Accomplishments
The Friends of the Scotts Valley Library is very proud of their accomplishments. Here are just a few of them.
Adult Arts and Crafts
Click on side photos to scroll.
Yakety Yak Desk
The Scotts Valley Library saw the need for customers to have access to staff assistance within the library's interior areas. The new library design has moved the staff information/reference/check-out station to the entry area. On their recommendation, the Friends purchased a Yakety Yak, a mobile sit/stand desk that allows staff to use it as a reference/help desk and welcoming point closer to our customers.
The Friends sponsored monthly adult arts workshops taught by local artists and craftspeople. Through this program, participants discovered new hobbies or honed skills they already had. Attendees left with a new project, a learned skill, and a greater sense of community. All fees and materials were paid by the Friends. Past programs featured mandala rocks, woodburning, soap making, wool spinning, glass etching, quilling, travel sketching, acrylic painting, calligraphy and much more.
Adult Arts and Crafts Classes
Make Lab
Special Needs Collection
The Scotts Valley Branch Library is home to the Special Needs Resource Center. Parents, educators, individuals, and the entire special needs community can access a variety of resources through the collection, including legal rights and educational placement. The collection includes conditions of Autism, ADD, ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Visual Impairment, Pervasive Developmental Delays, Dyspraxia, Bipolar disorder, sensory processing disorders, Down syndrome, Anxiety, Depression and OCD. It is the only collection of its kind in Santa Cruz County.
The Friends of the Scotts Valley Library support this collection with an annual donation to the Library in order to keep the collection relevant with newly published materials.
A Makerspace offers library patrons an opportunity to explore their creativity and learn new skills.
A generous gift from the Friends of the Scotts Valley Library funded the purchase of tools and equipment to equip a Makerspace.
Tools include:
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3-D printers
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Vinyl cutter
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Wood burning tool
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Soldering tool
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Pinback button machine
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Book binding machine
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Virtual reality-based sculpting and painting program.
The Make Lab is the only program of its kind within the Santa Cruz Library system.
Patio
Step outside the back door of our library and visit our lovely patio. The patio project was a community effort, funded by generous community donations including substantial gifts from Laura and Terry LaPorte and the late Dorothy Hale. Local businesses, including Los Animas Concrete, Central Home Supply, and Coastal Evergreen provided services and/or materials as well.
The Friends purchased long-lasting patio furniture—kid-sized and larger, as well as several large patio umbrellas to shade the area. Friends also pay for continuing upkeep, new landscaping, and furniture replacements as needed. The result: an inviting sanctuary for readers of all ages.
Photo credit: Barbara Stocklmeir August 2022
The Leaves
Over 500 children sign up each year to participate in the Summer Reading Program at our library. In previous years, children who successfully completed the Summer Reading Program at Scotts Valley Library were included in a drawing. Twenty-five names selected at random were recognized with a handcrafted ceramic leaf. These colorful leaves were hand-lettered with the name of the reading program recipient. They are displayed on the fence along the back patio.