Library News
NPR book critic and author Maureen Corrigan shares top book picks
Posted on October 07, 2019
National Public Radio (NPR) book critic and author Maureen Corrigan—who spoke at the Rohnert Park-Cotati Library on July 20 as part of Sonoma County Library’s Distinguished Speaker Series—has shared a list of her recent top book picks, all available with a Sonoma County Library card.
The books are as follows:
- The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
- Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
- Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan
- Impatient with Desire by Gabrielle Burton
- Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
- Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz
- Conviction by Denise Mina
- The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
- The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Most titles can be found by searching online at find.sonomalibrary.org. Impatient with Desire is available through LINK+ service, at sonomalibrary.org/linkplus.
Corrigan is America’s most trusted and beloved book critic. For more than 20 years, she has been the book critic for NPR’s Fresh Air. She is also a columnist for The Washington Post and The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University where her courses are very popular.
The Distinguished Speaker Series is one of many events and activities offered by the library through the 2019 Adult Summer Reading Program. The Distinguished Speaker Series is funded by Measure Y sales tax, the community’s investment in free public libraries.
Photo: Intern Cortunay Minor and Special Collections Librarian & Archivist Joanna Kolosov traveled to Washington D.C. for the internship program’s wrap-up event held September 20 to 22
Sonoma County Library completes national summer internship program
Posted on October 02, 2019
This summer, the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library in Santa Rosa joined 48 libraries across the U.S. by serving as a pilot site for a new internship program intended to help attract young people to careers in librarianship. The library hosted Santa Rosa High School graduate Cortunay Minor as part of the Public Library Association’s Inclusive Internship Initiative (III).
“From my coworkers, to my mentors, to other mentors in the program, to all the interns I got to befriend and beyond, I am much more attuned to the expansiveness and complexities of librarianship,” Minor said. “Not only has my support system expanded, but as has my circle of friends and my fond, respect-full adoration for our Sonoma County Libraries.”
Minor began her internship in June and worked closely with her appointed mentors at the History & Genealogy Library: Special Collections Librarians and Archivists Zayda Delgado and Joanna Kolosov. The trio completed a connected learning project that concluded with a wrap-up presentation of Minor’s experiences at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on September 21.
“It was important for the History & Genealogy Library to host an intern from the Roseland community, who is a Spanish speaker and from a younger demographic than our typical visitors,” Delgado and Kolosov said. “[Minor’s] perspective illuminated points of view that we had previously overlooked. Her passion and vision are very much in line with our goals to better document underrepresented communities, particularly LGBTQ and people of color.”
The Inclusive Internship Initiative is funded by PLA with support from a pre-professional Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant (grant RE-00-17-0129-17) from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Library launches educational citizenship collection
Posted on September 25, 2019
Are you or is someone in your life interested in American citizenship? Sonoma County Library’s “New American Collection” officially launched in all 12 branches on September 17, Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. This collection serves those interested in citizenship, civics and naturalization, primarily the immigrant population of Sonoma County.
The purpose of the New American Collection is to empower community members by providing easily browsable, multilingual, multimedia materials in support of acquiring citizenship and learning English.
“The County of Sonoma continues our commitment to be a safe and inclusive community,” said Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chair David Rabbitt. “We applaud the library’s efforts to put together the New American Collection aimed at informing all of our residents about civics and paths to citizenship.”
By including these resources in one collection, the library will work to provide anyone interested with relevant information to help them gain and secure civil rights and participate more fully in their communities. Nationwide, slightly more than half of immigrants are non-citizens. Native-born citizens may also benefit from the collection by learning about their rights and privileges as citizens, especially those with friends, family, or coworkers who are non-citizens.
The New American Collection in action at Central
Santa Rosa Library. Photo Daniel Cottrell.
The New American Collection includes materials in English, Spanish and other world languages. Materials include books, CDs, DVDs and more. Resources will be circulating and/or freely given away. Example titles include: “U.S. Immigration Made Easy,” “How to Get a Green Card” and “Fiancé & Marriage Visas.” Find these titles at your local branch!
