July , 2001 - Volume 19, No. 2

CHAMBER MIXER

We had the honor of hosting the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce mixer in our library on June 21. What a nice way for us to meet our local merchants and for them to meet us. Our Librarian, Jude, was most gracious for allowing us to re-arrange her library for the occasion. Our hostess, Lynn Evey, was so ably assisted by Marlene Peter, Betty Forsythe, Grace Melton, Joan Petersen, Tony Toomey, Susie Benskin, Jude Sanner Long, Betty Fahrenbach, Barbara Riddell, Beverley Foster, Betty Olson, Stan Benskin, Harvey Petersen, Pat Clevenger, and Popeye Thornber. We must also thank Baron's Orchids, Vons, Corbet Canyon Vineyards and Albertson's for their generous contributions.

PROGRAM SPEAKER

Did you know that the owner of the COFFEE POT restaurant on the Embarcadero has written his memoirs? We know him as Gordon Fa, but Lu Chi Fa will be our guest speaker at our July meeting. He will share his experiences of writing and publishing his successful book titled "DOUBLE LUCK, MEMOIRS OF A CHINESE ORPHAN". He should have some very interesting commentary. Gordon's book is available for checking out of our library and he will have copies available for signing. ~ Marilyn Baty

RED DOT ALERT !!!

Do you see a RED dot on your address label? If so, your dues are due/overdue. If not received soon your membership will be canceled and this will be your last newsletter. Our Bylaws state that membership dues are to be paid on January 1 of the current year. Individual dues are $5.00, family $10.00, lifetime $100. Angie Crider, Membership, 772-7225
Thank you. ~ Betty Fahrenbach

BY-LAWS UPDATE

During our Board of Director's meeting we will be voting to accept or to reject certain Bylaws updates. As you probably know, our Bylaws were last updated several years ago and some parts of them have become outmoded or no longer concern our organization. A select committee, made up of Marlene Peter, Helen Hileman and Jane Bailey, set out to modernize our Bylaws this past May. It is now up to us to cast our vote. Our Bylaws mandate a 2/3rds majority to pass any changes. Therefore, you are urged to attend the July 27, 2001 meeting to cast your vote. If we do NOT have the required number of Board members we will be forced to call a special meeting to vote on these changes. The revisions of the Bylaws will be found as an insert in the newsletter mailed to each of the Board of Directors. Please make it a point to attend, eliminating the need to call a special meeting.

OUR OWN WEB SITE

Plans are in the works for our Morro Bay Friends of the Library to have our very own web site on line in the near future. FOL member, Page Hagan, has volunteered to create and maintain it for us. Page has arranged for our site to be hosted on Mike Baird's great Morro Bay site:
http://www.morro-bay.com
Mike hosts several sites and is quite enthusiastic about ours. This is still in the planning stages and your ideas are welcome. Page can be emailed at: pageh@charter.net
Go to Mike's web site to look at the type of work he is doing for others:
http://www.mikebaird.com/fol/index.htm
Page will be at our July meeting to tell us more about how our site is constructed. ~ Thank you Page and Mike.

BOOK AND AUTHOR FESTIVAL

The second annual Central Coast Book and Author Festival was held in SLO, Mission Plaza on June 9th and featured over 80 exhibitor booths. Local Cambria author, Catherine Ryan Hyde, of the best seller Pay It Forward, was the Honorary Chairperson and was able to bring many other wonderful authors to participate as speakers and for book signings. Many Friends of the Library groups also attended and received a lot of exposure from the large crowd in attendance. Again, thank you to all our great volunteers, Marlene Peter, Popeye Thornber, Jude Sanner Long, Librarian, Judi Horner, Children's Librarian, Marilyn Baty and Irene Toomey for contributing their time and for making this a very special event. Marci Cunningham, Atascadero Librarian, was also there to lend a hand at our booth. ~ Beverley Foster

MAY BOOK SALE

Our May 5th Book and Magazine sale was another success and netted $1,087.00. A very special thank you to Stan Benskin, whose assistance all day long was invaluable, and to all the other volunteers who donated their time for the actual preparation of the books and sale day activities.
~ Beverley Foster

NEW BOOK PRICING GUIDELINES

A new pricing guideline will be in place for the next Book Sale on Saturday, July 21. We will now measure the overall thickness of each purchase to determine its cost at 50 cents per inch. Text books and romance novels will sell for 10 cents each and upscale specialty books will continue as various appropriate price ranges. Please continue to remember us for all of your book and magazine donations which are so greatly appreciated.
~ Beverley Foster

CONTEST!!! CONTEST!!! GUIDELINES

We are asking for your input to name this newsletter. The name will be in the banner, just as the TRIBUNE newspaper. A shoe box voting box is on top of our book shelf inside the South entrance to the Library lobby. Wouldn't it be nice to know that your entry turned out to be the one seen by every reader of our newsletter? Prizes have yet to be determined. You may, instead, e-mail your suggestions to: mbpopeye@charter.net

THANK YOU, ALBERTSON'S GUIDELINES

We wish to thank you, Morro Bay Albertson's, for your very generous contributions to our library staff while they were in training this past month learning our new computer system. Matt Gullage, Albertson's Store Director, has donated refreshments and snacks for the group throughout their training sessions. Thanks, Matt, for your kindness and continued support of our community service programs.

