Blog Series: Reimagining City Services
Edition: Library: Hybrid Services are Here to Stay; Library Leans In on Equity
We are living in extraordinary times. As a community, we are grappling with health, economic, environmental, and social challenges all at the same time. As a City organization, we are evolving to meet your needs.
To build a community where every person can thrive, we have to have the right staff, providing the right services, with the right resources. We are taking a fresh look at what services we provide and how we provide them. We invite your feedback as we reimagine city services.
Through this Blog Series: Reimagining City Services, we will be highlighting how we are reimagining public services in light of evolving community needs and limited financial resources. This post focuses on library services. We are fortunate that Redwood City has a diverse and informed community, and we welcome your ideas and innovative spirit. Local government is a place you can make a difference on issues that matter to you. If you missed our Blog post on Reimagining Public Safety, you can read it here!
Why Change?
We are proud of the services we provide — and we also know community needs are changing. We want to be sure we are thinking creatively about services, and that we continue to live within our means. The City has been recognized for over three decades for following financial best practices. This ensures stability in providing City services and reduces taxpayer costs when we borrow funds for capital projects. While the City has been able to maintain essential services during the pandemic largely because of the City’s strong reserve levels and one-time federal funds, we face mounting deficits. Like most public agencies, the pandemic has exacerbated long-term financial challenges.
Rethinking Library Services
The Library is so much more than books. We offer safe and welcoming spaces for lifelong learning for all community members.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we rarely offered online programs for worries of digital divide and connectivity limitations; however, we grew and learned together over the past two years! While we have resumed in-person services, we know there is still a demand for online programming where you can attend from the comfort of your own home. With this in mind, we will continue to offer a hybrid model of services and programs.
In addition, San Mateo County Libraries and Redwood City Public Library are partnering to release Empower Cards, a new library card designed to simplify and expand student access to library resources. We have already begun the process of issuing Empower Cards to interested school districts, and will continue working to ensure all students have this powerful library card.
Outreach and connection with the community has always been a large part of what we do. As we look into the near future, the “how” has changed but the “why” is the same. We continue to discover new ways to keep our services relevant and bring the Library to you wherever you are.
Our Mission: Cultivate Community and Advance Equity
Let’s start with our Mission Statement: Redwood City Public Library cultivates community and advances equity by welcoming all people to experience the shared joys of literacy and learning.
While the Mission Statement guides our work, we also listen and learn from the community to set our service priorities. In the second half of 2016, the Library held a series of community dialogues that included over 200 individuals representing a diverse cross-section of the people of Redwood City and North Fair Oaks. Five common themes emerged from these conversations in the form of community aspirations toward which the Library could contribute in a positive way.
Since then, every two years, we develop new service initiatives to advance these aspirations.
Aspiration #1: Inclusion
Our community is welcoming and inclusive, celebrates the diversity of our population, and enjoys a friendly, neighborly community spirit.
Examples of past work includes:
· Partnered with community organizations to provide support to vulnerable members of the community through Social Services Office Hours and other programming
· Launched new programs and activities for seniors, veterans, LGBTQ+ residents, people of color, people with disabilities, and opportunity youth, and worked directly with these groups in the development of new programs and library collections to meet their needs
Aspiration #2 — Equity
Redwood City and North Fair Oaks provide opportunities for community members of all income levels.
Examples of past work includes:
· Created a new makerspace/technology lab/coworking space to meet expressed needs of community members of all ages at the Downtown Library
· Offered accredited high school diplomas to adults through the Career Online High School program
· Partnered with Pacific Library Partnership and local school districts to ensure that Student Success library cards are issued to every student
Aspiration #3 — Awareness
Residents have more awareness of existing programs and services.
Examples of past work includes:
· Collaborated with and among the Library’s support groups, including the Library Foundation, Friends of the Library, Friends of Literacy, Archives Committee, and the Library Board
· Partnered with the Census Bureau and other government entities to provide information and resources, which encouraged community engagement and participation
Aspiration #4 — Safety
Redwood City and North Fair Oaks are safe places for children and families.
Examples of past work includes:
· Partnered with About-Face to deliver empowerment workshops for teen girls
· Offered events for adults and teens on topics such as housing, transportation safety, mental health, suicide prevention, human trafficking, and online safety
Aspiration #5 — Education
All Redwood City and North Fair Oaks children have access to quality educational opportunities.
