Central's National Day of Service

Tomorrow, September 11, is the first National Day of Service and Remembrance. Legislation introduced last March has inspired groups to organize volunteer service opportunities on that day across the nation. In Sacramento, Mayor Johnson is hoping to have over 500,000 hours of volunteer service logged by the end of 2009.

We're hoping you will take part in this national service activity. Central Library is hosting activities for volunteers tomorrow. Drop in anytime from 10 am to 1 pm to help us check our collection for books that need to be mended and cleaned, tour the secret spots of Central Library and reflect on what service means to you. No advance registration is needed, just come on down and serve! Stop at the volunteer table on the first floor to sign in.

If you can't make it tomorrow, there are lots of other opportunities for volunteer service in Sacramento. At Serve.gov, and at Volunteer Match, you just type in your zip code for a list of organizations that need volunteers. The Corporation for National and Community Service and Service Nation have additional information for volunteers on their web sites.

Giving Back

One of the things I really like about schools here in Sacramento is that they require students to participate in the community in which they live. One way students do this is by performing "community service". By donating approximately a week's worth of work to organizations in the neighborhood over the course of a school year, students make community contacts, learn about the work the organization does, and get a little OTJ experience - all in addition to the real services they perform for the organization.

Central library staff fields calls from many students in all parts of the county who want to perform their volunteer community service at their local libraries. For those libraries near middle and high schools, there is sometimes not enough work available to keep every hopeful volunteer occupied.

Now that a new school year is starting, students are again on the lookout for places where they can perform those volunteer services. Students who want to get a head start on their community service will find that the library is a great place to research local volunteer opportunities!

We have some books about "voluntarism" in general that feature teen volunteers who have made a difference in their communities, and that provide ideas and tips for finding a volunteer opportunity that fits your personality. And there are web sites that list local organizations who need help: Hands On Sacramento is one, and Volunteer Match and the City of Sacramento's Volunteer Program are others.

There is plenty of work to go around, for both students and adults. Which community will you serve?

COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES: WHOLE FOODS MARKET " BACK TO SCHOOL " EVENT.

Well, Outreach Volunteers were at it again! Just can't stay out the that beautiful limelight! On August 11,volunteers Lisa Christensen and Jose Esparza (not pictured) were at the Whole Foods Market Back to School event library promoting services to the public. The library was accompanied by other Sacramento area youth service providers such as the Sacramento YMCA, People Reaching Out, North Area Teen Center, Child Protection Education of America .Outreach volunteers spoke to the public about the libraries many youth services such as Live Homework Help and the highly - popular SPL Teens program. The response from the public was great with much interest focusing on online services . And much praise was directed at SPL's Youth Services department located at Central Library in downtown Sacramento. As the Digital Age continues, we have seen computer usage at SPL's 27 libraries increase, and our customerscontinued interest and demand for more online services increase tenfold.

Another service not traditionally associated with Community Outreach is SPL's downloadable eBooks and eVideos Overdrive site. Here parents can download books and video to aid in the education of their children.

SPL's Community Outreach Services are constantly doing something in the community, so check us out and enjoy what the Sacramento Public Library is doing to make Sacramento's quality of life that much better!