Friends of Library makes clarifications
I very much appreciate Friends of the Library of Los Altos receiving such extensive coverage in the Town Crier (“Friends of the Library asks to stay at civic center after committee fails to agree on long-term plan,” Jan. 1). However, I need to correct some errors and misleading statements.
The Friends of the Library Executive Board proposed two storage sheds (500 square feet) and a 24-foot-by-40-foot portable classroom (960 square feet) placed between the police station and the Los Altos History Museum’s J. Gilbert Smith House. City staff recommended two sheds. The Los Altos City Council permitted two sheds in the requested space plus a 660-square-foot portable next to the Hillview Soccer Field – all paid for by Friends of the Library.
The red lines on the flow chart do not represent books being transported from the Woodland Branch Library to the donation closet, but a change, if an off-site location were selected, from all books now being transported by hand cart from the donation closet to various locations on civic center property to the necessity for transportation by truck.
Friends of the Library has estimated its off-site location expenses, but the city has not provided site preparation estimates, so a final figure is unknown.
An off-site location would decrease Friends’ donation toward materials and programs but would not eliminate it entirely.
Margaret Brooks
President, Friends of the Library of Los Altos
Keep Saratoga Library comparison in context
City Manager Chris Jordan mistakenly states in the Jan. 1 Town Crier that Saratoga does not provide on-site space at the library for its Friends organization.
Let’s look at the facts. The city of Saratoga strongly supports its library, designating its Friends of the Library a “community partner.” Saratoga provides to its Friends, at no cost:
• 1,600 square feet of on-site space at the library.
• On-site space to hold four book sales a year.
• Two sheds for storing books near the library.
• A 1,700-square-foot building, 1.3 miles from the library, used as a bookstore – fully maintained by the city, including utilities.
All cities in the Santa Clara County Library District support their Friends of the Library and provide essential on-site working space at no cost.
Suzanne Epstein
Friends of the Library of Los Altos
