This is a continuation of “spotlighting” areas of the SaddleBrooke Library system you may not be aware of. Our three-library system has a lot to offer residents of SaddleBrooke and is supported financially by Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries. Through your membership and donations, the libraries are able to offer residents a wide range of books, DVDs, audiobooks, and magazines. If you have not already joined, please go to sbfsl.org/become-a-member for more information on the benefits of becoming a Friend of SaddleBrooke Libraries.
The Southwest Collection
In addition to all of her other responsibilities as director of SaddleBrooke Community Libraries, Janet Fabio is also the book buyer and overseer of all three of these collections. In speaking with her recently, Janet told me that the Southwest Collection was started shortly after the DesertView Library opened in 2005. It was Janet’s personal interest in gardening and hiking that was the impetus for this collection. As a recent new resident herself, she felt other new residents would want to know more about all things Southwest.
Besides information on desert plants and gardening, you can find the following information:
• What to do and see in the Tucson area
• History of the Southwest
• Hiking guidebooks for Tucson and most of Arizona
• Local flora and fauna
• Native American arts
The National Parks Collection
This collection was started around 2015 when Friends of Saddlebrook Libraries received a generous memorial bequest from Belle Law, a former DesertView Library volunteer. The National Parks theme seemed “natural,” as the centennial of the founding of the National Parks system was coming up in 2016. Janet started purchasing books focused on the national parks in Belle Law’s memory and started the collection, which resides in the DesertView Library.
All of the books in the collection are nonfiction. There are a variety of books that cover all of the U.S. national parks, including monuments, battlefields, etc. This is the only collection where you will find coffee table-type books filled with great photographs of the parks.
Since Arizona has the Grand Canyon, it is a major focus of the collection. Several coffee table books that will give you a visual guide via fantastic photography of this natural wonder. You can also find books about the history of the Grand Canyon National Park, including Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon, which contains many gripping accounts of all known fatal mishaps. Janet told me this book is so popular that she had to buy a replacement copy recently.
The Travel Collection
This is the newest of the three collections at DesertView Library, and it was started around 2017. Janet had wanted to start such a collection but found it to be a big challenge. If you include travel guides, they go out of date quickly, and it is expensive to keep buying the latest ones. You would want to include places that SaddleBrooke residents may want to see, but how would that be accomplished?
Initially, the library encouraged residents to donate travel books they no longer needed to give them a sense of where folks were going. From that knowledge, Janet started buying books that would help residents in travel planning. Today you can find books from world travel to certain countries and then to well-known cities within those countries. Planning on going to Paris? There is a great book focused on the history and culture of Paris, rather than on where to eat and sleep. Janet says they continue to listen to what library patrons are asking for to update the collection. They must have hit on the right combination, as usage of the Travel Collection continues to rise.
All three collections can be found in the rear of the DesertView Library against the window wall. Why not go in today and check out this great collection? This will help us answer the question, #How Do You Like Us Now?