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Michael Towbes Library Plaza

More than books. More than bricks.

The Michael Towbes Library Plaza’s opening date is set for mid 2024. With the public eagerly awaiting the re-vamped community space alongside the completion of the library itself, we advise the public to look towards our social platforms for up-to-date FAQ’s, building progress, and the eventual grand opening date.

Take a look at our latest video on the Plaza’s progress, including comments from Santa Barbara Councilmembers, Library Foundation Board Members, and the Public Library Staff!

LIBRARY PROGRAM EXPANSION   •   URBAN GREEN SPACE   •   EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL HUB   •   SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE

For over 100 years the Santa Barbara Public Library has continually grown to meet the evolving needs of our community. It has served as a hub for lifelong literacy and civic participation, a gathering place for children to learn, a catalyst for imaginations of all ages, and a virtual refuge. Community building happens at the Library: people come together for inspiration, education, fun, engagement, and leave feeling a stronger sense of community.

Leadership Gifts (100,000+) City of Santa Barbara, Mercedes Millington and Jack C. Mithun, Manitou Fund- In Memory of Marjorie Reeds McNeely, Nora McNeely Hurley and Michael Hurley, Emily and Dan Engel   Michael Towbes Library Plaza (100,000 +) Anne Smith Towbes, Carrie Towbes and John Lewis, The Ann Jackson Family Foundation, Meg and Dan Burnham, Zora and Les Charles, Ginni Dreier, Stina Hans, Hutton Parker Foundation, Chana and Jim Jackson, Montecito Bank & Trust, Mosher Foundation, Alicia Miñana and Rob Lovelace, Zegar Family Foundation    Woodward Grove Donor Wall ($10,000+) Melora and Andrew Balson, Susan Bogue Myslik, Zora and Les Charles, Kirby-Jones Foundation, Ed McKinley and Kath Lavidge, Susan and Claude Case, Sarah and Peter de Tagyos, Christie and John Glanville, Jackie Inskeep, Anne, John, and Seth Woodward, Friends of Barbara Hauter Woodward, Barbara Hauter Woodward   Major Gifts ($25,000- $50,000) Anna and Nathan Alldredge, Dylanian II Charitable Fund, Friends of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, GA Fowler Family Foundation, Anna and David Grotenhuis, Perri Harcourt, Mandy and Daniel Hochman, Anne and Randall Howard, Herbert and Elaine Kendall Charitable Foundation, Santa Barbara Beautiful, Walter J & Holly O Thomson Charitable Foundation, Volentine Foundation, Leslie and Bob Zemeckis    Major Gifts ($10,000- $24,999) Tracy and Michael Bollag, Carol and Alan Brumberger, B&B Foundation, Marni and Michael Cooney, Marcia and Jamie Constance, Deep Space Sparkle, Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library, Eric Friedman and Julie Nguyen-Friedman, Janet Garufis, Susan and Gary Gulbransen, Milt and Cecia Hess, The La Centra-Sumerlin Foundation, Linda Lorenzen, Dr. Bruce and Kay McFadden, Carolyn and Arthur Merovick, Natalie Orfalea Foundation, Michele Neely Saltoun, Outhwaite Foundation, Stephanie and Tres Riordan, Ellen Robinson, John and Mary Romo, Peter Schuyler and Lisa Stratton, Schlinger Family Foundation, Diane Sullivan, Joan and Steve Young, Geofrey and Laura Wyatt   Community Gifts ($5,000-$9,999) Jane and Kenneth Anderson, Patricia Aoyama and Chris Kleveland, Gwen and Henry Baker, Joan Davidson, Robert and Christine Emmons, Audrey Hillman Fisher, Brooks and Kate Firestone, Dr. Cami Ferris-Wong, Judith Little, Siri and Bob Marshall, Roy Martinez and Toni McDonald, Gretchen and Marshall Milligan, Rosemary and Nicholas Mutton, Chapin Nolen, Claire and Gerald Parent, Maryan Schall, Marianne Sprague, Diane Sullivan, Lynda Weinman, Joan and Steve Young   Community Gifts to the Woodward Grove ($5,000-$9,999) Charlotte and David Ackert   Community Gifts (Up to$5,000) Arcadia Studios, Mara Abboud, Mark Asman and William Wood, Marsha and Stephen Barr, Carol and Bob Bason, June Belletto de Pujo, Steve and Marianne Blitsch, Mitsy Bordofsky, Elizabeth Bowman, David J Broad, Lynn and Chris Brown, Mary L Brown, Mary and Jeremy Carroll, Joanie Chackel, Eloise and Chuck Cohen, Susan Patty Cronin, Dena Davis, Florence C. Dillon, Leslie Dinaberg, Diane and Ralph Engel, Steve Fort, Richard Flacks, Dianne Flanigan, Karen Feeney, Pat and Bob Fulmer, Richard and Irene Fulton, John C Gough, Thuy Greer, Karin Grundy, Sharon Hoshida, Heidi Jones, Temmo Korisheli, Puck and Jim Lohnas, Edward MacAllister, Irene Macias, Elaine Mah Best, John P. Margolis, AIA, Brooke McDermott, John Mosby, Gary O’Hea, Jann Olsen, James and Colette Phillippi, Josh and Alix Rabinowitz, Janice Riviera, Karen M Riviera, Keith Riviera, Marge Romano, Tim Romano, Justine Roddick, Nancy Schlosser, Leslie Meadowcoft Schipper and Frank Schipper, Jennifer and Jeremy Stein, Wayne Stelly, Colleen and Jim Sterne, Martha and Tim Townsend, Joanne Vasquez, Watling Foundation, John Wilhelm, William P. Neil Foundation, Douglas Lee Wilson, Lisa and David Wolf, Helen Sun Wong, Gina and Alex R Zeigler   Community Gifts to the Woodward Grove (Up to $5,000) Anonymous, Nan and John Bedford, Lalla and Rinaldo Brutoco, Valerie Cavanaugh and William Kerstetter, Norris and Barry Goss, Barbara L. Hoyt and Pierce B. Dunn, Theodora and Roger Lenard, DeDe and Don Parrett, Robin Riblet, Susan and Tom Richards, Sandy Schoolfield and John Kechejian, Donna and Mutsuo Shinoda, Sally and Jay Smith, Raissa Smorol, Sally and Peter Tannenbaum, Holiday and Richard Vaill, Patricia Watkins, Judy Weirick, Kathy and Bob Wenger, Parmele and Frank Williams   Michael Towbes Library Plaza Nonprofit Supporters AHA! Attitude. Harmony. Achievement, Alpha Resource Center, Breast Cancer Resource Center, California Missions Foundation, CASA of Ventura County, CAMA - Community Arts Music Association, CALM, CommUnify, Congregation B'nai B'rith, Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Crane Country Day School, Domestic Violence Solutions, Easy Lift Transportation, Elings Park Foundation, Elverhøj Museum of History and Art, Explore Ecology, Food Bank of Santa Barbara County, Food From the Heart, Fielding Graduate University, Friends of the Eastside Library, Ganna Walska Lotusland, Girls Inc. Santa Babrara, The Granada Theatre, Gunpowder Press, Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County, Hillside House, Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County, Inc., Isla Vista Youth Projects, Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, Kiwanis Club of Santa Barbara, Lobero Theatre, Marjorie Luke Theatre Momentum WORK Inc., MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, Music Academy of the West, NAWBO Santa Barbara (or National Association of Women Business Owners - Santa Barbara Chapter), Old Mission Santa Barbara, Organic Soup Kitchen, Pacific Pride Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Santa Barbara City College Foundation, Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society, Santa Barbara Meals on Wheels, Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Santa Barbara Police Activities League, Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, Santa Barbara Symphony, SEE International, Solvang Senior Center, Storyteller Children's Center, Transition House, United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County, Women’s Economic Ventures