To learn more about the New American Collection, visit your local library branch. The New American Collection is free and available to all. Materials can be checked out with a Sonoma County Library card, which is available to all county residents, regardless of immigration status. For more information on how to sign up for a library card, visit any Sonoma County Library branch in person or go to sonomalibrary.org.
Sonoma County Library launches virtual reality program
Posted on September 24, 2019
Surf in Angola, hike in England, dive with sharks in Cuba, fly over Manhattan, or hike the canyons of Arizona, without ever leaving the library!
The Sonoma County Library is officially launching its Virtual Reality at the Library program, with an inaugural party for the public at Central Santa Rosa Library on Monday, October 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Attendees will be able to try virtual reality (VR) equipment and a variety of different programs at the party. VR equipment is also available at the Petaluma, Central Santa Rosa, Rincon Valley and Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library branches. “We’re delighted to provide access to virtual reality technology and educate patrons on the extensive uses and purposes of VR,” said Sonoma County Library Digital Literacy Specialist Bridget Hayes. “We invite community members to immerse themselves in the world of virtual reality at our upcoming launch party.”
Sonoma County Library recently added VR headsets Oculus GO, Oculus Quest and ClassVR to its ever-expanding VR lineup. The library has provided opportunities for the community to experience VR since 2017 and plans to utilize the updated VR program to focus on the benefits of immersive learning.
The October 14 launch party at Central Santa Rosa Library from 6:30 to 8 p.m. is free and open to all.
The theme for the party is Travel for free! Immerse yourself in another world with Virtual Reality.
Age restrictions and permission forms apply to some devices. Learn more about Sonoma County Library’s VR services. Access to the library’s VR technology is free and open to Sonoma County Library cardholders.
Virtual Reality at the Library is made possible by the Measure Y sales tax, the community’s investment in free public libraries. Additional VR equipment was funded through a California State Library grant.
Jay Cobb tests a virtual reality headset at a library outreach program with the Kiwanis Club of Oakmont on July 18, 2019. Photo by Bridget Hayes.
Sonoma County Archives Crawl
Posted on September 23, 2019
Saturday, October 5th, 2019
October is National Archives Month, which is the inspiration for the first ever Sonoma County Archives Crawl - an event designed to celebrate archives and encourage visitors to explore and engage with institutions that collect archival material.
Groups will be hosting tables at the Central Santa Rosa Library Forum Room (211 E Street, Santa Rosa):
- Sonoma Valley Historical Society
- Sonoma County Genealogical Society
- The Sitting Room Community Library
- Sonoma County Historical Society
- John C. Burton - Northwestern Bottle Collectors Assn.
- Lesbian Archives of Sonoma County
- Sonoma County LGBTQI Timeline
- Historical Society of Santa Rosa
- Sonoma County Historical Records Commission
- Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters
- Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery Preservation Committee
- Sonoma County 2020 Women's Suffrage Project
Special presentations at the Central Santa Rosa Forum Room:
12:30 PM - Preserving History and Democracy. Deva Marie Proto, Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters
2: 30 PM - Saving, Sharing, and Celebrating Your Family's History & Heritage. Jack Schaeffer, Act3 Partners
On Saturday, October 5th, 2019, Sonoma County Library's three special collections, the History & Genealogy Library, the Wine Library, and the Petaluma History Room, along with partner organizations listed below, will be hosting open houses.
- California State Parks, Blue Wing Inn
Address: 131 East Spain Street, Sonoma
Contact Phone: (707) 938-9560
Website: https://www.sonomaparks.org/pub/place/3
Normal opening hours: none
Hours open on October 5: 10 am to 4 pm
Offering on October 5: The museum curator and others will greet visitors and share material from their archives. The theme for the event is An Invitation to Pomp and Circumstance, highlighting past invitations to socialize and celebrate.
