2013 is an Exciting Year of Change

We’re only a few days into the new year and it is already a whirlwind of activity in preparation for the exciting changes underway in 2013 at the Library. We are continuing to ramp up hiring to rebuild staffing and hours at Branch Libraries. The long-awaited new Central Library is also just a few months away from opening in July 2013. The current Central Library staff is busily getting ready.

One huge project that is underway is preparing our materials for the new automated material handling system. This new system allows library users to drop the book in a slot and the item will be carried on a conveyor belt. Then the system checks-in the item and automatically sorts it into a bin for the correct floor in the new library or to a bin for branch libraries. This will significantly streamline processing and free staff, so they can provide more direct service to the public.

Library Aide Gwendolyn Bell Prepares
Books for New Material Handling System

Our plan is for a library mover to move the 1.5 million items we have in our collection to the new library. In addition to a traditional library move that requires moving very heavy books and other materials on the public access floors, the mover will be tasked with organizing and moving items from our two basement levels. In the new library the basement materials will be interfiled into the shelves with the other materials (like shuffling giant decks of cards), so that all of our materials can be easily accessed and browsed by library users.

I’m happy to say that the new Central Library construction is almost 80% complete! Final touches on all floors are underway. Carpet is going in now and shelving and furniture are not far behind. The auditorium construction is underway with the outside walls already going up. Check out our real time webcam to see the progress for yourself.

There is much more behind the scenes work being done to prepare for the new Central move. We are also working on some exciting projects that will impact the future of our branches and the library system as a whole. I know we will look back at the end of 2013 and be amazed at just how much progress was made that directly touches the lives of the people we serve.

P.S. There is also still time for you to participate in the Buy-A-Brick campaign to leave a lasting impact on the new Central Library and on the Library system. Make your brick contribution by January 31 to ensure your brick is installed by the Library’s opening in July 2013. Call the Library Foundation at 619-238-6638 for information or additional naming opportunities.

Appreciating Community Connections

Last weekend I attended two community events that reminded me of how important the library is to our neighborhoods and how fortunate we are to have such deep roots throughout the San Diego community.


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.



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!

The New Central Library Brick Campaign Begins

We are so fortunate! Our branch libraries are humming with activity and excitement as we continue to restore hours. Downtown library users express their thanks for the return of Saturday hours, and on December 3, branch libraries will be open starting from 9:30 a.m. The Library system will have more open hours than we have had in a number of years, an upward trend that we hope to see continue.


The new Central Library continues its progress toward completion. We are fortunate to have the Library Foundation, a strong group of people who have helped the construction of the new Central Library come to reality, and who continue their fundraising efforts on behalf of the Library system. The Library Foundation has begun the “Buy-a-Brick” campaign. This community campaign will allow participation at all levels for anyone to help our library system by purchasing a brick that will be engraved and placed in the new Central Library.

Please join me and “Buy-a-Brick” to publically demonstrate your support of our library system. When you “Buy-a-Brick,” your family or organization will own a lasting piece of a community treasure and improve a citywide system providing important reading and literacy programs, arts and cultural offerings and technology access for everyone.

A limited number of commemorative bricks are now available. Purchasing a brick by January 31, 2013 ensures its installation by the July grand opening. You can also “Gift a Brick” in honor or tribute to a loved one or associate. Please visit SupportMyLibrary.org for more information or to make your online contribution.

We thank you, and wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Good News and More Good News

It’s been a very exciting time around the Library. Of course, one of the biggest pieces of good news is concerning the progress on the new Central Library. It is now 72% complete and is scheduled to open next summer in July. Last Friday, October 5, there was a “Topping Off” ceremony for the amazing iconic dome that has forever changed San Diego’s skyline. You can watch the video of the ceremony and see the webcam to view the construction in real time.

The New Central Library’s iconic
dome with the trolley in the foreground

At 143 ft high the new Central Library’s dome is larger than the dome on the U.S. Capitol. This 80,000 pound structure with 8 separate sails and sunshades is a one-of-a-kind engineering marvel. I am so impressed with the engineers, Turner Construction crew, and the architects, Rob Quigley and Tucker Sadler, for the creativity and professional expertise it took to envision and build this dome.

Steel workers tightening a sail

At the ceremony architect Rob Quigley described the symbolism behind the dome and its significance to our community, “This dome stands as an icon, a symbol of the City’s commitment to literacy and learning. And like the human spirits nurtured within, the dome is designed to be in the perpetual act of becoming. It doesn’t look finished and it never will. It will always be becoming. It is intended to stand as a paradox – grand yet accessible, familiar yet unique, comforting yet provocative. It is permanent yet kinetic and ever changing to the sun and the sky and the clouds.” I couldn’t have said it better!