Examples of past work includes:
· Offered a robust selection of children’s and family programs focused on the 3 Es: Education, Empowerment, and Encouragement, and deliver more of the Library’s signature programs, like Early Learners and Little Learners, in Spanish
· Deliver programs for all ages that incorporate and promote the Library’s rooftop beehives and the Bee Wall Interpretive Center
· Participated in the annual Banned Books Week celebration to promote the freedom to read
Get Involved with Setting New Service Priorities This Summer
We want to bring the community together again this summer to discuss aspirations residents have for our city. We plan to host a series of conversations, which will be designed to encourage participants to express their ideas, thoughts and feedback to identify opportunities for the Library to use its resources to reach community objectives.
Stay informed by checking the Library web page for more information later this summer at www.RedwoodCity.org/Library and make sure to sign-up for our eNewsletter!
Public Libraries and Library Services Receive High Marks from Community Survey
First, THANK YOU! We were excited that satisfaction of Redwood City public libraries and library services increased over the past two years, based on a December 2021 Community Satisfaction Survey. While the survey is a point in time, it is a key way to get demographically representative feedback to measure community satisfaction with City services. Given the pandemic, this was particularly welcome news and we appreciate the community’s support!
Making is for Everyone!
With the opening of the Makerspace in April, we have loved seeing your creativity and innovation energize this space. This new space designed to provide equitable access for community members to use technology and other tools that might not be readily accessible or affordable for individuals. We have also been thrilled to see cross-generational use of the space, welcoming many families to innovate together.
Based on the results of a Community Survey conducted in 2019 and community workshops held in 2020, the space includes three main components:
1. Technology tools, including 3D printers, a laser cutter, digital design and modeling software, and opportunities to learn about robotics and electronics
2. Sewing machines and hand crafting tools for the creation of items such as bags, jewelry, scrapbooks, knitting, or textiles
3. Shared collaboration spaces, including easily reconfigurable workshop tables and seating, numerous white boards, large screen monitors, large screen monitors, and a small videoconferencing/audio recording space
We are excited to use this new innovative space to host a variety of programs and activities! We are planning more STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) workshops for youth during after school hours, drop-in hours for use of the equipment by adults during evening hours, workshops in collaboration with numerous community partners, and a co-working space for individuals and small groups to work during daytime hours.
Connecting the Inside with the Outside
The Library has a strong connection with Parks, Recreation and Community Services. Last summer, it was a huge feat to be able to go into our City parks and deliver storytimes outdoors, which was wildly popular . Because of that success, we have continued Magical Bridge Story Times, and we hope to offer more story times in other parks this summer.
In addition, we know some people are craving outdoor options — just like restaurants have changed their model for outdoor dining — and we know the Downtown needs more open space. If you didn’t know, the Downtown Library has been in the same building since 1988! As we look to expand and reconfigure the building, we are mindful of creating a space that reinvents the experience of visiting the Library. That includes the construction of a new Downtown park!
Library Lot A is one of three sites that the City Council has selected for a Downtown park. The Downtown Parks and Bay Connectivity Project (DPBC) has started community engagement for the design project, which will include multiple opportunities for public input. The new park will provide a family-friendly shared outdoor space in the neighborhood and will provide a safe route for jogging, biking and leisurely strollse. The routes will lead to the planned Redwood Creek loop and the Bay Trail. The vision for the new park includes a programmable green space and trees that allow visibility from the street into the park, a children’s play area, and a new connection to Rosselli Garden and the Downtown Library building.
Recently, city staff and the City’s consultant, RRM Design Group, held two online stakeholder meetings for property owners, business owners, and library staff. In addition, the design team held a bilingual community workshop for the Library Lot A/Rosselli site. The workshop included several activities for the participants such as walking tours, “Dot” Photo Preferences Board, and a “Design Your Park” work station. Over 2,000 immediate neighbors were invited to share feedback at the workshop regarding the site and potential design, and we had approximately 60 people in attendance.
Outreach will continue in the coming weeks, including the launch of an online community survey and soliciting feedback at pop-up events. For more information about this program concept for Library Lot A, start at page 29 of the 2018 Downtown Parks Site Assessment and Feasibility Study.
Your Feedback is Welcome!
There are many ways you can share your thoughts on our Library services. You can participate in City Council meetings, particularly the annual budget study session on June 13 (go here for information about City Council agendas). You can email us at rclinfo@redwoodcity.org, call us at (650) 780–7018, or come visit us at one of our libraries! Together, we want to build safe spaces and community hubs that serve as centers of learning, connectivity and togetherness where opportunities are endless.
