Sun City Vistoso Library

How did Sun City Library evolve? In 1988 a group of dedicated residents who saw a need for such a service in the community started the library with a set of cookbooks and 35 paperback books. It all began in what is now the gift shop. During the next 20 years the library has been in 5 locations, the last being in the Vistoso Center. Today there are approximately 20,000 items in the collection including hardcover fiction and non-fiction books, paperbacks, audios and videos, reference books, magazines and puzzles and the largest selection of large print books in the area (something we're very proud of). We also have a children's corner and a space dedicated to Sun City Authors.

How does the volunteer system work?

Approximately 50 volunteers operate the library and work in excess of 400 hours per month. We maintain a list of residents who have expressed an interest in volunteering in the library (20-25 people on average). They are called and trained when the need arises. Some volunteers have additional responsibilities such as computer data
entry of new items, card catalog upkeep, preparation of items for shelving (labels, book covers, etc.), paperback processing, scheduling, computer trouble-shooting, creation of graphics, forms and documents, and book, audio and video repair.

How do we decide what items to acquire and add to the collection?

By keeping abreast of the new market timelines, spending lots of hours in the library - listening to book chatter among residents - learning reading habits of our residents - always watching the readership of books on the shelves, maintaining a "wish list" of residents' requests.

When do we remove items from the shelf?

We have a system. Fiction books remain on the shelf for one year non-fiction - two years with some exceptions. After this period of time has passed and if the book has not been read in this time frame, it is removed and either sold or passed on to other libraries such as: Cochise County library system, Oro Valley Library, VA Hospital, and Soldier's.com. Puzzles and games go to the Boy's School/Detention Center in Catalina. We have also recently begun sending films, games, and some books to Brewster
House.

What percentage of items is donated?

This is a hard one - books continue to be donated on
a daily basis but some are accumulated over many months. In order to have current best sellers on our shelves, our practice is to purchase the first copy and maybe the second one. We have often been able to acquire additional copies by a trade system with Bookman's - in most cases these books are half price and in new condition (they give us an additional 20% discount because we are a library). Residents' copies are used to add to our shelves, use as a trade-out item (where an item already on the shelf is replaced by one in better condition), or
taken to Bookman's for trade and, finally, we might sell them in book sales or pass them on to a group mentioned previously. Almost all paperbacks, magazines and puzzles are donated.Bottom line is that residents support the library totally - either by donating items that are used on our shelves as a new item or as a replacement, traded or sold. They may also use the donation box on the desk or make individual monetary donations during any fiscal year.

We cannot exclude our Friends of the Library organization, also begun by a group of residents who saw a need. It was formed in 2001 and since that time they have sponsored fund raising programs with the annual Book and Author Luncheon, a fine arts raffle, a two-person play, a poetry reading, two musical programs and in the last two years have sponsored free events for the community (two in 2007 and two in 2008). Our plan is to continue these programs as our way of giving back to the community. Membership in the Friends of Library exceeded all expectations this fiscal year surpassing our goal of 500 members (526 at last count, a new record). The friends have been able to deposit substantial funds into the library operating account at the beginning of each fiscal year, recently purchased a new computer, printer and inventory program, replaced window coverings in the library office & library proper and in the lobby adjacent to the library with permanent wooden plantation shutters that are the envy of
homeowners. They honored our volunteers in March 2007 with a day at the Phoenix Art Museum.

Do we have any problem areas?

I guess you could say we do - mostly in the usage and care
of DVD/CDs. Ninety-five percent of our movies are purchased and are greatly abused because of the volume of use - movies are scratched beyond repair although we do have a machine that
will resurface about four out of five, some are cracked in an attempt to get them out of the cases, some cases are damaged. It's often difficult to ascertain who did the damage and who is responsible for replacement. This problem is eating into our budget. As a way to cover these losses, beginning April 1 we will be charging a fee for the use of DVDs. Either one, two, or three DVDs will cost $1.00. In case you think we will make lots of money, you are wrong. If 90 DVD's are checked out on any one day (most residents take three at one time), fees would only amount to $30. One DVD (at discount) averages $20. We remove damaged DVD/movies from our system every week. We have had only one negative response to this new program since we began letting our residents know about it in mid-February. Oro Valley Library has a new sticker on their DVDs which say - you ruin it, you own it! This is difficult for us to enforce because our volunteer work is spread over 11 shifts per week with different people on each shift.