Library volunteers Janet Fabio, Barry Sheppard, and Claire Mather
Celebrating the Dedicated Volunteers of DesertView Library
Sharon Scanlan, DesertView Library Manager
The 21 volunteers from DesertView Library enjoyed their annual party in the beautiful East Room of the MountainView Bar & Grill. The restaurant staff served a wonderful Happy Hour menu, and we celebrated the library and our years of dedicated service and friendship.
The DesertView Library has 21 volunteers with 204 combined years of service! The average service for a volunteer is 10 years, because we all love what we do! Claire Mather, our longest-serving volunteer, has 25 years! She said that she started when she graduated from third grade. Many of you know Claire from her Monday morning shift. Barry Sheppard, our newest volunteer, joined us six months ago. He loves books and movies and is a great addition to our volunteer team. Janet Fabio is the director of the three SaddleBrooke Libraries (DesertView, SaddleBrooke One, and the Cholla Library in the MountainView clubhouse). Janet has been our outstanding director for 22 years and is a very experienced, professional librarian.
Our dedicated volunteers strive to provide friendly service to our many patrons whom we get to know over the years. Most of our volunteers also have other duties to keep the libraries running smoothly, including buying, cataloging, doing displays, taking donations to the VA Hospital and military, and many other behind-the-scenes duties. Thanks, volunteers!
If you aren’t a patron of the SaddleBrooke Community Libraries, stop into DesertView Library (next to the theater in the DesertView complex), take a tour, and open an account. You can also open an account at the SaddleBrooke One Library in their clubhouse. The account can be used at both libraries.
All of the books in the DesertView Library are new and just published. Who pays for all those new books and audiovisual materials? Library materials are purchased 100% with funding from Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries (FSL), a separate 501(c)(3) organization. Your homeowner dues are not used to buy library materials. The HOAs provide the facilities, IT support, and funding for basic supplies for the libraries. The two HOAs share the minimal annual cost for the library system’s cloud-hosted catalog.
If you are not a member of FSL, learn more at their website www.sbfsl.org. Your membership makes it possible to provide these library resources for the enjoyment of everyone in our SaddleBrooke community. Our libraries are a unique amenity in an active adult community.
Rory O’Neill Schmitt, PhD
Lecture with Rory O’Neill Schmitt, PhD
Jodi Delahunt Hubbell
Young Native artists are merging revered traditions with their individual creativity for a unique interpretation of age-old art objects. Join Friends of SaddleBrooke Library (FSL) on Jan. 9, 2025, at 4 p.m. at DesertView Theater in SaddleBrooke for a presentation by guest speaker Rory O’Neill Schmitt, author of Navajo and Hopi Art in Arizona. Rory will explain how contemporary Navajo and Hopi artists are adding new dimensions to traditional art objects.
From legendary artists to emerging artists, continuing their traditions is a key thread in contemporary artwork that honors customs and stories from thousands of years ago. Some of the outstanding Native artists covered in the lecture are Manuel Chavarria, Barbara Teller Ornelas, and Melanie Yazzie. Lectures are free to FSL members and $5 for non-members.
Portable Car CD Players
Renee Mazin, Virginia Bynum, and Sharon Scanlan
Do you miss having a CD player in your new car and listening to audiobooks on your trips? DesertView Library now has portable car CD players available for check-out. They work in most new vehicles and plug into your main USB port and play through your radio. The units can be checked out for 28 days, which is the same check-out period for an audiobook. Come into the library to check out a unit. You can reserve one on your account on the library website sblibraries.com. The units are in a handy carrying case, and instructions are included. The units were purchased with funds from the Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries (FSL).
Now that you have the option of borrowing a CD player, think about all the CDs that are available at the DesertView Library. The collection includes a lot of fiction titles and some very good nonfiction ones, too. They can be found in the last aisle on the right at DesertView. You can choose from over 1,000 titles!
Living in SaddleBrooke makes for longer trips to our destinations, and not just road vacations. With snowbirds back in town and road construction, your typical trip may take more time. A good CD may help you enjoy your journey about town, but always pay attention to where you are and how to get there!
Typically, a handful of CD titles arrive at the library every month. These audiobooks are chosen by their popularity, narration, positive reviews, cost, and/or timely availability. In the past quarter, we received Picoult’s By Any Other Name, Baldacci’s Calamity of Souls, Spark’s Counting Miracles, Atkins’ Don’t Let the Devil Ride, Crichton’s Eruption, Rooney’s Intermezzo, Haig’s Life Impossible, Dave’s The Night We Lost Him, and Strout’s Tell Me Everything.
Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries provides the funding to purchase new books, DVDs, and audiobooks for the SaddleBrooke Community Libraries. If you are not a member of FSL, learn more at their website www.sbfsl.org.
Watch the roads, and listen as you go. Happy and safe travels!