Dear Ms. Alameda
On behalf of the Library Action Committee, please accept our thanks for serving on the panel for the third Library Forum, Saturday, January 25, 2014. I imagine many of the Forum participants share your childhood experience spending summers at the library in a small town. You went on to say that the Library is a place to gain knowledge but also the hub of the community and that while the library of the future will be different–with fewer books and more technology– its role at the center of community life will endure. Your recommendation to include a coffee shop in a new facility drove the point home.

The Committee captured the long list of ideas you put forward, projects to advance in the short term, for example, offering meeting space to non-profits, like 4-H, and running “movie night” based on books. In this way, you reasoned, people could find more ways to connect with their Library.

The Committee also thanks you for energizing the Forum participants with rallying calls of “We can do it! It’s do-able” when referring to the construction of a new facility but reminded us that we must first show the community the fine services we have now and invite people to envision an even better future. You urged the development of a “spot-on, direct plan” that you believe people will support, once they have a chance to see specific goals. It was encouraging to hear you say that, in your experience, people in San Benito County can be generous when they feel assured of a solid plan.

Finally, as a representative of the agricultural community, you noted the ability of the Library to help with English-language learning (actually ongoing with Gavilan College) and the potential to partner with groups like the Historical Society to highlight the history of agriculture in San Benito County.

Thank you once again for your energy and ideas on ways to improve current services and find a way forward.

Lois Locci