ReportsCUPERTINO LIBRARY JANUARY 2018
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CUPERTINO LIBRARY
MONTHLY REPORT – JANUARY 2018
Our Cupertino Library monthly report highlights the diverse collections, programs, and
outreach our staff provide to our Cupertino community. For more information, please
contact me at 408.446.1677 or at cvaresio@sccl.org. – Clare Varesio, Community Librarian
DID YOU KNOW?
OverDrive provides Santa Clara County Library District with eBooks, audiobooks and
streaming video for download. OverDrive allows you to check out up to 10 titles at one time,
choose your lending period, and place items on hold. New and popular titles are offered for
all ages, and can be downloaded to a variety of devices.
Want to learn more? The OverDrive Digital Bookmobile
will be visiting Cupertino Library on Saturday, February
17 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Traveling coast to coast,
this high-tech update to a traditional Bookmobile is
coming to promote reading happiness and the digital
catalog of eBooks, audiobooks and streaming video
that is available through the Santa Clara County
Library District. We hope you will stop by!
DECEMBER 2017 CIRCULATION STATISTICS
2017 2016
NEW PATRONS 429 490
VISITORS 70,041 66,039
ADULT & TEEN CIRCULATION 83,330 86,819
CHILDREN'S CIRCULATION 118,621 117,347
OVERDRIVE EBOOK CIRCULATION 5,094 4,727
TOTAL CIRCULATION 201,951 204,166
CUPERTINO LIBRARY JANUARY 2018
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LIBRARY NEWS
We are pleased to announce that Cupertino Library and Milpitas Library
will become Passport Acceptance Facilities later this spring. Both libraries
will offer patrons the ability to apply for a new passport, and will offer
evening and weekend acceptance hours. Please stay tuned for more
information, and we hope you will help us promote this new service.
JANUARY 2018 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
2018 2017
ADULT PROGRAMS 13 22
TEEN PROGRAMS 10 7
PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS 19 22
SCHOOL AGE PROGRAMS 14 16
TOTAL LIBRARY PROGRAMS 56 67
ADULT PROGRAM ATTENDANCE 459 820
TEEN PROGRAM ATTENDANCE 305 165
PRESCHOOL PROGRAM ATTENDANCE 1,006 1,293
SCHOOL AGE PROGRAM ATTENDANCE 746 472
TOTAL PROGRAM ATTENDANCE 2,516 2,750
ADULT & TEEN PROGRAMS
January featured a four-part Teen Entrepreneur Workshop,
taught by the Innovative Development by Entrepreneurs
Association (IDEA). iDEA focuses on teaching teenagers
about entrepreneurship as well as computer aided design
(CAD). This program series consisted of 4-three hour
workshops. Participants were placed in groups and taught
about businesses and entrepreneurship through a series of
activities and and hands-on activities. The final session
gave the teens an opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of outside judges. The winning
business plan, Virtual Design Inc.’s uDesign app for interior design, won its team a $150
Amazon gift card. Thanks to iDEA and the Friends of the Cupertino Library for their generous
support of teen programs at the library. Check out this Mercury News article for more:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/18/students-give-younger-classmates-a-dose-of-
entrepreneurship/.
CUPERTINO LIBRARY JANUARY 2018
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The featured program for adults in January was Dr. Manish Saggar’s talk on “Meditation and
the Brain.” A generous crowd of 67 learned about meditation’s effects on the brain from Dr.
Saggar, uniquely qualified to provide insight into meditation’s beneficial qualities as he serves
as assistant professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine and is a long
time meditation practitioner.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
98 children and adults enjoyed the Fuse Theatre’s production of
Tomas and the Library Lady. This bi-lingual, multi-media
play performed by a cast of three with puppets is an adaptation
of Pat Mora's children's book by the same name. Based on the
true story of Tomas Rivera, it tells the story of a child of migrant
farm workers who befriends a librarian in Iowa and is encouraged
to read.
In anticipation of Groundhog Day, school age children participated in
a grand Cupertino tradition: enjoying groundhog stories, creating
groundhog masks and popping out of the groundhog “hole.”
