been a longtime improvement needed for the residents of San Pablo. Even getting the library in the first place was no easy task: The City of San Pablo partnered with the County of Contra Costa to provide the community with this local branch of the county library system. The County provides the library services and the City pays the rent, maintenance and operational costs. “The new location will have many features that everyone can get excited about,” said Gia Paolini, Community Library Manager. Size, in general, will probably be the greatest upgrade. “At our current location we are cramped for space and run into noise issues which can limit our options— in the new library we’ll have space to spread out and let the kids and teens be themselves without infringing on our visitors who want a more quiet space.” Plenty of programs are already in place at the library, and they plan to continue and expand on them at the new location. Some popular programs to date include their traditional book club, an ESL conversation group, children’s craft and building time, a writer’s club and more. “The staff are already thinking ahead about their programming plans,” said Paolini. One of their newer programs is called “Paws to Read” where children who need to practice reading can come in and read to a trained therapy dog. The library also offers services like downloadable ebooks, Discover & Go museum passes and Link+ which allows the borrowing of books and materials from other libraries in California and Nevada. Looking ahead, “My hope is to grow our Friends of the Library group, offer more programs for all ages and bring more technology and STEAM programs to our visitors,” said Paolini. “It’s also our hope that the new location will allow us to increase our engagement with the San Pablo Senior Center members.” With the new space the sky is the limit! But Paolini and her team may also need some help to reach their full potential… “The library staff is amazing, but we can’t do this alone,” she says. If you’re interested in volunteering to help the library out on this milestone move, Gia Paolini invites you to call the library at (510) 374-3998 to inquire about how to get involved, or pay them a visit at their soonto be-former location: 2300 El Portal Drive, Ste. C. Also, if you have any thoughts or ideas to share in regards to this new development, Charles Ching invites you to send him an email at CharlesC@ sanpabloca.gov. So get involved! If you can, or just support the library’s services to help make San Pablo and even greater place to live.
Contra Costa Marketplace - April 2016
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