I hope to come in our future together, I would like to wish our community members, City and Library staff very Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