More than Books

The Santa Barbara Public Library provides opportunites for lifelong learning in the heart of the Cultural Arts District and welcomes our entire community.

More than Bricks

The new Michael Towbes Library Plaza will meet the evolving needs of our community, our Library, and create a hub for lifelong literacy and civic participation.

CAMPAIGN  VOLUNTEERS

Campaign Cabinet
Janet Garufis Campaign Co-chair, Jim Jackson Campaign Co-chair

 

Anna Alldredge, Mark Asman, Bob Bason, Jessica Cadiente, Susan Case, Zora Charles, Marni Cooney, Emily Engel, Christie Glanville, Anna Grotenhuis, Anne Howard, Roy Martinez, Anne Towbes, Martha Townsend, Leslie Zemeckis

 

Communication & Cultivation Committee
Chair- Anna Alldredge

 

Laura Capps, Erik Davis, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Gwyn Lurie-Firestein, Kendall Pata

 

Major Gifts Committee
Chair- Anna Alldredge

 

Marni Cooney, Emily Engel, Roy Martinez, David McFadden, Martha Townsend

 

Library Plaza Honorary Committee
Peter MacDougall- Honorary Committee Co-chair
Anne Towbes- Honorary Committee Co-chair

 

Carol and Bob Bason, Sharon and David Bradford, Laura Capps, Lois Capps, Susan and Claude Case, Zora and Les Charles, Hal Conklin, Jelinda and Barry DeVorzon, Christine and Robert Emmons, Christie and John Glanville, Anna Grotenhuis, Susan and Gary Gulbransen, Judith Hopkinson, Joan and Palmer Jackson, Peter and Gerd Jordano, Herbert Kendall, Jill and Neil Levinson, Kandy Luria-Budgor, Patty and John MacFarlane, Irene Macias, Mercedes Millington and Jack C. Mithun, Natalie Orfalea, Joanne and Brian Rapp, Mary and John Romo, Ken and Jo Saxon, Maryan Schall, Elizabeth and Kenny Slaught, Diane Sullivan, Lynne Tahmisian, Carrie Towbes, Maureen White , Barbara Hauter Woodward, John C. Woodward

 

Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation Board
Jim Jackson, President, Anna Alldredge, Vice President, Roy Martinez, Treasurer, Jim Sterne, Secretary, Alan Brumberger, Susan Case, Peter Ginsberg, Irene Kelly, David McFadden, Art Merovick, Belma Michael Johnson, Stephanie Riordan, Raissa Smorol

To learn more, please contact us at 805.689.2448 or email.

Alan Brumberger is a graduate of Yale University, the University of Michigan Law School and Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Mr. Brumberger was the Chief Executive Officer and General Securities Principal for Emerald Point Capital, LLC., a FINRA Registered Broker Dealer in New York. He has held numerous leadership positions and Board memberships in various philanthropic organizations and investment banking firms including President and CEO of Shearson American Express International Limited, the firm's international investment banking arm in London. He is excited to do his part to help the Santa Barbara Public Library continue and build upon its remarkable record of being a fundamental community resource in broadening our citizens’ literacy.