Cupertino’s Poet Laureate, Kaecey McCormick was on hand to lead
groundhog-related poetry activities.
Three kindergarten classes from Cupertino Unified School District’s
Chinese Language Immersion Program visited the library. They
attended a special Mandarin story time, learned about the library’s
services and took a tour of the library.
JANUARY 2018 LIBRARY OUTREACH
2018 2017
OUTREACH EVENTS 9 7
OUTREACH ATTENDANCE 110 67
TOTAL VOLUNTEER HOURS 835 898
Our Children’s librarians visited five preschools in the city of Cupertino this January, bringing
songs, stories and more to dozens of young listeners.
Adult librarians continued outreach to Cupertino Senior Center and Chateau Cupertino.
We encourage you to let us know of locations in Cupertino you would like the library to visit!
CUPERTINO LIBRARY JANUARY 2018
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UPCOMING FEBRUARY 2018 PROGRAMS
We thank the Friends of the Cupertino Library and the Cupertino Library Foundation for their
generous support of our library programs! To view all upcoming events, visit
https://www.sccl.org/Locations/Cupertino.
WEDNESDAY, February 7, 7:00 pm, Teen Group Study Room – Silicon Valley Reads: Teen Writing
Workshop *
THURSDAY, February 8, 7:00 pm, Story Room – Celebrating the Lunar New Year with the Cupertino
Poet Laureate
FRIDAY, February 9, 11:00 am, Parents’ Corner – English / Mandarin Bilingual Storytime
WEDNESDAY, February 14, 4:00 pm, Story Room – Children’s Valentine’s Day Craft
WEDNESDAY, February 14, 7:00 pm, Teen Group Study Room – DiversiTea Teen Book Club
THURSDAY, February 15, 12:00 pm, Story Room - Poet Laureate Language Artist's Series for Adults *
SATURDAY, February 17, 9:30 am, Community Hall – ACT Practice Test for Teens *
SATURDAY, February 17, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – OverDrive Digital Bookmobile @ Cupertino Library
SUNDAY, February 18, 4:00 pm, Community Hall – Silicon Valley Reads: Author Rachel Khong
WEDNESDAY, February 21, 7:00 pm, Story Room – Asian Art Museum: Hidden Meaning in Chinese
Art
WEDNESDAY, February 21, 7:00 pm, Community Hall - Lunar New Year Predictions with Mr. Y. C.
Sun
MONDAY, February 26, 7:00 pm, Story Room – FPA: Special Needs Trust
WEDNESDAY, February 28, 7:00 pm, Story Room – Chinese Family History Workshop
* Registration required.
Don’t miss!
SATURDAY, February 10, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm and SUNDAY, February 11, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm,
Community Hall – Friends of the Cupertino Library Used Book Sale
FOLLOW THE LIBRARY!
Cupertino Library Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CupertinoLibrary
SCCLD Newsletter – https://www.sccl.org/About/Library-News/Newsletter
Serving the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County and the cities of Campbell | Cupertino | Gilroy | Los Altos | Los Altos Hills | Milpitas | Monte Sereno | Morgan Hill | Saratoga
February 2018
Commission Report
Nancy Howe, County Librarian
Silicon Valley Reads
2018
Each year, the Silicon Valley
Reads team chooses a theme
that will engage our community
in conversation about an issue
relevant to our region. For
2018, the theme No Matter What: Caring, Coping, Compassion is about Caregiving.
With a successful kick-off on Feb 1 featuring our two main authors in conversation with
Mercury News columnist, Sal Pizzaro, we are off to a great start! There are over 100 events
planned throughout February and March. We hope you will be able to join us for multiple
events and we encourage you to attend with family and friends.
To see the full calendar of free public events in February and March throughout Santa Clara
County Library District, visit www.sccl.org/svr.
Food for Fines- Spring 2018
For the month of April, SCCLD will test out a one-month pilot program
offering amnesty of up to $100 in overdue fines in exchange for a food
donation. Our goal is to give patrons a simple way to clear their records
and welcome them back to the library—especially those in our
community with limited funds who are the most negatively impacted. For
those owing $20 or more, it is an opportunity to return to a borrowing
status so that they can once again become active library users.
