editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Lafayette Today ~ January 2014 - Page 25
April 2014
Serving the Lafayette Community Lafayette’s 9th Annual Earth Day Festival Learn All About Water Conservation
Friends of the Lafayette Library former president Mary Ann Hoisington and current president Ruth Thornburg replenish the stacks at the Friends Corner Book Shop.
Friends of the LLLC Celebrate 75 years By Fran Miller
If Lafayette’s library were a living entity, it could be said that its beating heart is its most ardent volunteer supporter - the Friends of the Lafayette Library and Learning Center. For several decades – seven and a half to be exact – this group of capable and dedicated volunteers has been the instigator, visionary, and lead supporter of each metamorphosis of the library. To follow the history of the Friends, one need only follow the history and timeline of the library itself. The Friends, in one fashion or another and under one pseudonym or another, have nearly always had the library’s back. While officially incorporated as the Lafayette Cooperative Library Association in 1939, a version - The Lafayette Improvement Club - existed as early as 1913. During this time period, the library shared space with the post office and “telephone central.” In 1937, Lafayette Town Hall served as the library location. In 1940, the library moved to the small premises on Lafayette Grammar School property, and in 1962, the library moved yet again to its own building, where it remained until the new Lafayette Library and Learning Center (LLLC) opened in 2009. Friend’s volunteers were instrumental in all aspects of each of the relocations, from surveying sites, to interviewing architects, to securing fire insurance. In 1967, the Friends turned their focus to fundraising and started selling gently used books out of the library parking lot. Proceeds covered items such as new carpeting and a revamped parking lot. Progress came in 1984 when formal selling space was secured at the Lafayette Community Center. The very small Friends Book Room was open twice per month for sidewalk sales, where bargain book hunters could find all titles and genres. Years and years of proceeds from these dollar book sales accounted for a substantial portion of the Friends’ $1 million “angel gift” donation to current LLLC’s capital campaign. When the new library opened in 2009, the Friends opened their Friends Corner Book Shop on the backside of the library at the corner of First Street and Golden Gate Way. Featuring row upon row of neatly organized bookshelves, brimming with 25,000 titles, the sheer number of volumes causes many visitors to assume they’ve entered the library itself or a traditional book-selling store. Other marquee Friends programs include “Sweet Thursdays,” a writers on writing conversation and dessert series, “Wonders of the World” museum docent programs, and the annual book mark contest, open to all first through
See Friends continued on page 24
Local Postal Customer
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit 21 Lafayette, CA
ECRWSS
For the ninth consecutive year, Lafayette will host a special Earth Day Festival at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center on Sunday, April 27th from 11AM-3PM. Hosted by Sustainable Lafayette, Lafayette Chamber, Lafayette Library, and City of Lafayette, the festival will feature food, live music, fun, learning, and camaraderie for children and adults. In light of the ongoing drought, the theme this year is WATER – how to use it wisely and save money, too. The back patio of the Library will feature EBMUD, landscape experts, and other knowledgeable folks who will explain water-efficient landscaping and ways to conserve water in the home. Come and find out how “rainwater harvesting” works, learn about water conservation programs, and pick up coupons for local water conservation rebates. You’ll also find a “Hydration Station,” where drinking water will be available for free, so bring your reusable water bottle to the fair. If you forgot to bring a reusable bottle, or don’t have one yet, Kleen Kanteen water bottles will be available for sale. For early birds, there will be a limited number of free bottles available.
See Earth continued on page 14
Bringing Back the Natives: Gardens Good for Life By Jody Morgan
Each of the 35 gardens on the Tenth Annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour offers a different perspective on how the owner’s lifestyle has been enriched by trading a traditional home landscape for an eco-friendly habitat. Open free from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, May 4th, gardens range from new installations professionally designed to mature masterpieces created over the course of decades by self-trained amateurs. More than 40 short talks offered throughout the day touch on reducing water bills, luring birds and butterflies to your yard, eliminat- Al Kyte enjoys sharing the diverse native habitats ing the need for pesticides, and he has been creating for almost 40 years. choosing native plants to suit your personal priorities. Requisite pre-registration gives participants a chance to thoughtfully plot their self-guided day. Kathy Kramer had no idea that organizing the event would evolve into a fulltime volunteer job when she launched the first tour as a reaction to her own frustration at the lack of readily available information. “After reading Volume VIII - Number 4 Sarah Stein’s Noah’s Ark in the early 1990s, I was 3000F Danville Blvd #117 eager to turn the small garden space around our Alamo, CA 94507 home into a habitat for wildlife,” Kramer recalls. Telephone (925) 405-6397 “Unfortunately, at that time, finding native Fax (925) 406-0547 plants and advice on which native plants to editor@yourmonthlypaper.com select proved difficult. I wanted to make the Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher process of gardening with natives easier for The opinions expressed herein belong to the and do not necessarily reflect that of Laothers.” A tour of pesticide-free gardens in writers, fayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible Portland, Oregon inspired her to develop for the content of any of the advertising herein,
See Natives continued on page 14
nor does publication imply endorsement.