Hello from the Friends of the Santa Cruz Libraries.

On October 27th, the Santa Cruz City Council approved a city staff recommendation to hire Griffin Structures as the "owner's representative" for the library mixed-use project that will include a replacement for the Downtown Library currently located at 224 Church Street. This is a major step in one of several Measure S library improvement projects that were approved by voters in 2016. A new Felton Library opened earlier this year and both the Capitola and the La Selva Libraries are expected to open in 2021. These projects were also funded by Measure S and fundraising by the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries.

-Martín Gómez, Interim Executive Director
Chapter Updates
Aptos - The County of Santa Cruz, the design/build team, the Aptos Library Staff and members of the Aptos Friends have all been working closely together to ensure that community input has been included in the final plans for the Aptos rebuild. The art selection process is currently underway and the Aptos Friends are helping to identify items for which fundraising is necessary. Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2021 after the Capitola and La Selva Beach branches have opened. Exciting times!  
Rendering of possible Aptos branch design
Interior view
Our Community Reads: The Friends of the Aptos Library recently announced that The book selected by the community for the 2021 session of Our Community Reads is The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. 

The Events’ Committee is enthusiastically planning for this year's event. They are beginning to outline different possibilities of what OCR will look like this February and hope to include familiar OCR mainstays such as Trivia Night and also incorporate something that will highlight the artist component of the work. There is hope to have guest lectures and discussion groups. More details to come as we begin to get commitments from presenters.

Capitola - Thanks to the generosity of the Capitola Mall, the Friends of the Capitola Library have reopened their bookstore in a new, spacious location in the mall, next to Hallmark and across from Express.

They offer thousands of used items: books, CDs, and DVDs. Most items sell for $1 or $2 each. All funds will be used to enhance the new Capitola library. Cash or check only; Masks and social distancing are required.

Open Hours:
Saturdays: 12:00 – 4:00
Sundays: 12:00 – 4:00

Watch the Capitola Friends Website for more open hours/days to be posted as more store volunteers are available.
Felton - The Felton Library Friends Steering Committee continues to meet virtually, with the hope of having a future meeting inclusive of all interested FLF members. Thanks to generous donors, they will be able to collaborate with Library and Parks staff on some exciting ideas going into 2021, including additional enhancements and the creation of a fund for future programming.

This month, the lobby of the Felton branch will be opened with controlled entry for pick up and self-checkout of materials, replacing curbside service. Physically-distanced internet use in the Community Room will be part of a phased re-opening. All SLV middle school students will receive library cards and late fines will be removed. Keep a lookout for the official opening date on santacruzpl.org.
Scotts Valley -  Scotts Valley Friends are pleased that the renovation process for the Scotts Valley branch, which consists of replacing the roof and HVAC system, has started. Accordingly, the Branch is closed for any service, including curbside pickup, until November 9th.

At the last Zoom meeting the Friends of the Scotts Valley Library received updates on the building upgrades from Susan Nemitz and Jim Reed. The Scotts Valley chapter appreciates the opportunity to be involved by providing input on items the SV branch needs. The process will take longer than hoped for so there will be no activities that Scotts Valley can plan for at this time.
Obituary - Bob White

The Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries were saddened to learn of the unexpected passing of Bob White. Bob was currently serving as Chair of the Santa Cruz County Library Advisory Commission and represented Capitola as a member of the Library Joint Powers Authority.

According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Bob was an Assistant University Librarian at UCSC for 26 years where he was happily part of the teams that built the award winning Science and Engineering Library and the McHenry Library addition and renovation. Up to his passing, he volunteered his time and expertise for the new branch library in Capitola. He loved libraries and was so grateful to be part of three library building projects.

Bob is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Bonda; his beloved Persian rescue cat, Mason; his brother, Thomas of Black Hills, South Dakota; his extended family of Angus and Susan MacMillan of Felton; and his three amazing Godchildren, Landis, Claire and Ian Ross MacMillan. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank or Housing Matters of Santa Cruz County.
Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries
friends@fscpl.org
www.fscpl.org