- The Sitting Room Community Library
Address: 2025 Curtis Drive, Penngrove
Contact Phone: (707) 795-9028
Website: http://www.sittingroom.org/
Normal opening hours: 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Saturday
Hours open on October 5: 9 am to 6 pm
Offering on October 5: Over 300 individual files on women writers will be available to browse, including the 13th Century on and spanning different regions, from Africa to Vietnam. Tea and scones will be served.
- West County Museum
Address: 261 South Main Street, Sebastopol
Contact Phone: (707) 829-6711
Website: https://wschs.org/museum/
Normal opening hours: Thursday through Sunday 1 to 4 PM
Hours open on October 5: 1 to 4 PM
Offering on October 5: The library geared toward western Sonoma County will be open for research along with collections of artifacts, photos/negatives and newspapers. The exhibit “Seats of History” will be on display.
- Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society
Address: 221 Matheson Street, Healdsburg
Contact Phone: (707) 431-3325
Website: https://www.healdsburgmuseum.org/
Normal opening hours: 11 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday
Hours open on October 5: 11 am to 4 pm
Offering on October 5: Handwritten Healdsburg tax records, early Rancho Sotoyome maps and original WWII posters will be highlighted. "Wine Roots of Healdsburg" and "Mervyn Silberstein: A Photographic Legacy" exhibitions will be on display.
- Charles M. Schulz Museum
Address: 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
Phone: (707) 579-4452
Website: https://schulzmuseum.org/visit
Normal opening hours: week days 11 am to 5 pm and weekends 10 am to 5 pm
Hours open on October 5: 10 am to 5 pm (museum) and 10 am to 3 pm (archives)
Offering on October 5: Original illustrated correspondence from Charles’ Schulz’s time in the Army during WWII, calendars used by Schulz and one of the earliest comic books in which Schulz was published will be displayed.
- Museum of Sonoma County
Address: 425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
Phone: (707) 579-1500
Website: https://museumsc.org/visit/
Normal opening hours: 11 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday
Hours open on October 5: 11 am to 5 pm (museum) and 11 am to 3 pm (archives)
Offering on October 5: Highlights from the Song Wong Bourbeau Collection (Santa Rosa’s Chinatown), the Fountaingrove Collection and the Sonoma County Historical Society Collection will be on view in the archives. “Santa Rosa History” and “Día de los Muertos” exhibitions will be on display.
- Cotati Museum and Historical Society
Address: 201 West Sierra Avenue, Cotati
Phone: (707) 794-0305
Website: http://cotatihistoricalsociety.org/
Normal opening hours: Saturdays 1 to 4 pm, second Tuesday of each month from 5 to 7 pm
Hours open on October 5: noon to 4 pm
Offering on October 5: The exhibit “WA: Harmony, Peace and things Japanese, Japanese in Cotati” will be on display. Other highlights include the Jim Boggio archives and Cotati Accordion Festival Poster archives.
- Geyserville Museum at the Bosworth and Son Store
Address: 21060 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville
Phone: (707) 857-3463
Website: https://bosworthandson.com
Normal opening hours: 11 am to 7 pm Thursday through Sunday
Hours open on October 5: 11 am to 7 pm
Offering on October 5: Geyserville historical photographs and local artifacts including handwritten documents associated with pioneer Dr. Elisha Ely and notebooks will be on display. The store sells Western apparel and hats. Come have your favorite hats cleaned!
- Petaluma Historical Library and Museum
Address: 20 Fourth Street, Petaluma
Phone: (707) 778-4398
Website: https://www.petalumamuseum.com
Normal opening hours: 10 am to 4 pm Thursday through Sunday
Hours open on October 5: 10 am to 4 pm
Offering on October 5: The Hoppy Hopkins Research Library will be open. The current exhibit features photos of glass negatives from local photographer Joe Wayne. Visitors are invited to a Historic Downtown Walking Tour at 10:30 a.m., led by costumed docents.
- Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society (Hogarty Research Library and Archive)
Address: 1364 North McDowell Boulevard, Petaluma
Phone: (707) 838-8882
Website: http://www.nwprrhs.org
Normal opening hours: 10 am to 4 pm Thursdays
Hours open on October 5: 11 am to 4 pm
Offering on October 5: This collections consist of 10,000+ maps, 12,000+ photos, employee records, corporate records, financial records and more for the San Francisco and North Pacific, North Pacific Coast, Petaluma and Santa Rosa, and Albion Railroads as well as the Northwestern Pacific Railroad.
- Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society (Restoration Yard)
Address: Corner of Copeland Street and East Washington Street, Petaluma
Phone: (707) 838-8882
Website: http://www.nwprrhs.org
Normal opening hours: 10 am to 4 pm alternate Saturdays
Hours open on October 5: 11 am to 4 pm
Offering on October 5: Staff will explain the history of two fully restored cars of the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad, one baggage car of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad, and one passenger car of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad undergoing restoration.
- Windsor Historical Society & Hembree House Museum
Address: 9225 Foxwood Drive, Windsor
Phone: (707) 838-4563
Website: http://WindsorHistory.org
Normal opening hours: 9:30 - 4:30 Friday, Saturday and Sunday and by appointment
Hours open on October 5t: 9:30 to 4:30
Offering on October 5: The 1938 Camp Windsor Migrant Labor Camp collection will be available and the Camp Windsor, German POW Camp collection; including photos, letters, recollections, etc.
- Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library and Archives
Address: 725 Third Street, Santa Rosa
Phone: (707) 308-3212
Website: https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-...
Normal opening hours: M & W 10 AM to 9 PM; T, Th, Fri, & Sat 10 AM to 6 PM
Hours open on October 5: 11 AM to 4 PM
Offering on October 5: There will be pop-up exhibits featuring recent donations, as well as a local history quiz and scavenger hunt. Staff will be on hand to discuss preservation issues, how to teach with primary resources and offer research tips and tricks.
- Sonoma County Wine Library – Healdsburg Regional Library
Address: 139 Piper Street, Healdsburg
Phone: (707) 433-3772 ext. 0416
Website: https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-wine-library
Normal opening hours: M & W 10 AM to 9 PM; T, Th, Fri, & Sat 10 AM to 6 PM
Hours open on October 5: 11 AM to 4 PM
Offering on October 5 : Displays of historic wine bottles, labels and corkscrews. Test your knowledge for a chance to win a prize and make sure to visit the Healdsburg Museum’s exhibit “Wine Roots of Healdsburg” which features items from the Wine Library collection.
- Petaluma History Room – Petaluma Regional Library
Address: 100 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma
Phone: (707) 763-9801
Website: https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/petaluma-history-room
Normal opening hours: M & W 10 AM to 9 PM; T, Th, Fri, & Sat 10 AM to 6 PM
Hours open on October 5 : 11 AM to 4 PM
Offering on October 5: Displays with fun facts about Petaluma streets as well as the 1912 trip of the Alco truck carrying the first paid delivery by truck in the nation. Then and now pictures of Petaluma. Use of typewriters to write a letter that staff will mail.
2019 Summer Lunch at the Library Impact
Posted on September 15, 2019
In 2019, for the fifth year in a row, Sonoma County Library served free lunches to children ages 0-18 during the summer months, in an effort to help combat food insecurity on Sonoma County. Our library sites are eligible to participate if the closest public school to a library has more than 50% of its students eligible for free and reduced lunch during the school year.
For summer 2019, we had 8 participating library sites - Central Santa Rosa, Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Northwest Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park-Cotati, Sebastopol, and Sonoma Valley.
