David Ege: SCBL Year in Review-2024
The San Carlos Branch Library staff, lead by our Managing Librarian David Ege and Youth Services Librarian Erin Moore, do an outstand job of keeping patrons updated on the latest materials, activities and programs available at our branch and offered by the San Diego Public Library system. David spoke at the November 13th annual meeting of the San Carlos Friends of the Library and highlighted for those present what the major and/or unique SCBL events were in 2024. They are outlined below.
. January 2024: Hosted the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the San Carlos branch with family-friendly activities, button-making and face painting, pictures with Odi the Coyote, and special guests Councilmember Raul Campillo and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs – 157 attendees.
· March 2024: New staff member, Shadi Sarikhani, introduced Persian New Year with a Norouz Celebration that included a cultural presentation, Persian music, and Persian food – 63 attendees.
· April 2024: SCBL continued our partnership with the San Carlos Community Garden by providing storybook pages for the Garden Story Stroll and attending the Garden Spring Festival – 200 attendees.
· May 2024: Robotics Showcase: 10 teams in attendance. 4 – First Lego League (FLL) grades 4th to 7th, 4 – First Tech Challenge (FTC) grades 7th to 12th, and 2 – First Robotics Competition (FRC) grades 9th to 12th. SDFD Bomb Squad robots were in attendance as well as drones from AguirreTech – 247 attendees.
· June 2024: Replaced the Winer Family Community Room & Art Gallery chairs and the branch’s main room computer desks and computer chairs.
· June 2024 to August 2024: Summer Reading Program: the SCBL had 1190 patrons enrolled, 950 complete. In addition, eight SRP Shows at the SCBL were attended by more than 950 participants. Programs included magicians, puppets, music, and animals.
· August 2024: Chess Tournament, hosted by volunteers, Peter, Luke, and Mila Cepurac, sponsored by Elks Lodge #168. Prizes included chess books for all participants and chess sets for the winners – 50 attendees.
· August 2024:The New Library project is moving along. The Artist group Re:site, was selected for the public art installation and they presented their project of a lenticular wall mural incorporating small pictures of local flora and fauna.
· September 2024: New public printing system called Princh was installed. It is very user friendly; patrons can pay from their personal device, print in color, and make copies.
· September 2024: SCBL hosted a City of San Diego Employment Session to recruit new employees and our Youth Services Librarian, Erin Moore, partnered with the City Ballet to present A Book and a Ballerina Storytime – 40 attendees.
· We are planning to continue our Speaker and Author series in 2025. Authors are already scheduled for January and February and we are trying to connect with more authors and local groups for presentations. In January, Dana Law will discuss Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and Oasis programs are scheduled for February, March, and April. Topics include Unlocking the Power of Sleep, A Feast of Words with Richard Lederer, and San Diego History Through Music. Staffing permitting, we are hoping to add juvenile programs including a Lego Builder Club and Afternoon Craft Time.
The San Carlos Friends of the Library are proud of the high quality work of all of the SCBL staff librarians and library assistants. We thank them, and look forward to working with them again in 2025.
