Of particular interest to this blog is the special role the Solana Beach Branch plays in its community. It is also functions as the school library at Earl Warren Middle School. A little bit of background is forthcoming. After a number of changes in location in and around the Solana Beach community, it was not until March 1983, the Friends of the Solana Beach library was formed. They became very active in trying to increase the library size and find a new location. After a lot of searching, the library was moved into a 3,800-square-foot space in the Lomas Santa Fe shopping center. In 1995, a deal was struck between council members, the City of Solana Beach, the County of San Diego, the San Dieguito Union High School District, and Friends of the Solana Beach Library to award the contract between the library and Earl Warren Middle School. It is a shared-use library between the San Diego County and the San Dieguito High School District.
The Solana Beach Branch is one of two shared-use libraries in San Diego County Library system. There are several benefits to this kind of partnership. Longer hours of operation, for example, to accommodate the school's opening hours Monday through Friday. They open earlier than any other library and close later than any other school library. The school has access to the complete 33 branch collection, rather than a finite collection found in a regular school library.
The library makes it a special mission to reach out to the youth in the community. It only takes a couple of people, an idea to qualify for library sponsorship, and it may come with snacks, in my experience. Many students spend their recess time and/or lunch time hanging out in the stacks area to talk with their friends and hang out. Adult patrons make full use of the library during these hours as well and there is an understanding in the midst.
It is a reality that school libraries are suffering, but there is a tacit complicity implied in the word "demise" between individuals and groups that expedites this process. School libraries are places for young people to go and be safe from various elements: bullies, the sun, the street, strenuous sports activities. It provides a space for them that is equipped with adults with a positive focus on the well-being of the children. There is often a Youth Librarian that functions as a liaison between the school and the library and can help to support the needs of the curriculum as well as support circulation services. A shared-use library is a very interesting solution between education and the community it serves. Adults and children co-habit a space in a new and provocative way.
Works Cited:
delsolmagazine.com
March/April 2015
Conversations with Patricia Tirona, Branch Manager
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