22 Sep What is a 21st Century Library?
Modern libraries are books at their core but are also responsive to community needs, working with community groups to mobilize services and resources. What does that mean? Rock shows in the Santa Barbara Public Library! We aren’t making this up and the Library hasn’t changed their mission.
This summer the Santa Barbara Public Library’s MakeSB mini-grant program, meant to inspire and support making and creating in many forms, embraced what it means for a Library to be more than books. The event featured three local bands: Sissyfit, Stood Up, and The Daphnees. The hardcore, thrash, and garage bands performed to an audience of 123 Library patrons and yes, inside the Library (see for yourself)!
This program supported three local musical groups, resulted in the staff creating over 20 library cards for attendees, and stocked up an overflowing People’s Pantry with donated items. KCSB-FM community radio station tabled at the event and Dez Alaniz of honey boy press set up a zine making space with two zine prompts: “What do you love about the Library” and “What do you do at your local Library” for attendees to respond to in their own zine pages.
Over 30 people made and submitted pages for a collaborative zine that the Santa Barbara Public Library has now made available at the Central Library, reinforcing the Library’s role as a space where individual stories contribute to a larger collective narrative. Attendees expressed excitement that the concert was hosted by the Library and requested future similar events.
A 21st Century Library brings community together for fun, learning, resource sharing, and community impact. From books to bands, MakeSB is one of the many ways the Santa Barbara Public Library serves Santa Barbara. The Library is not only a hub for knowledge and learning, but also facilitates community growth, self-expression, and collaboration in the most dynamic and relevant ways.
Support your 21st Century Library today and rock on!