NEW BOOK RENTALS GUIDELINES

Since March, we have added 24 books to the Best Seller Rental Program. Five of these books were very welcome donations. Our new books are:

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tam, The Darwin Awards by Wendy Northcutt, Scarlet Feathers by Maeve Binchy, The Program by Stephen White (2 copies), 1st to Die by James Patterson (2 copies), A Day Late and a Dollar Short by Terri McMillan, The Villa by Nora RobertsPotshot by Robert B. Parker, Birds of Paradise by J. A. Jance, The Vendetta Defense by Lisa ScottolineMurder One by William Bernhardt, Death in Holy Orders by P. D. James, Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker, Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler, Cold Flat Junction by Martha Grimes, On the Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins Clark, Cold Paradise by Stuart Woods, Chosen Prey by John Sandford, P is for Peril by Sue Grafton (2 copies), A Common Life by Jan Karon, The Hearing by John Lescroart , Barbara Riddell.

LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS GUIDELINES

Hats off to our library volunteers. We are so blessed to have book shelving volunteers who spend some 150 hours per month, cheerfully and tirelessly, putting books back on the shelves in their proper places. Computer systems are great for keeping track of library books, but they just can't replace the human form when it comes to keeping our books accurately shelved. These 13 active volunteers are helping out at the rate of one full-time paid library employee. Care to take a guess at how many pounds (tons?) of books per year these volunteers lift? Their help during this computer system changeover is especially appreciated. We also have 4 Internet docents who are helping customers use our computers. We simply could not do without them. Let's give a great big round of applause to our Volunteers.
~ Judi Horner

WHERE LIBRARY MONEY COMES FROM GUIDELINES

Libraries of various types have existed for thousands of years; probably as long as there have been written records and a reason to preserve them. Tax supported libraries in the United States date to the early 1830's. Public libraries are usually operated by some form of local government, such as a city or county. They typically receive about 1-2% of the local tax base and often have a heavy dependence on property tax. The San Luis Obispo City-County Library is considered a Special Revenue Fund, and is governed by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo. Current revenues break down as follows: Secured property taxes (on homes, businesses) = 63%; Unitary property tax (on electrical utilities) = 12%; State aid (Public Library Fund, Motor Vehicle License Fees, etc.) = 12%; County General Fund = 6%; Library fees (fines, lost books, etc.) = 4%; Miscellaneous (book sales, interest, etc.) = 3%. Belying its name, only two cities in the County provide ongoing funds or services for their libraries; the City of San Luis Obispo contributes about $13,000 annually for Wednesday evening hours, as well as funds for partial upkeep of the City Library building and grounds; the City of Morro Bay provides custodial services for the branch library's community room. The Library's adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2000-01 is a little over $6 million. The largest chunk of the Library's Budget is spent on employees' salaries and benefits-about 48%. Other large expenditure categories include books and materials purchases, building maintenance and overhead charges. A serious obstacle now and in the years ahead is for revenues to keep pace with expenditures. Most revenue growth potential resides in regular (secured) property taxes, but is hampered by constant reductions in the unitary (electrical utility properties) tax. State aid has increased in recent years, but hasn't yet reached statutory levels. The Library Budget continues to suffer from the State's decision to shift monies from the Library's Budget to local schools ($4+million lost since 1992). Any new local taxes for the Library must go to voters in a local election and be approved by a super-majority (67% of the voters) under the requirements of Proposition 13. Public libraries are one of the most popular services government provides; probably the most heavily used and cost effective of ALL public services. All too often, however, their funding is inadequate, undependable and the first in line for budget cuts. Getting "bucks" to pay for "books" is a challenge we all share.
~ Brian A. Reynolds, Library Director

THE STORY OF THE MURAL

The West wall of the Library features a unique glass tile mosaic designed especially for our building. Funded by area clubs and a grant from the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council, the colorful mural was designed by artist Peter Ladochy of Cayucos. Labor for the project was volunteered by some 100 community members under the direction of Ladochy. Citizen involvement ranged from choosing the mosaic's theme, to planning, assembling and mounting the finished artwork. Composed of 125,000 one inch square pieces of glass, the 650 square foot mural depicts the history and environs of Morro Bay. A native Chumash Indian, early explorer Juan Cabrillo, and missionaries are pictured along the modern-day city of Morro Bay against a backdrop of blue water and green hills. Native flora and fauna, including a peregrine falcon and sea otter, are woven in. You might enjoy taking this page along with you to help you better understand the many stories incorporated into this beautiful mosaic of our local history. 1.) arrows in flight (f.r.) 2.) Spanish banner (r.c.) 3.) boats and harbor (f.l.) 4.) butterfly (f.r.) 5.) Cabrillo (r.c.) 6.) caravel with sails (r.c.) 7.) Chumash Indian (f.r.) 8.) compass rose (r.c.) 9.) constellations and stars (r.c.) 10.) fishnets (l.c.) 11.) geese in flight (f.r.) 12.) Halley's Comet (r.c.) 13.) headless salamander (f.r.) 14.) horse (f.r.) 15.) houses in Morro Bay (l.c.) 16.) Mission Padres (r.c.) 17.) Morro Rock and the Seven Sisters (f.l.) 18.) peregrine falcon (r.c.) 19.) pistol (r.c.) 20.) sand dollar (f.l.) 21.) sea lions (l.c.) 22.) sea otters (l.c.) 23.) sun (f.r.) 24.) waterfall (f.r.) CLUES: f.l.=Far Left; l.c.=Left Center; r.c=Right Center; f.r.=Far Right
~ from Archives

