The Mission City has one more thing to be proud of in addition
to the historic mission and roaming roosters
– come March, the city library will be celebrating its 100th
birthday.
The Mission City has one more thing to be proud of in addition to the historic mission and roaming roosters – come March, the city library will be celebrating its 100th birthday.
“A good library is really a wonderful thing for a community, and I think we have that,” said Rosemary Genesy, president of the Library Auxiliary, which raises more than $4,000 every year to supplement the library’s budget. “It’s a place for anybody to come and read the paper, leave a message, see a neighbor – it’s the focal point of the community.”
San Juan Bautista is the smallest city in California to boast a working library, and is one of the few libraries in the country tied to the city instead of operating as part of a county system.
While the library’s actual birthday is March 22, the real festivities will be held on April 4 in conjunction with National Library Month. The Auxiliary is planning a reception with keynote speakers from both San Juan and from the state Senate. San Juan students are being asked to design posters answering the question “What Does the Library Mean to Me?” and the artwork will be displayed at the reception and around town in the windows of local merchants.
“We’re just inviting everybody who will come,” Genesy said.
When the library was founded in 1906, it was little more than a reading room housed in the Masonic Lodge. The first librarian, Miss Gertrude Breen, was paid at a salary of $10 a month, which was supported by the 10 cent monthly fee residents were charged for borrowing rights to the library.
The library grew over the years with the help of the Auxiliary Club, which was founded in the 1890s, but most of the books were acquired through private donations.
In the mid 1970s, San Juan resident Carl Luck left the city a plot of land that he had operated a gas station on, with the provision that it be used to establish a proper library. In 1979, the library officially moved to its new home on Second Street, next door to the San Juan Bautista Historical Society. City officials lauded the move with a proclamation reading that the city library was a “vital force in ensuring the quality of life” for San Juan residents, which is today framed and proudly displayed on a shelf.
“What really makes our library special is that we’ve stayed open this long, and we’re going to continue to stay open,” said library assistant Dee Dee Hanania. “Our City Council has expressed to us numerous times that no matter what, they won’t let us get shut down.”
Today the library serves roughly 50 people daily, and can sometimes see nearly 100 visitors on any given day. Over 5,000 books are housed in the library and available for check-out, and San Juan partners with libraries from throughout the region to borrow books that they don’t have on the shelves.
The library is especially popular with students who use the available computers to complete homework after school.
“I think it’s really important that the kids have a place they can go after school. We really stress that this is a kid-friendly place,” said library assistant Adele Pimentel. “And we love having them around. You learn a lot just helping kids with their homework every day.”
While staff are busy preparing to celebrate the library’s 100-year past, they are looking forward to the future as well. In the next few years, the library hopes to add additional computers for public use and expand programs for Spanish-speaking residents and early literacy outreach efforts.
“We’re real proud of what we have here,” Genesy said. “We’re open five days a week and two evenings a week, all with only one full-time librarian and two part-time employees. We really feel that’s something to be proud of.”
The library will be hosting an art show and reception tonight featuring the work of San Juan artist Ed Ramos from 6-8pm. For more information about the centennial celebration or opportunities to help the library, call (831) 623-4687.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