SCCLD will be working with Second Harvest Food Bank to collect food donations in exchange
for waiving their current fines. While many organizations collect food donations during the
holidays, hunger is issue in our community that is year-round. By offering our pilot in April, we
also hope to generate much needed food for Santa Clara County.
Serving the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County and the cities of Campbell | Cupertino | Gilroy | Los Altos | Los Altos Hills | Milpitas | Monte Sereno | Morgan Hill | Saratoga
Joint Powers Authority Board Meeting Update
The development plan for 1344 Dell Avenue was approved by the JPA on Thur, Jan 25, 2018.
The JPA purchased the property at 1344 Dell Avenue in Campbell in 2011. The purpose was
two-fold: to provide ample parking for staff at 1370 Dell Avenue Services and Support Center
(SSC) and to provide space for additional staff as the Library’s program expanded. The
building needs to be renovated to make it suitable for Library staff and functions.
SSC provides support services for all eight Library locations and is currently at maximum
capacity accommodating administrative services, material circulation/processing/shipping,
warehouse, support staff, IT, children/teen/adult services, program management and
bookmobile operations. 1344 Dell Avenue plans include construction of a 12,000 ft., 2-story
building that will provide SSC with room for long-term growth, much needed meeting space for
the Reading Program, and IT staff and services including a backup generator to keep our
entire network, including our website and in-library wifi, available during a power outage. This
recommended option allows for the largest building size without requiring a separate parking
garage, provides sufficient parking for staff and events, meets the long-term needs of the
Library District, while providing flexibility of space for growth, and/or revenue options.
Santa Clara County Library District Foundation Fundraiser
During the months of February-April, when you dine at
the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) located in the
Westfield Valley Fair Mall and mention the Santa Clara
County Library District Foundation Fundraiser, 20% of
your purchase will be donated to the SCCLD Foundation.
The SCCLD Foundation is critical in supporting district-wide literacy programs including the
Bookmobile and the Reading Program.
Treat yourself, family and friends to a nice meal at CPK at the Valley Fair Mall and help
promote literacy in Santa Clara County!
Serving the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County and the cities of Campbell | Cupertino | Gilroy | Los Altos | Los Altos Hills | Milpitas | Monte Sereno | Morgan Hill | Saratoga
LIBRARY TRENDS:
The Case Against Library Fines—
According to the Head of the New York Public Library
There’s no doubt that we are currently living in a
fractured world, one in which the divide between rich
and poor is widening, opportunities for the
disenfranchised are declining, and the lines between
fact and fiction are increasingly blurred.
Public libraries are on the front lines every day, combatting these threats to our democracy.
Whether loaning wi-fi hotspots to give patrons access to the internet and help close the digital
divide, helping immigrants learn English, offering free citizenship classes, providing early
literacy programs to close the reading gap, or simply loaning books (and, yes, people still read
books—circulation at The New York Public Library went up 7% last year over the previous
year), libraries ensure that no one—regardless of beliefs or background—faces barriers to
learning, growing, and strengthening our communities.
It is because of this role, so crucial to our democracy of informed citizens, that I and many
others at libraries across the country have been seriously evaluating the complex and long-
standing issue of library fines – and whether to do away with them.
For many families across the US, library fines are a true barrier to access. While relatively
small library fines have been a punchline in pop culture over the years (Jerry Seinfeld’s “library
cop” is an icon, for example), the fact is that for many families across the US, library fines are a
true barrier to access. At The New York Public Library, $15 in accrued fines prohibits one from
checking out materials. The reason for this policy may be obvious—it’s incentive to get books
returned and back on our shelves—but is it really effective? For those who can afford the fines,
paying a small late fee is no problem, so the fines are not a particularly strong incentive. On
the other hand, for those who can’t afford the fines, they have a disproportionately negative
impact.
At our 125th Street Library in Harlem, for instance, a young mother tried to check out a wi-fi
hotspot so her daughter could do her homework. Homeless, the family couldn’t afford
broadband internet, and her daughter’s grades suffered. Unfortunately, her library card was
blocked, not because the family was irresponsible, but because one night, they were abruptly
moved from one shelter to another, and in their haste to leave, they left behind a library book
and DVD. The fines accumulated quickly, and without any way to pay them, their only hope for
internet access was no longer available.
