Bernice Christian, Sharon Scanlan, and Janet Fabio
This is probably not a question many of you have pondered over the years. Folks have just taken for granted that somehow three distinct libraries have been established here. To understand, we have to go back a bit in SaddleBrooke history. In about 1989, a “comfy cozy” room in the SaddleBrooke Clubhouse was used as a gathering spot for residents. Some forward-looking ladies felt it might be appropriate to get some bookshelves there and make donated books available for the patrons who would like to have a book or two without buying or going (all the way out) to Oracle or the Pima County Library. Well, that led to more donations, book sales to raise funds to buy books, and garages being warehouses for the donated books. Eventually, the room was officially designated a library and later expanded to include another room and workspace.
When the MountainView Clubhouse in SaddleBrooke TWO was built, again a “comfy cozy” room with some decorative books was turned into a small library with books donated by residents. When the clubhouse was remodeled in 2013, the library was moved to a different room. Since space was very limited, library management decided that it was not large enough to staff, but we wanted to make the books accessible and not have to lock up the library to secure the books or a computer for checking them out. So, we kept the honor system, and the library is stocked with donated books, along with some books that have been removed from the other two libraries. The exception is that large print books are purchased, as they are so popular, and we seldom receive donations of large print books. Residents love being able to stop in the library when they are in the clubhouse and not have to worry about due dates!
When the DesertView building was being planned, management recognized the need for a larger and more secure space for the popular and growing library system. DesertView Library opened in 2005 with a lot of empty shelves and a plea to join the recently formed Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries to help fill the shelves. Their fundraising endeavors, through memberships and events, made it possible to buy new books, audiobooks, and videos. The DesertView space includes a much-needed workroom for processing, cataloging, and repairing books and AV materials. When it’s not staffed, the DesertView Library is locked to secure the large video and audiobook collections, along with thousands of books.
While the libraries share one online catalog, and all offer fiction, nonfiction, and large print books, there are special collections in the two larger libraries. SaddleBrooke One has the local author and Pulitzer Prize collections. DesertView has the Southwest, national parks, travel, and genealogy collections. DesertView also has children’s books and videos for your grandkids when they visit.
Your phone number is all you need to open an account to check out items. We don’t use homeowner cards. Our libraries are not part of the public library system, since we are on private land and operate as amenities of the two HOAs. The wait lists are much shorter for new books than at the public library, and you have the convenience of using libraries that are close to home. It’s very important, and much appreciated by our volunteers, that you return items to the library from which they were taken, since there is no courier service between libraries.
Our HOAs provide the space, maintenance, tech support, funding for the online catalog system, and basic supplies, but almost all the resources you see on the shelves were purchased with grant funds from Friends of the SaddleBrooke Libraries (FSL). This funding enables the libraries to purchase the latest books, audiobooks, and DVDs each month, and that distinguishes our libraries from those found in most other retirement communities. If you aren’t a member of FSL, please consider joining at www.sbfsl.org.
For more information about our libraries and answers to many frequently asked questions, visit the library website at www.sblibraries.com.