HISTORY

Garfield Park Branch before 1995

The Garfield Park Branch was an historic structure long before the implementation of the grant for young adult services began in 1995. It was constructed as a Carnegie Library in 1915, as a branch to serve the growing neighborhoods of the Westside of Santa Cruz. At 1450 square feet, it was small yet substantial: stucco exterior, oak doors, a tiled fireplace, and the air of a neighborhood institution of civic importance.

For much of the building's history, it was open only three days a week for a total of twelve hours. Beginning in January 1962, the increased population and demand for services led to increased hours, and the branch was renovated and opened for five days a week. The staff consisted of one person, and had a reputation as a "kid-friendly" place throughout the 1960's and 1970's. Many parents of today's young adults fondly remember the two women who, one after the other, ran the building for most of the period from 1955 to 1980.

With the 1978 passage of California's property tax-cutting measure, Proposition 13, and the resulting major reductions in public library service, the Garfield Park Branch was closed. Only after vigorous local effort was it reopened at a greatly reduced schedule--a three day week and fourteen open hours.

But more important, the library lost its reputation as a friendly place. As the staff struggled with the frustrations of limited budget, it became dark and dusty, and local children were not encouraged to visit. Many residents remember being "shushed" for making noise in the building. There are those who like quiet, dusty, quaint libraries, but this one did not serve many people. Nor was it a place that would encourage the numerous young people on the Westside to think that libraries were important to them, or that they were places able to offer information or even access to the wider world.

In 1993, when the next round of budget cuts hit the Santa Cruz public libraries, the staff decided to take a different approach. Instead of trying to serve all age groups from a too-small building open only fourteen hours a week, it would target the neighborhood's neediest group. It would experiment with offering young adult services as a means for breathing life into a neglected and under-used library.