Morgan Hill library gained a great asset in 2005 when Saralyn Otter, supervising children’s librarian, joined the staff. Otter received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCSC. She switched career gears when she followed advice from her mother, a former librarian, and signed up for a two-year library school program at San Jose State, one of only two schools in California to offer the program.
After graduating, Otter and her husband relocated to Los Angeles then returned to the Bay Area in November 2005. That’s when she found her way to the Morgan Hill Library.
Now the mother of two children, Owen, 5, and Quinn, 7 months, Otter feels the most rewarding part of her job is working with young readers.
“Working with the kids … that’s fun,” Otter said.
An equally important aspect of her job is outreach, where Otter attends community events to raise awareness of the library’s abundance of free events and programs.
Working with local schools is an extension of that outreach. With the initiation of the library card campaign, Otter worked with the librarian at Walsh and El Toro Elementary Schools to sign up every student with a library card. The campaign was a success, but it did take time.
“It took the whole school year to get it done,” Otter said. Plans to roll out the same campaign this year with Barrett Elementary School are in the works.
Coordinating with the schools brought about an equally successful online tool—Brainfuse—available to all children in grades kindergarten through college.
Described as a live homework helper, Brainfuse provides through the computer an individual tutor for every student. Brainfuse can be accessed through library computers, but with library cards students have the ability to access it from any computer from 1 to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
Be a Road Scholar, travel the world
Inspiring adults to learn, discover and travel is the concept behind programs offered through Road Scholar, a nonprofit organization created by Elderhostel 40 years ago.
Gilroy library invited Road Scholar to host an informational seminar earlier this month, where the programs and what they offer were discussed. According to their website, Road Scholar offers 5,500 educational tours in all 50 states and 150 countries, from cultural tours and study cruises to walking, biking and more.
Larry Fine and his wife Jill led the seminar as Road Scholar ambassadors. They took their first Road Scholar trip to Verona, Italy, 15 years ago.
“After you go on a program, you find you’re there for the people,” Larry Fine said. “The subject matter and travel just happen to come along.”
Monica Sanchez’s interest in travel prompted her to attend the seminar. “I like to experience new adventures,” said Sanchez, a Gilroy resident who thought Fine’s presentation offered good information and covered a lot of interesting places.
Morgan Hill resident and Gilroy library employee Claire Sherburne attended the seminar because she thought it was time to learn more about the program.
“I work here at the library and I’ve always been interested in traveling,” Sherburne said. “I thought this was a great opportunity to have that door opened. A trip down the Danube would be lovely.”
At the conclusion of the two-hour presentation, attendees left with the Road Scholar catalog, which highlights the hundreds of trips offered throughout the United States and Europe.
“We got the point across that we really want people to travel and see the world,” Fine said.
For more information about ongoing events at the Gilroy and Morgan Hill libraries, go to sccl.org/morganhill or sccl.org/gilroy.
