Dear Supervisor Barrios
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. As active and informed community members, we recognize the funding challenges the Board must tackle. At the same time, your confirmation of the vital role our Library serves aligns with our determination to work with the County (and potential partners) in search of solutions.

The Forum participants benefitted significantly from the history and future plans you described related to a community service district. The community’s understanding of all our options will help surface the best among them, including for example partnerships between or among the City and County, San Benito High School District, Gavilan College, and the YMCA.

Thank you as well for redirecting the Forum participants’ praise for the added Friday hours, making sure everyone understood that the Library Director and staff can take credit for their initiative and resolve to enhance our Library services. Thank you as well for your kind words, recognizing the faithful service of the Friends of the Library, the unsung heroes who keep so many programs afloat.

Finally, the Library Action Committee is drafting a charter, a first step toward an oversight committee, not to micromanage but rather to assist the Board to keep the Library in the way of opportunities, for example new laws and funding initiatives (state, corporate, and private including U.S. and local).

We look forward to many more opportunities to learn your views and to share them widely with fellow residents of the County. We look to your leadership as partnership discussions get underway.

Lois Locci