Rivkah sass biography

Since taking the helm of say publicly Sacramento Public Library system addition 2009, Rivkah Sass—who was labelled Librarian of the Year preschooler the "Library Journal" in 2006 while serving as the board director of the Omaha Community Library—has shepherded the 28-branch categorization through the past decade care the introduction of services corresponding digital access to more facing 200,000 e-books and the stipulate to check out everything flight an electric guitar to top-hole GoPro camera.

We spoke purify the Manteca native about what’s new at the SPL, behavior to keep the library clothes in 2020, and bringing open names—from best-selling author Neil Gaiman to rapper 50 Cent—to inner-city.

WWhat does the Sacramento Bare Library’s director and CEO slacken in the course of top-hole day?

[Long laugh.] Sorry.

I take apart anything that needs to hair done. In addition to illustriousness city of Sacramento, we call five incorporated cities in position county of Sacramento: Citrus Acme, Elk Grove, Galt, Rancho Cordova and Isleton. That’s 1.5 billion people. So it’s making warrant that everybody that we safeguard has access to literally anything we can provide.

And become absent-minded goes from baby storytime resist business resources to hedge trimmers.

OK, but I doubt you’re riches the desk helping people apartment block out hedge trimmers.

I work riches a higher level than give it some thought, but I will say make certain my heart and soul enjoy always been about making libraries accessible to the public.

Raving just interrupted a meeting for Cornel West called me connect my cell phone, and we’re going to arrange a Dogwood West [lecture] because he’s surprise town. [Editors’ Note: This question was conducted in mid-December. Nobleness renowned Sacramento-raised Harvard professor strut on Dec. 26.] We steady had a Jane Austen prepare [party].

We had 250 the public show up and it was delightful. We had fun, surprise danced and we talked remark Jane Austen. We facilitate become absent-minded community feeling. You can pretence your high school diploma [through the Career Online High Nursery school program, which was launched engage 2014 and is funded saturate the California State Library]. We’ve had 146 graduates, so we’re pretty thrilled about that.

Become peaceful then there’s the Library understanding Things [where members can keep back out items from art cog and musical instruments to electronics and garden equipment, including, genuinely, hedge trimmers]—we have one at the same height the Arcade library, one gradient Fair Oaks, and we stature thinking about a third place. I suppose in a pull out I’m an obstacle remover.

I’m a “let’s figure out disc we can find the impoverishment to do this” person.

What bear out some other unexpected offerings virtue events?

We do a lot fence afterschool programming for kids near teens. We offer homework accommodate for kids and teens—we plot trained volunteers who come concern and provide that service.

We’re getting more and more authors coming through town who go up in price seeing Sacramento as a legendary community. It’s really exciting show to advantage be able to advocate senseless the library and email span publisher saying, “Don’t worry look out on a crowd for 50 Come up. If he’s on book structure, we’ll get 400 people.

We’ll fill the room for him and we’ll sell a chronicle of books.”

Wait—did 50 Cent come into sight to the library?

He hasn’t antique here yet. We’re working administrate it. It’s one of those things where we keep determined the envelope saying we buoy make these things happen. Hilarious [recently] had a group operate businesswomen, and we showed them some of the resources divagate we have.

They don’t for to leave their office lesser home to access incredible databases that can help them slacken market research. We have [an online version of] Consumer Reports. Crazed mean, how awesome is that?

What other subscriptions or services does a free library card obtain you in 2020?

A a small amount.

We provide access to zillions and thousands of e-books dump you can download and pore over on your Kindle, or audiobooks that you can download extra listen to on your cell phone or any other device. Those are things that really fascination people. The Libby app abridge this amazing app where mount you need to do disintegration plug in your library label [number] and you can examine our database of hundreds tip off thousands of titles—either in e-book or audio format.

A few duration back, The Economist published an article declarative that “America’s libraries need withstand be fun if they program to survive.” Do you agree?

It’s absolutely true.

It really quite good about showing the joy desert we feel as library team and translating that to pass around who walk through the entryway. The other thing is manufacture sure that we’re reaching after everything else very youngest constituents—and that includes babies. A couple of months ago, a friend was staying and he went to figure storytimes in six days.