FAREWELL TO FRIENDS

On Friday evening, March 9th, the Morro Bay Friends of the Library, along with the Kiwanis Club of Morro Bay-Cayucos, hosted a "Farewell" for Rev. Robert (Bob) and Jeannine McCullagh in the John Kim Room of our Library. The event celebrated their accomplishments and community services during their many years here in Morro Bay. The Friends donated $100.00 in books to our library in their name. The Kiwanis honored Bob with a $100 donation toward the worldwide elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorder. They are now in their new home in San Diego, but their hearts are still with our library and they have their library cards to prove it. The McCullaghs have sent us information regarding the activities of Friends of the Rancho Pensquitos Library (south of Rancho Bernardo) and the new Teen Hot Spot at the Escondido Public Library (north of Rancho Bernardo). They also mentioned that the Friends of the Rancho Bernardo have a room full of used books for sale daily with a volunteer on hand to take care of the sales. Although we will miss the McCullaghs, we wish them much joy in their new home at Casa de las Campanas in San Diego. Anyone wishing to contact them may write them at 18655 West Bernardo Drive, Apt.538 San Diego, Ca 92127 or E-mail them at: jmcull244@aol.com
Those contributing to the reception for the McCullaghs were Betty Forsythe, Marlene Peter, Joan Petersen, Stan Benskin, Susie Benskin, Grace Melton and Jude Sanner Long.
~ Betty Forsythe

COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT - (Or Editorial. Whichever)

I am finding that there are FAR too many of you FOL members and library volunteers to thank and not nearly enough of me to carry it out. I would gladly agree to create a new committee in charge of helping the President of this organization, no matter who holds the office at any given time,to help in bringing attention to all of you who give so freely of your time. Your backs are stronger than that of Atlas and your endurance is greater than that of a nuclear submarine. Please, if I don't get around to give you a hug and/or a pat on the back, give yourself not just one, but many. I am so proud to be a Friend. ~ Popeye Thornber, President

Morro Bay Friends of the Library newsletter Published in March, July and November by the Morro Bay Friends of the Library
625 Harbor Street Morro Bay, Ca 93442
Editor: Popeye Thornber
President: Popeye Thornber
Contributors: Angie Crider, Barbara Riddell, Marilyn Baty, Beverley Foster, Lynn Evey, Marlene Peter, Betty Forsythe, Betty Fahrenbach, Joan Petersen.

2001 HARBOR FESTIVAL

Plans are already underway for Friends of the Library to participate in Morro Bay's Harbor Festival, scheduled for October 6 and 7, 2001. Joan Petersen and Vicky McCay will be the co-captains for organizing volunteers to work two to three hour shifts at a yet-to-be-determined booth on the Embarcadero. A certain percentage of the proceeds is granted to each participating organization. Last year's event netted $230.00 for the Friends. If you are interested in being where the action is again this year, please contact Joan at 772-2604 or Vicky at 772-3428. After an orientation meeting in late summer we will be setting up a schedule for volunteers. We're looking forward to hearing from you.
~ Joan Petersen and Vicky McCay

MILLENNIUM IS HERE

HTTP://WWW.BLACKGOLD.ORG
Feed your address bar with capital letters or lower case and your computer will lead you into Millennium, a new, easier and more powerful way to find library books online. That's right. From your home computer you may now search for video, large print, magazine or newspaper articles, author or author and title. You will be able to link your search to any of the regional libraries, such as Cal Poly, Cuesta, etc. When you find your book you may place a hold on it from your home computer. You will also be able to renew your checked out items or check on your overdue items and fines. These services are available by computer 24 hours/day and 7 days/week. There are docents available in the library to help you get familiar with the new Millennium system. Those docents who have taken the training and will be in the library to help you to understand the system are Liz Caldwell, Page Hagan, Sally Young, Denise Dowell, Martha Graham and Popeye Thornber. As of this writing, Martha will be available on Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M., Page on Saturdays from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. The other docents will be scheduled as need and time permit.
~ Jude Sanner Long, Librarian Mary Blair, Assistant

Important dates to remember: Board of Directors Meeting July 27
November 16 Executive Committee Meeting September 14

Book Sales (10:00 A.M. To 3:00 P.M.)
July 21 September 22 November 3

Just the knowledge that a good book is waiting
one at the end of a longday makes that day happier.
~ Kathleen Norris (1880 - 1966)

Page, Webmistress