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President's Message
by Michele Vass
Hello Friends!
I hope that you've been well and enjoyed your summer. I've learned that things in the library world never really slow down. Our own Placer County Library System (PCLS) is a fine example of both fast-paced efficiency and methodical attention to detail.
Under Director Mary George's leadership, our PCLS successfully implemented a switch-over to a new
Integrated Library Management System earlier this year. This new system has been well received by library users and offers many new convenient features to make accessing all the library has to offer easier.
Then, as if migrating data and accounting for all of our Placer County library materials wasn't enough for 2019, the Library Administration also dove headfirst into a process of updating the
PCLS Strategic Plan. This undertaking involved the hiring and managing of a consultant to facilitate the process, putting together teams to reach community stakeholders and those that don't yet use the library, and collecting input into the future of our Placer County Libraries from several hundred community members. Our library staff invested many hours in this process on top of their normal job duties. The depth of topics addressed, and action items developed, attest to their commitment to a successful outcome.
That same detail and drive were also on display this summer as every branch held events that rewarded young readers during the annual
Summer Reading program. While we haven't received the final numbers on the success of Summer Reading, I know by witnessing the excitement in the library and navigating our often full to capacity parking lot, that it was another triumph for our staff.
It's budget time again in Placer County and our Supervisors will make allocations to all of the various county departments quite soon. Our PCLS could use some love in the form of patrons speaking up in appreciation for the services provided and advocating for not just maintaining the status quo; but increasing the investment we make in our neighborhoods and communities through library funding.
The library is the part of our local government that many interact with most, yet it remains among the most underappreciated and underfunded. I look at the impact our libraries have in our communities currently, and wonder how much further their reach could be if they had more support?
We now have the library leadership and vision we need, and I encourage you to reach out to your Supervisor and tell them we require a greater investment of funds to ensure our community thrives.
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Branch Manager Tony Carmack, President Michele Vass, and PCL Assistant Director Sophie Bruno are all smiles at the FOL August Luncheon |
Rocklin FOL Presents Check to PCL at August Luncheon
by Rita Peterson
On August 13 about twenty members of the Rocklin Friends of the Library met at Venita Rhea's Restaurant for our annual summer luncheon. At that time we presented the Placer County Library, represented by Sophie Bruno and Tony Carmack, with a $6,000.00 check. The check included a $5,000 Books and Materials donation for 2019 and another $1,000 for the the launch of the Family Literacy Program. Needless to say, this was a fun and lively affair for all who attended!
We hope to see more of our members when we meet again in September at our regularly scheduled meeting on September 10.
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Are you Using Hoopla?
by Tony Carmack, Rocklin Branch Manager
What's all the hoopla about?!? I'll tell you.
Hoopla, a streaming service that allows downloads of movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics, and television shows, is now available for all holders of a Placer County Library card!
With the Hoopla app for your desktop, smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device, you can instantly borrow and stream with no waiting. There are no "holds" in Hoopla. There are hundreds of thousands of titles. Or, you can download content for offline viewing enjoyment later.
Worried about overdues? Not with Hoopla! Your checkouts instantly vanish from your account, and there are never any fines.
With your Placer County Library card you will always have your public library at your fingertips, whether at home or on the road!
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Watercolor by Ken Moore |
Local Artists Bring Color and Beauty to the Rocklin Library Halls and Wal
ls
by Janet Thew, Art Coordinator
Through August the library walls displayed the watercolor landscapes of Ken Moore. We hope to have an exhibit of wall quilts in September. In October you can see historical airplane photos that will tie in with the Rocklin Reads program.
On display in November/December will be the illustrations of children's books by
Connie McClennan.
Connie worked as a freelance
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| Illustrator/AuthorConnie McLennan |
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advertising and editorial illustrator for many years and eventually illustrated 13 children's books, several of which won awards. She then painted for awhile and briefly became a paralegal before returning to picture books. "The Forest in the Trees" is the first book she has both written and illustrated. I have seen them, and they are gorgeous!
There will be a reception for Connie and her new book on Saturday, November 16 at 4 PM. This will be open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
We hope you are able to enjoy the special works on display in our library by local artists, and we look forward to seeing many of you at the reception for Connie McLennan in November!
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Final Surplus Book Sale is Held...But, Sales Grow in the FOL Store!
by Gloria Beverage
We held our final Super Surplus Book Sale on Aug. 10, sending home bags and bags of books with shoppers. After 2-1/2 years of moving boxes of books every few weeks, it was time to turn our energy (and save a few backs) in another direction. One plan is to provide books for the
Little Free Libraries
which will be installed in four of Rocklin's parks later this summer.
Book lovers can always find a wide selection of adult and children's books as well as DVDs in our bookstore, located just inside the entrance to the library. Hardback books are $3; paperbacks are $2. Children's books are priced as marked. We will be holding "flash" sales featuring collections of popular authors or genres at discounted prices from time to time. Watch Facebook and NextDoor for announcements about those special sales.
Get a head start on holiday shopping by checking out our eBay store for unique, collectible and vintage books. Many thanks to Eve Wise for keeping the store filled.
Donations are always welcome; drop them through the slot just inside the front door of the library. Money raised from our various sales support the purchase of books, DVDs and audio tapes for the library collection.