Another piece of good news that we will be adding more hours at our libraries beginning the weekend of November 3-4! Starting on November 3, 2012 the Central Library will resume Saturday hours (9:30 to 2:30). Starting November 4, 2012 we will have Sunday hours at 4 additional branch libraries from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. including Logan Heights, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo and Valencia Park/Malcolm X branch libraries. This is in addition to the branches that are currently open on Sunday including City Heights/Weingart, La Jolla/Riford, Point Loma/Hervey and Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa. (See the new schedule.) Additional hours at branch libraries on Monday are planned before the end of the year and we will make the announcement about those hours as soon as we can.
It is a crazy busy time as we continue to hire new people to staff the additional hours and prepare to move to the new Central Library. But, it is also very gratifying to know that very soon the community will experience the results of all the hard work and dedication of Mayor Jerry Sanders, the City Council, our donors, and Library staff to help us better meet the needs of our community.

Exciting Website Changes Are Here!

I am so pleased that the Library’s website improvements, which make our site more user-friendly, are now live. Our staff has been working for some time with the City’s Web Team to reduce the clutter and place items you look for the most in easy to find locations. Searching the catalog is our # 1 hit, so we put the search box right at the top along with your account login. We added quick links to our most popular hits. Graphical news features highlight programs and services of special interest.

Check out San Diego Public Library’s
new user-friendly website.

We are receiving positive feedback from users like Lisa Schattman who wrote, “"Great job! So much better than the old site!!! Not only more attractive, but much easier to find what I'm looking for. Thanks, SDPL!" This is such a testament to what a fabulous job our eBranch Team and the City’s Web Team did in upgrading our site to make it more responsive to our user needs! 

Recently we updated our event calendar, which makes it easier to find events at a glance. Other online improvements are coming soon. Within the next month or so there will be an upgrade to our catalog, which will give it a more contemporary look, make searching more like Google, and highlight New York Times Best Sellers. The library is on the technologic move. Stay tuned for more exciting details.

A Great New Alliance for New Central

I was so excited last week to meet Dr. Helen V. Griffith. She is the newly appointed executive director of the Downtown Charter High School (DCH), which will be on the new Central Library’s sixth and seventh floors and will eventually serve 500 high school students. After talking to her for just a brief time I knew she was the right person for the position. What a dynamo! She is so enthusiastic about wrapping together both formal and self-directed education for the DCH students. She has already hit the ground running and has started to put into place all the elements for getting the doors to the new school to open in the fall of 2013.

Dr. Helen Griffith
Executive Director
Downtown Charter High School

Dr. Griffith grew up in San Diego, and like me, she has a passionate commitment to this community and helping students make the most of the fact that their school is in the new Central Library. With a fabulous new Teen Space, a homework center, a computer lab, and ready access to library materials and librarians to help them, these students will have all the resources they need to help them succeed.


The excitement for new Central Library is building. Having Dr. Griffith onboard at DCH is one more step in realizing the vision of the new Central Library as a state-of-the-art centerpiece of learning and civic engagement in San Diego.

Fun Days of Summer are Hopping at the Library

Summer is traditionally a time to kick back, enjoy the great weather, and take time away from our day-to-day routine. For staff at the Library, summer is a time to kick into high gear with all the great programs we offer. We just wrapped up our Summer Reading Program and it was a fantastic year with more than 26,000 participants and 54% of those participating completing the program. This year’s theme was, “Dream Big, Read!” I was so pleased that the Library staff took this theme to heart in their program planning. At one of our smallest branches, Mountain View/Beckwourth, there were 1,000 kids at the Wild Wonders animal program. Now that is dreaming big!

An eager crowd of approximately 1,000 participants
anticipate the 2012 Summer Reading Wild Wonders Animal
Program at the Mountainview/Beckwourth Branch Library.

 We also had a busy summer with our One Book, One San Diego Program. Luis Alberto Urrea, author of "Into the Beautiful North," one of this year’s One Book selections, was in San Diego in June for two programs including one at the World Beat Center at Balboa Park. It was a lively program, complete with a flash mob!

From left to right are Julie Karlo, KPBS General Manager
Tom Karlo, Judith Josephson, me, and Edith Fine.
Judith Josephson and Edith Fine are authors of the
Children’s One Book, One San Diego selection,
“Armando and the Blue Tarp School,”
which I am holding.

The U.S. Constitution Program, Searching for Democracy is in full swing this summer, too. This program was made possible by a grant to the San Diego Public Library by the California Council for the Humanities (CCH). It includes an exhibit at the Central Library, "Wherever There's A Fight: A History of Civil Liberties" and a series of discussions lead by scholars on topics ranging from race and gender to faith and religion, dissent, and education and the arts.

So, this summer has been anything but slow around the San Diego Public Library. We may be tempted to stop for a few moments to catch our breath. But, then again we’ve got lots of planning to do for our back to school and fall programs, not to mention the opening of our new Central Library next summer! Stay tuned for more about that in the coming months.