Serving the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County and the cities of Campbell | Cupertino | Gilroy | Los Altos | Los Altos Hills | Milpitas | Monte Sereno | Morgan Hill | Saratoga
Our branch managers have the authority to use their good judgment to waive fines, and in this
case, that’s exactly what happened. But that piecemeal, personal approach isn’t a solution.
In October, The New York Public Library, along with the Brooklyn Public Library and Queens
Library, took a step in the right direction, offering a one-time fine amnesty for kids and teens.
All students got a fresh start, no questions asked, hopefully prompting them to return and use
our array of free resources.
Kids rekindled their relationship with reading, learning, and libraries after we offered the
amnesty. One month in, we saw successes. About 41,000 kids and teens, or 10% of those
who previously had fines, used their library cards to access library resources. Of those 41,000,
11,000 had blocked cards or a lapsed relationship with the library, meaning they hadn’t used
the library for at least a year. So we know 11,000 kids and teens have rekindled their
relationship with reading, learning, and libraries one month after we offered the amnesty. We
will continue to monitor this, as we expect numbers to continue to increase as we continue to
get the word out about the program.
While I am proud of this initiative, it is a one-time solution to a problem that is not going away.
Before the fine forgiveness program, at The New York Public Library, 20% of our 400,000
juvenile and young adult patrons had blocked library cards; nearly half of those were
concentrated in the poorest quartile of our branches. In addition, we know the heartbreaking
truth: that there are families who refuse to even use the library for fear of accumulating fines.
These realities have prompted several library systems to experiment with fine elimination over
the last few years. The relatively small Stark County District Library system in Ohio, as one
example, waived fines in 2014, and one year in, saw positive results – an 11% increase in
circulation, an increase in items checked out, and no significant increase in lost items, those
never returned. The Columbus Metropolitan Library announced a fine-free 2017. Just this
month, the Yankton Community Library in South Dakota—inspired by our efforts in New
York—decided to experiment with fine-free borrowing. And the Omaha Public Library recently
announced it is exploring the possibility of fine free borrowing in its system.
In 2011, The New York Public Library launched a program called MyLibraryNYC to provide
fine-free borrowing to students at eligible NYC public schools. Kids in the program borrow 37%
more materials than kids who are not in the program; teens 35% more. At the same time, the
number of lost items represents a small percentage of all items checked out as part of the
program, showing that kids are indeed bringing the books back. Positive test cases like this
show that fine-free lending is an experiment worth broadening. I would like to lead the way, but
for large urban systems, the lost revenue would be significant, and a serious issue that must
be addressed before we can move forward. While library systems have many sources of
funding, the fact is fines do contribute (sometimes millions of dollars) and that needs to be
addressed.
Serving the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County and the cities of Campbell | Cupertino | Gilroy | Los Altos | Los Altos Hills | Milpitas | Monte Sereno | Morgan Hill | Saratoga
What is truly the greater moral hazard? Having fines or not having fines? Over the next year, I
plan to meet with my counterparts at library systems across the US to discuss this issue, and
develop innovative ideas that would allow systems big and small to eliminate this barrier to
access. I hope that we can count on our partners in government and on the private side—
those who support early literacy, the end of the digital divide, and opportunity for all—to work
with us, perhaps to help libraries recoup lost revenue and examine eliminating library fines.
Support from the JPB Foundation, which works to improve quality of life for low-income people,
is what allowed us to do New York City’s one-time amnesty. Innovative, consistent support
could ensure that financial hardships do not prohibit a family from taking advantage of a public
resource built to help them.
I understand there are some who will balk at this experiment, wondering if the elimination of
fines poses a “moral hazard”? To be clear, I’m not advocating a system with zero
accountability. Patrons would need to return their items before checking out new ones, and still
pay for lost items. I’m advocating a system in which a family does not need to choose between
dinner and using the public library.
And so I must ask—what is truly the greater moral hazard? Having fines or not having fines? In
my view, teaching kids that the library is not an option for the poorest among them is
absolutely unacceptable.