From surveys returned by participating children and families, we learned that through this program we:
- Served 6832 meals to children and teens across the county (an increase of 36% over 2018)
- Served meals on 324 days across 8 locations (increase from 259 days/6 locations in 2018)
- Supported the physical, emotional, and developmental health of low income children in the community
- Engaged children and youth in summer reading programs and other library programming
- Provided community service opportunities to teens
- Provided a safe and trusted community space for children and families to go while school is out of session
- Provided families with access to technology and other community resources and services.
We'll be back again next summer, and we'd love to have you volunteer to help serve lunches to the children of our community!
Participation in an art contest and attendance at library space events will earn children in grades K-9 raffle tickets to win an Orion SkyQuest XT6 Dobsonian Telescope. Photo Megan Backus.
Library hosting radio event to connect students with astronaut
Posted on September 12, 2019
On October 1, 12:15pm to 1:15pm, the Sonoma County Library will connect local students via amateur radio with astronaut, Nick Hague, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), a unique and inspirational event following a month of educational space activities held at library branches throughout the county.
“The library encourages everyone to pursue interests in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to talk to an astronaut on the International Space Station and experience radio science technology,” said Sonoma County Library Events Specialist Megan Backus.
The ISS contact will occur on October 1, from 12:15pm to 1:15pm. The Central Library will host an event where 8th grade students from Santa Rosa Middle School will pose questions to astronaut Nick Hague through a Telebridge radio link.
The library collaborated with Sonoma County Radio Amateurs to pursue the ISS opportunity and is partnering with the Robert Ferguson Observatory to provide a variety of space-related educational STEAM programs at branches across the county in September through early October.
The library is also sponsoring a countywide Out Of This World Art Contest, asking youth in grades K-9 to submit original artwork depicting what they imagine they would see through the window of the ISS. The contest ends on September 21.
Participation in the art contest and attendance at any of the space events will earn children in grades K-9 raffle tickets to win an Orion SkyQuest XT6 Dobsonian Telescope, donated by the Robert Ferguson Observatory and Active 20-30 Club of Santa Rosa.
Visit sonomalibrary.org/space to learn more about the space events happening at various Sonoma County Library branches and the ISS contact.
The amateur radio contact is made possible by the ARISS project. Sonoma County Library was selected as one of 13 organizations across the country to host amateur radio contact with the ISS.
Library staff and other organizations participate in the WESTPAS Protecting Cultural Collections: Prevention, Preparedness, Response & Recovery Workshop at Central Santa Rosa Library on November 29, 2017. (Front: Sonoma County Library Head Cataloger Geoffrey Skinner and right, WESTPAS co-coordinator Julie Page.)
Sonoma County Library awarded grant to protect special collections
Posted on August 21, 2019
Sonoma County Library has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Preservation Assistance Grant. The award will aid in the continued care and protection of the library’s historical materials through the purchase of equipment and supplies that support proper environmental monitoring and storage as well as disaster prevention and recovery for its irreplaceably valuable collections. The staff of the History & Genealogy Library, located in downtown Santa Rosa, will lead the project with support from the library’s facilities team.
“This award will fund the purchase of environmental monitoring units, shelving for oversized archival materials and disaster recovery supplies that can easily be mobilized during an emergency,” said Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library Manager Katherine Rinehart. “As caretakers of Sonoma County’s history, we are pleased to be able to further ensure the care and protection of our unique special collections.”
The grant’s period is from September 2019 to February 2021 and is in the amount of $7,663.
The October 2017 fires directly threatened the library’s off-site storage of county government records. As part of a larger community effort to find a new home for the archive, library staff sought funding to improve collection management and enhance rapid response to threats to special collections held at the off-site archive, the Wine Library in Healdsburg, the Petaluma History Room and the History & Genealogy Library.
The library’s special collections and archives span from the early 19th century to the present and are particularly strong in the areas of local government, architecture and urban development, agriculture, Native history and culture, women’s history, transportation, arts, immigration and the history of settlement in Sonoma County.
The NEH grant proposal was designed to implement recommendations from a 2018 preservation needs assessment funded by the California State Library’s Preservation Program, as well as best practices outlined in a series of disaster preparedness and recovery workshops.
