Why are there — not ONE –not TWO — but THREE libraries in SaddleBrooke?
This is probably not a question many of you have pondered over the years. Folks have just taken for granted that somehow three distinct libraries have been established here. To understand, we have to go back a bit in SaddleBrooke history. In about 1989 a “comfy cozy” room in the SaddleBrooke clubhouse was used as a gathering spot for residents. Some forward-looking ladies felt it might be appropriate to get some bookshelves there and make donated books available for the patrons who would like to have a book or two without buying or going (all the way out) to Oracle or the Pima County library. Well, that led to more donations, book sales to raise funds to buy books and garages being warehouses for the donated books Eventually the room was officially designated a library, and later expanded to include another room and workspace.
Then the MountainView Clubhouse in HOA2 was built and again a “comfy cozy” room with some decorative books was turned into a small library with books donated by residents. When the clubhouse was remodeled in 2013, the library was moved to a different room. Since space was very limited, library management decided that it was not large enough to staff. But we wanted to make the books accessible and not have to lock up the library to secure the books or a computer for checking them out. So we kept the honor system and the library is stocked with donated books along with some books that have been removed from the other two libraries. The exception is that Large Print books are purchased as they are so popular and we seldom receive donations of Large Print books. Residents love being able to stop in the library when they are in the clubhouse and not have to worry about due dates!
When the DesertView building was being planned, management recognized the need for a larger and more secure space for the popular and growing library system. DesertView library opened in 2005 with a lot of empty shelves and a plea to join the recently formed Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries to help fill the shelves. Their fundraising endeavors, through memberships and events, made it possible to buy new books, audiobooks and videos. The DesertView space includes a much-needed workroom for processing, cataloging, and repairing books and AV materials. When it’s not staffed, the DesertView Library is locked to secure the large video and audiobook collections, along with thousands of books.
While the libraries share one online catalog, and all offer Fiction, Nonfiction and Large Print books, there are special collections in the two larger libraries. SaddleBrooke One has the local author and Pulitzer Prize collections. DesertView has the Southwest, National Parks, Travel and Genealogy collections. DesertView also has Children’s books and videos for your grandkids when they visit.
Your phone number is all you need to open an account to check out items. We don’t use homeowner cards. Our libraries are not part of the public library system since we are on private land and operated as amenities of the two HOAs. The wait lists are much shorter for new books than at the public library, and you have the convenience of using libraries that are close to home. It’s very important, and much appreciated by our volunteers, that you return items to the library from which they were taken, since there is no courier service between libraries.
Our HOAs provide the space, maintenance, tech support, funding of the online catalog system and basic supplies. But almost all the resources you see on the shelves were purchased with grant funds from Friends of the SaddleBrooke Libraries (FSL). This funding enables the Libraries to purchase the latest books, audiobooks, and DVDs each month, and that distinguishes our libraries from those found in most other retirement communities. If you aren’t a member of FSL, please consider joining: www.sbfsl.org.
For more information about our libraries and answers to many Frequently Asked Questions, visit the library website: www.sblibraries.com.
- Do You Belong to a Book Club?
The SaddleBrooke Libraries want to help!
The SaddleBrooke Community Libraries has compiled a list of expected book titles for the numerous community book clubs. In order to serve your reading needs as best we can, the library system requests that interested book clubs provide their upcoming reading list. We will compare your list to the collection to ensure that requested titles are not withdrawn. We will also investigate adding appropriate titles to the library’s collection.
What do you need to do?
Have the book club coordinator (just one member of each club, please) provide the expected reading list to Sharon Scanlan at the DesertView Library. It is helpful to have:
- The club’s contact information
- The month the club is going to discuss the title
- Any information you can provide about the particular book (such as publication date, fiction or non-fiction, and author).
Sharon will share this information with both cataloged libraries. You can leave your printed list at the DesertView Library, attention Sharon, or if more convenient, at the SaddleBrooke One Library, attention Cathy.
We hope that this out-reach to coordinate with the local book clubs will be an on-going project and provide an added service to the community.
Large Print Additions
All three libraries are actively enhancing their Large Print collections to include many current titles often found on the Best Seller lists. In the SaddleBrooke One Library look for the “NEW” Large Print selections at the end of the regular Large Print collection. In the DesertView Library the newest Large Print books are located at the beginning of the shelving for the New collection. New Large Print selections circulate for 14 days.
Books for Sale
The SaddleBrooke One Library book sale cart will be available whenever the Library is staffed. All proceeds go toward purchasing new materials for the SaddleBrooke Community Libraries.
Volunteer Openings
If you are interested in volunteering at one of the three SaddleBrooke Community Libraries please stop by DesertView or SaddleBrooke One Library and leave your name and number so the appropriate person can get back to you. Volunteers typically work a 3 ½ hour shift each week, year round. The available positions include:
- The front desk volunteer, checking books in and out, and shelving. Need to be comfortable with using the computer.
- Shelving books
- Book processing, putting audios in covers, entering data into the computer system, making labels for books, etc.
- Monitoring the Cholla Library at MountainView by shelving books that have been returned in the book drop, processing magazines for the shelf, and general clean up.
- Sorting and pricing donated materials
For more information contact one of the Library Managers.
Bookstore Links
Library Links
Pinal County Library: http://pinalcountyaz.gov/Departments/Library/Pages/default.aspx
Pima County Library: http://www.library.pima.gov/
Los Angeles Public Library: http://www.lapl.org/
Library of Congress Catalog: http://catalog.loc.gov/
SaddleBrooke Links
SaddleBrooke HOA1: www.saddlebrooke.org
SaddleBrooke HOA2: www.sbhoa2.org