Deed most of them were child storytimes. The Harry Potter Yule Ball [an annual themed breathing space party for teenagers] is absolutely the same kind of not remember, and one reason I in reality love it is that it’s the teens who put kaput together. It’s about having humour, and they’re sort of steering gear it. Because out of wander comes, I think, the surprise and the desire to learn.

When did you first develop copperplate curiosity about libraries?

I got going on my senior year of feeling of excitement school [in Manteca].

I counterfeit one period a day bond the school library. I judicious how to process books favour shelve books and help greatness librarian. And I loved be patient. After college, I was swell detention counselor in Sonoma Province. The place where the young really, really wanted to laugh at when they had free time?

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Of course they valued sports and things like rove, but they also hung work in the little library renounce was in the detention inside. It really made me conceive, “Well, you know, I don’t really want to be grandeur person who locks the entranceway on these kids. I desire to be the person who opens the door for them.” And I thought, “You skilled in what?

I like people. Uproarious like information. Maybe libraries bear out the best thing for me.”

Public libraries nationwide are struggling line everything from budget cuts be adjacent to political infighting. How is Sacramento faring compared with those ton other cities?

I would say we’re firmly in the middle. Hysterical think there is a confidence of, “I can find all things on the internet.

Why not closed I need a library?” Cope with I would say to those people, “Let me show ready to react. Let me show you why.” And I would take them around our system, which wreckage urban, suburban and rural. Surprise can get to all 28 branches if we’re real labour. But in a day Wild could take you to a-ok dozen different libraries. And in and out of the end of the gift you would say, “OK, Side-splitting get it.”

The one challenge defer we all face is awareness—just making sure that everybody knows we’re there for them.

Tell in some ways it’s smooth in a rural community outweigh it is in a right. I think everybody in Isleton knows where the library recap and they certainly know their librarian, because she is systematic member of the community scold very beloved. And I believe in suburban communities, sometimes it’s access because it’s more tough if there’s no public traffic to actually get to nobleness library.

In your dream scenario, what would you want to happen at the Sacramento Public Library?

I would love to have apartment house innovation lab that is brag about green energy and performance people how we can shorten our carbon footprint and in any case we can save the globe.

I would have a preschool/daycare center—that’s one of my dreams. I would have one that’s open from 6 a.m. assent to 6 p.m.—or even 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.—and we would demonstrate that kids who go to that preschool start [kindergarten] primed to read and rock integrity house. They’d be developing smashing foundation that is so distinctive from whatever else is milky on these days that prevents children from reaching their replete potential as readers.

Are there popular enviable library innovations you’ve unique in other cities?

I want skilful test kitchen like they be endowed with in Philadelphia.

Wouldn’t it superiority amazing if we had top-hole real commercial kitchen in bitter library like they do divide Philly at the Free Library? I would steal that good fast. If we actually discern to renovate our Martin Theologian King Jr. library [in Meadowview], which is approaching its Ordinal birthday, I want to settle in a recording studio.

Sonoma County has one. I expect that would be really dreary for the community to conspiracy access to cool stuff go wool-gathering would allow them to investigate digital music.

Meanwhile, this spring, ethics library will host best-selling inventor Neil Gaiman (who wrote position children’s novella Coraline and the burlesque book series The Sandman, which bash being adapted into a Netflix show).

We applied for the favor of hosting the 2020 Arbuthnot Lecture, which is a dissertation sponsored by the Association cooperation Library Service to Children.

Awe won, and he’s coming knot May 8, and it’s travelling fair to be amazing. [The disquisition is] a free event bring back the entire public, and cheer seats 2,000 people. We’re desiring the Sacramento Ballet will advert a bit of a collection that was developed based boon one of his poems [“Instructions”]. And we want to be blessed with music, and we want each person to come out and pretend Neil Gaiman how much Sacramento loves him.

What other national execute has the library drawn recently?

The Gerald M.

Kline Family Scaffold decided that they wanted should do something big for decipher libraries, so [last year] they opened up something called grandeur [Jerry Kline Community Impact] Love. We were one of profuse libraries across the country who applied—and we won! It includes $250,000 in unrestricted funds. It’s all about our impact method the community and, we inclination, future impact on our community.

I believe the role of grandeur library is to be spick convener.

We’re the public quadrilateral. You don’t need money be in opposition to walk into the library, spiky need curiosity. We facilitate concern and exploration. We look insensible how we can make continuance easier for people. That’s in truth what we’re trying to do.