The grant compliments other efforts Sonoma County Library has made to expand documentation of the county’s history, including a web archiving project, North Bay Fires 2017, that is part of a national public library web archiving initiative led by Internet Archive.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this news post do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
LINK+ borrow more materials from more libraries
Borrow More Materials from More Libraries with LINK+
Posted on July 15, 2019
Not finding what you are looking for at your local branch? You now have access to a single, online searchable catalog of over 70 California and Nevada libraries; all you need is your Sonoma County Library card. With this new free service, called LINK+, patrons can request books, DVDs, audiobooks, music CDs and more to be delivered to their local branch. LINK+ is known for its quick service, with most items arriving within a week.
“We’re so excited to leverage the massive collections of other libraries and make over nine million additional items available for checkout,” said Jaime Anderson, Sonoma County Library Collection Services Division Manager. “LINK+ expands on the spirit of libraries to freely share resources and will greatly benefit our patrons.”
When the Sonoma County Library catalog does not have the item that a cardholder would like to check out, they can search the LINK+ catalog. Most materials loan for 21 days, with one renewal (subject to approval of lending library). Patrons can place requests online and monitor the progress of requests any time through their LINK+ account.
Check out LINK+ at sonomalibrary.org/linkplus or navigate through the Books and More page of the website. LINK+ is free and open to all with a Sonoma County Library card.
Intern Cortunay Minor (middle, foreground) and Special Collections Librarian & Archivist Zayda Delgado (right, background) traveled to Chicago for the internship program’s summer kick-off event held June 13-15.
Sonoma County Library joins 50 nationwide libraries in hosting interns from diverse backgrounds
Posted on July 03, 2019
The Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library in Santa Rosa is hosting a summer intern, Cortunay Minor, as part of the Public Library Association’s Inclusive Internship Initiative (III). Minor was one of 56 applicants to the program. She graduated in the top 10 percentile with Summa Cum Laude Honor Roll distinction from Santa Rosa High School.
“We anticipate learning as much from [Minor] as she will about the unique opportunities that come with working with special collections in a public library setting,” said Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library Manager Katherine Rinehart.
Minor has been in her role for a few weeks and is finding the experience to be enjoyable and rewarding. “My critical thinking has expanded, my local historical awareness is developing, my social identity vocabulary is maturing and the overall open-mindedness I try to maintain has stretched even wider,” Minor said. “Guided by the structure of the internship, I plan to keep working in this direction of reconsideration and redefinition, if only to help authentically document those who have been historically under-documented.”
Through the initiative, PLA is sponsoring paid, mentored public library internships for 50 high school juniors and seniors from diverse backgrounds. With individual guidance from a mentor, each intern will engage with multiple facets of library life. Over the course of the summer, interns and mentors will develop and complete a connected-learning project. III will have an immediate benefit to the libraries and student participants. Library staff will better understand early career pathways to librarianship and gain appreciation for their role and impact in supporting diversity along those paths. Students will better understand how librarians positively serve their communities, and gain the tools to make decisions about the educational directions that will lead them into library service and leadership. Interns will have opportunities to connect with one another and mentors across the country to share what they are learning and doing.
Minor began her internship in June and has been working closely with her appointed mentors at the History & Genealogy Library; Special Collections Librarians and Archivists Zayda Delgado and Joanna Kolosov. The trio is working on a connected learning project that will conclude with a wrap-up presentation of Minor’s experiences in Washington, D.C. Delgado and Minor recently traveled to Chicago for III’s summer kick-off event from June 13-15.
This fall, Minor will head to Seattle to continue her academic and artistic studies at Cornish College of the Arts, where she is majoring in theater acting. She is particularly interested in promoting cultural tolerance and competency among local populations. She plans to target teens and young adults, but is hopeful that any long-term impact will reach beyond these groups.
III is funded by PLA with support from a pre-professional Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant (grant RE-00-17-0129-17) from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