My heartfelt thanks for the infinite energy of the Dream Team volunteers who sort the generous donations and who keep the shelves of our bookstore filled. And a huge thank you to the many who devoted countless hours organizing our surplus sales over the past 2-1/2 years.
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STEM Classes are a Success!
by Eve Wise
While some kids were spending their summer sleeping in; others spent a week learning new skills. The Friend's offered two
STEM classes this summer for kids ages 10 and up. This was our second year of offering classes in partnership with XD Makers and the Hacker's Lab.
The classes were held the week of July 8-12 at the Hacker's Lab in Rocklin and were limited to 15 students per class.The Video/Audio Editing class taught kids how to import video and audio. The kids could take their imported video and edit and manipulate it to complete projects assigned in the class such as a top 10 list. In the Robotics class students learned how to write code to program their robot to perform tasks such as: going straight or backward, turn left or right and stop for an object in front of them. Students made either a Race Car or Petbot.
All students went home with more than they came with. In addition to the knowledge gained, students in the Robotics class, got to take their robots home and were instructed how to utilize the open source Arduino software at home. Students in the Video/Audio class were given a link and password to the Adobe Premiere software and could take the projects they worked on in class home with them.
The summer STEM classes have ended, but the skills the students learned will be with them for a lifetime. The most valuable skill that many of these students learned was to persevere. As one of the volunteers in the classes, the most rewarding experience for me was watching the students who struggled, not give up, but show up every day with renewed determination. Halfway through the class, I witnessed the ones who struggled teaching others. This was my "aha" moment. These classes are valuable to our community. Our thanks goes out to XD Makers and the Hacker's Lab for partnering with us.
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Rocklin Reads takes flight in October 
by Gloria Beverage
This year's
Rocklin Reads program will feature former Sacramento area author Suzanne Rindell, who will be in Rocklin on Oct. 19 to discuss her 2018 book,
Eagle and Crane. Set primarily in Placer County in the years before and after World War II, the mystery centers around two stunt flyers performing with a barnstorming troupe. The paperback version will be released in July.
Rindell is also the author of
Three Martini Lunch and
The Other Typist, which has been translated into 15 languages and opted for film by Fox Searchlight Pictures. She is at work on a historic mystery set in 1906 San Francisco.
A resident of San Francisco, she earned a B.A. degree from University of the Pacific, a Ph.D. from Rice University in Texas and spent a number of years working in the New York City publishing field.
The Rocklin Library Book group will read and discuss the book on Oct. 10. A display of historic airplane photos of the area will be inside the Rocklin Library.
The Rocklin Friends of the Library are hosting the annual Rocklin Reads program as a way to encourage the community to read, as well as raise awareness about local history and social issues.
We hope you are as excited to read this book and meet the author as we are!
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Come Join Us in Costume for Spooky Story Time at the Station
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History of Libraries and Librarians
from Digital Public Libraries of America
Article Submitted by Getta Dolinsek
As a constellation of libraries rapidly spread across the US at the turn of the twentieth century, a corps of passionate, trained librarians stepped up to staff them. Library jobs in the eastern, more populated areas of the country became highly competitive, and many women librarians were compelled to move to rural southern and remote western destinations in order to put their educations to work. Many assumed leadership positions in their new libraries because of their unique knowledge and skills.
These new jobs came with difficult contexts and challenges. In remote places, new librarians often arrived to find that residents prized libraries more as meeting places than educational resources. Communities rarely used the outdated or unappealing materials they offered and provided limited or no financial resources to revise their collections and programming.
Despite these obstacles, successful librarians transformed their libraries into cultural centers at the heart of their towns. Many created traveling libraries to reach rural areas. Others worked in collaboration with schools to create programming for children that might also attract parents, or programs that brought educational materials to the workplace.
Far from embodying the stereotypical image of the shushing, uptight spinster, this generation of independent women librarians innovated ways to provide access to information with few resources and performed tasks, like horseback book delivery, that were considered men's work. Despite the dangers and isolation of remote settings and the close watch of small communities, women librarians in the west and rural south were often afforded unique freedoms and treated as valued members of the community. These librarians were also supported by a new generation of middle- and working-class women volunteers who helped bridge the staffing gaps and make library services available to broader audiences.
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| "Packhorse Library Carrier," Courtesy of the University of Kentucky via Kentucky Digital Library. |
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Upcoming 2019 Board Meeting Dates
September 10 - 10 AM
October 8 - 10 AM
November 12 - 10 AM
December 10 - 10 AM
All meetings will be held at the Community Room at the Rocklin Library
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WE WANT YOUR GENTLY USED BOOKS
Non-fiction books, Children's Books
New fiction (hardback and paperback books)
DVDs and books on tape, and rare and antique books
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR DONATIONS IN THE BOOK DONATION SLOT
INSIDE THE LIBRARY TO THE RIGHT OF THE FRONT DOOR
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The mission of Rocklin Friends of the Library is to generate support for the Rocklin Library and Placer County library services and to promote community interest in libraries, reading, and lifelong learning.
Rocklin Library - 624-3133
4890 Granite Drive, Rocklin, CA
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