Library Supports Literacy

The Santa Barbara Library is more important than ever when the school year ends. Santa Barbara Unified has close to 4,000 students that attend their elementary schools, but this summer, there will be room for only 540 students in kindergarten through fifth grade in their four-week summer program.

The day after school lets out for the summer, the SB Library Summer Reading Program will kick off at Alameda Park on June 10th. Children and teens will have a chance to stop by the Friends of the Library table and choose a free book, and a gameboard to track their goals. In addition to meeting with librarians, participants will be able to choose from a variety of prizes donated by local businesses and museums once they complete their goals.

Many of our children depend on a lunch program at school so the library offers “Lunch at the Library” and provides children and teens with free summer meals, and other activities that support learning, health, and wellness. It also brings families to the library where staff can connect adult family members and caregivers with essential library resources and services.

In addition, the Library on the Go will be out bringing the library to the community.

All programs and services are free to the community, but they all cost money. Even though many are funded through grants that the library has applied for, the library can’t keep ahead of the budget cuts it receives each year. I honestly can’t think of a more important community resource to support.