PURPOSE OF THE FRIENDS OF THE LADERA RANCH LIBRARY

The Friends are one of the most crucial components of the library branch. Because library budgets have undergone severe reductions in recent years, the Friends have come to support a wide variety of programs, activities, and purchases for their local branch.

One of the most critical programs is support for the Summer Reading Club, held at each library during the summer. This program brings hundreds of children into the library every week to select and read books, experience special events and programs, and to interact with their peers and with the library staff. The friends are needed to fund the storytellers and special events, to purchase the prizes for the kids reading activities, and to underwrite the purchase of materials for display and for publicity. The average library spends between $3,000 and $8,000 each summer for the SRC. Because of the school schedule, our program will only be five weeks long, and therefore we hope to need funds at the lower end of the scale.

Another important funding activity of the Friends is support for the collection in the individual branch. The branch book budget is only $22, 000 for the 2003-04 year. This will support the basic collection purchases and best sellers, and the essential additions to the children’s collection. Not included is any provision to purchase CD’s, Video’s or Books on Tape. Also not included are any titles purchases at the request of patrons, any special collections, which are in need of support, or the supplies to process any, but the minimum additions to the collection. The individual branch must even purchase the cataloging for any title to be added which is not already in the OCPL system.

The Friends allow the library to offer special services to the community, such as providing color copiers and/ or printers, scanners, word processing computers or software. These items are beyond the basic level provided in branches; any branch, which wishes to add these items for use by their public, must purchase and fund them through the friends

Outside of the fundraising efforts of the friends are the efforts to support the image of the library in the community. Publicity for programs and events can be worked on and distributed. Neighborhood collections of donated materials will help in the development of the collection. Volunteers to help with book and materials processing, shelf maintenance, and many other physical aspects of the library needed. Also leaders for Teen Advisory Councils, Community Book Clubs etc. are more than welcome

This branch has a total of 7 FTE’s, eleven individuals in total. The staff must not only cover the public service desks, provide services to the Ladera School, and offer programs to the community, but must also order and process the new materials (above those basic materials purchased through headquarters) and receive, inventory and process all of the gifts and CUSD additions to the collection. Since May 2003, this staff has processed over 30,000 items, an extraordinary amount under any circumstances, but truly remarkable because of the short time frame. Most libraries have 5 to 7 years to build their collections. The collection for Ladera was begun last September, and as of May had less than 5,000 titles. Today we are rapidly approaching 35,000, aiming for an eventual collection of 60,000 to 70,000 volumes. The Friends will be instrumental in the building of the collection and in the completion of this library.