Cupertino Poet Laureate
Library Commission Report & Update
Date of report:: Feb. 1, 2018 Date of meeting: Feb. 7, 2018
Submitted by: Kaecey McCormick Presented by: Christine Hanel
Summary of
Programs/Tasks
from Past Month::
●1/17 - Attended Library Foundation Board of Directors meeting
○Met the Board, Introduction, Poetry Reading
●1/25 - VIP Reception at Cupertino Senior Center
●1/29 - Poetry Comes to Storytime at the Cupertino Library
(Groundhog Day!)
●1/30 - Administrative meeting with Christine Hanel and Karen Levy
to go over Q2 programming through City as well as other
administrative tasks
●Coordinated with local teen poet and former teacher (Peggy Stark)
to create a Cupertino Teen Poetry Club - meetings will begin
February 7
○Teens will be co-facilitating with Peggy and the CPL (I could
only commit to attending 3-4 meetings/year) as well as
other local adult poets
○Held at the Cupertino Teen Center
●Marketing tasks for upcoming events
○Flyers, personal emails, event invitations, speaker invitations
○Coordinating with City social media
●January = “The Month of Administrative Tasks”
○Clean-up CPL contacts database & put on cloud storage
○Created financial spreadsheets for expense tracking to help
with reimbursement recording as well as planning for future
budgetary needs
■Will be sharing with Christine Hanel
○Re-formatted / updated the CPL website
(cupertinopoetlaureate.org) - please check it out!
○Updated CPL Facebook page - please “Like” the page if you
haven’t already done so!
○Created CPL MailChimp and EventBrite accounts
■Easy-to-manage email lists, event invitations, etc.
○Registered the CPL and CPL programs on Silicon Valley
Events site
Summary of
Programs/Tasks
for Upcoming
Month::
●2/8 - Community Poetry Night: Celebrating the Lunar New Year
○7:00 - 8:30 p.m. @ Cupertino Library - Commission Board
members warmly welcomed!
●2/15 - Lunch Hour Language Artists Series One (Form)
○4 sessions (every other week)
○12:00 - 1:30 p.m. @ Cupertino Library
●Marketing for future events
●Attending area poetry / creativity events & networking with other
area PLs and poets to cross-promote events; some planned /
tentative events include:
○2/5 San Jose Poetry Slam
○2/13 Well-RED speakers series
○2/17 SJSU Social Justice Series: Poetry as a Form of
Healing and Collective Building
●Planning programs for City Q3 and for CPL Q3
Future Events ●New events / programs added to Events page on the CPL website;
flyer available from Parks & Rec
●Brief overview of key planned events
○March: AABC Lunar New Year Luncheon
○4/5 CREATIVITY WORKSHOP: Word Collage @ Senior
Center
○4/10 CREATIVITY WORKSHOP: The Masks We Wear –
Exploring Persona Poetry @ QCC
○4/24 COMMUNITY POETRY NIGHT – Celebrate National
Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day! @ Cupertino Library
○April: Serve as Judge for the SCCL - Cupertino Poetry
Contest
○April: Work with teen librarian to design and facilitate poetry
writing workshops for teens
○5/3, 5/17 6/7, 6/21 LUNCH HOUR LANGUAGE ARTISTS –
Workshop Series 2: The Art of Recklessness @ Cupertino
Library
○5/15, 5/22 CREATIVITY SERIES – Igniting Your Writing
(grades 3-6) @ QCC
○5/23 CREATIVITY WORKSHOP: Line Dancing @ QCC
○6/5, 6/12 CREATIVITY SERIES – Sound and Sense @
Cupertino Senior Center
○6/9 CREATIVITY IN THE PARK – Sidewalk Chalk
Challenge!
Issues of
Significance:
●This is clearly a time of transition for the CPL program, and while
there are minor things to figure out there are no major issues of
concern
●Small item: Is there a CPL name tag? =) Someone mentioned I
should wear it during programming, but I don’t have one and am not
sure who to ask...
Notes / Questions: ●I plan to attend the MARCH Commission Meeting! Please let me
know if there is anything in particular you would like for me to bring /
prepare.