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Berry, Berry Fun
Dozens of Radcliff Elementary School students on Monday got a dual surprise: a berry feast from Driscoll’s, along with a free children’s book recently produced by the Watsonville-based company.The book—“A Sofia Special”—tells the story of a young girl whose bad day at school improves once she gets home and shares a berry treat with her father.The visit included a read-aloud by the book’s author, award-winning children’s book author Julie Falatko.Driscoll’s, which grows and sells its ubiquitous berries around the world, partnered with Washington, DC-based Reading is Fundamental (RIF) in making the book.In addition to Radcliff, the company brought its berry-fest to Starlight Elementary in Watsonville and to Virginia Rocca Barton…
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Banned Books Week Panel: “Let Freedom Read”
Banned Books Week is back, and it’s time to celebrate the freedom to read while shedding light on the ongoing and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For over four decades, this annual event has united the entire literary community in unwavering support of the right to explore and express ideas, even those that may challenge the status quo or be deemed controversial. In 2022, the American Library Association (ALA)’s Office for Intellectual Freedom recorded a staggering 1,269 demands for the censorship of library books and resources. This marked the highest number of attempted book bans since the ALA began tracking censorship data in libraries over two…
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SCPL Receives Grant for NewLaptops for STEAM Program
The Santa Cruz Public Libraries (SCPL) was awarded a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to purchase 21 new laptops for the “Afterschool STEAM” program at the La Selva Beach Branch Library. In this program, students ages 8-18 learn basic engineering principals while playing Minecraft. Afterschool STEAM takes place at the La Selva Beach Branch Library on Thursdays from 4:15pm-5:30pm. This program was supported by the IMLS under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administered in California by the State Librarian. The LSTA is the only federal program exclusively for libraries. State libraries use the funds to support statewide initiatives and…
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Summer Reading Program Encourages Kids to Explore
By Amanda Rotella The theme at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries this summer is FIND YOUR VOICE! Our voices have power. We use our voices to share stories, express ourselves, and spark change. Our voices include not only the sounds we make, but the words we write, the art we create, the movements we perform, and the actions we take each day to impact our world. The Library Summer Reading Program encourages children to explore the world of books during their summer break. We want to foster a love for reading and learning, while preventing the summer slide—a phenomenon where students lose academic skills and knowledge over the summer months.…
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Two Women Share Their Journey of Adaption
Melissa Come Back, recently released by Atmosphere Press, is a dual-narrative memoir chronicling two women’s paths through the foster care system. In the book, Melissa, a smart and resilient 11-year-old raised in an abusive household, runs away from the comfortable foster home Patrice and her husband, Bob, provide. Twenty years later, an unexpected encounter at a fundraising gala propels them back together, forcing both of them to confront their individual failures. When, after their reunion, Patrice discovers that the adult Melissa and her pre-teen daughters face eviction, she and Bob are presented with an opportunity to make Melissa part of their family once again. Patrice Keet and Mellissa LaHommedieu, the…
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A Library Lover’s Tour of the Coast
Many people collect items as a hobby. I have friends who collect vintage video games, comic books, even quilts. I’m a different kind of collector, however. I collect library visits. For fun, I like to visit community libraries and photograph what I find there. My love of libraries took root in childhood. My mom, a teacher, would take my sister and me to the San Bruno library on Saturday mornings, and I’d check out the maximum 10 books every time. I’d stuff them into my Hello Kitty tote bag, then start devouring them as soon as I got home. Now I’m a teacher and my love of libraries hasn’t dimmed.…
