19May, 2020
    Friends Sponsors 2020 Summer Reading Program

    The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library is proud to support this year’s Scottsdale Public Library Summer Reading Program (SRP), which will run from June 1 through August 1, 2020.

    Designed to encourage literacy at all ages, kids, teens, and adults log each minute they read over two months online to earn points. The goal is to read at least 20 minutes each day to build a lifelong reading habit.

    There will also be reading challenges and library programs with secret codes.

    Many of the events will be held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 virus. These include yoga storytimes, Shark Week family storytime, a series with McDowell Sonoran Preserve, craft programs, and trivia games for teens and adults.

    Kids can pick up a bilingual gameboard at Civic Center Library through the drive thru windows at the Appaloosa, Arabian and Mustang branches or curbside from Civic Center starting May 26, or at service desks when the Library reopens in early June.

    Participants who complete the program will receive completion prize packets during August, while supplies last. The Friends contributed towards the purchase of this year’s prizes, which will include books, journals, stickers, and water bottles.

    17Dec, 2019
    Newest Books2Go Library Now Open in Scottsdale

    On Monday, December 16, Scottsdale Public Library officially opened a Books2Go mobile-library at Paiute Neighborhood Center in south Scottsdale.

    Mayor Jim Lane celebrates the opening of a Books2Go mobile-library with Girl Scouts from Troop 4

    Mayor Jim Lane was on-hand for a ribbon cutting of the newest Books2Go creation, which was created by Girl Scouts from Troop 4.

    The Books2Go program, which began with funding from the Friends, now has five mobile libraries in public spaces throughout Scottsdale.

    Each micro-library is stocked with books based on a theme of the location. For instance, the first Books2Go location opened in Chaparral Dog Park, so the books are pet-themed and the box is shaped like a doghouse.

    Other Books2Go locations include Mountain View Park, Sonoran Hills Park, and Pinnacle Peak Park.

    If you’d like to help build more micro-libraries for Scottsdale, please consider becoming a Friend of the Scottsdale Public Library.

    20Jul, 2017
    Friends to Co-Host Children’s Learning & Play Festival September 9

    The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library are once again excited to be partnering on the Children’s Learning & Play Festival, set for September 9 at WestWorld in Scottsdale from 9am to 4pm.

    Last year’s inaugural event drew over 12,000 attendees for a day of children’s activities including authors and illustrators, STEM programming and a play zone with games, arts and crafts.

    The Friends are once again sponsoring the authors and illustrators, which last year included Marc Brown, author of the Arthur the Aardvark book series that was adapted into a PBS children’s show. This year, authors will be selling and signing copies of their books thanks to a partnership with Barnes & Noble, who will be processing all transactions and donating a percentage of sales of the Friends.

    Just like last year, the Festival is free of charge for all attendees, and will be indoors and air-conditioned. Parking will be $5, and we are requesting a non-perishable food donation to support the Vista Del Camino Food Bank.

    This year’s Children’s & Learning Festival is presented by Tuft & Needle.

    31Oct, 2013
    Scottsdale’s Bond Election and Your Public Library

    The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library would like to ask for your support in the upcoming Special Election on November 5.

    Bond Question 1 asks for the authorization of $50.4 million to go towards parks, libraries and other community facilities. Voting “yes” to this question would provide the library with some of the funding it needs to begin the planning and construction of The Discovery Zone, a high-tech learning center at the Civic Center Library for children 12 and under.

    This will be an important community resource because nearly four out of every 10 children in Arizona do not have a computer at home. Furthermore, within five miles of the Civic Center Library, there are seven elementary schools noted as Title 1 (free and reduced lunch). Studies continue to show that low-income children have less access to the Internet, computers and other digital devices than those from higher income homes. These children may have access to some digital content through their schools, but in a classroom environment there is not always time for children to “play” with the technology, get comfortable with it, and develop new skills.

    The National Institute of Museum and Library Services’ recent task force on 21st century skills reported, “Success in today’s society requires information literacy, a spirit of self-reliance, and a strong ability to collaborate, communicate effectively, and solve problems. Combining strengths in traditional learning with robust investment in modern communication infrastructures, libraries and museums are well-equipped to build the skills Americans need in the 21st century.”

    The Discovery Zone will promote this extended definition of literacy through the provision of child-friendly computer environments complete with the software needed to view and create digital content. Areas for quiet reading, study, computer use, multi-media use and production, tutoring, gaming and fun are all essential parts of The Discovery Zone.

    Again, we ask for your support to make this vision a reality. To learn more about the items on the ballot, please visit http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/elections.