Connecting the dots, learning colors, and solving jigsaw puzzles are some of the activities kids now have access to on bilingual learning computers at the Santa Maria Public Library. The computers provide safe, engaging educational content for ages 2 to 12.
Set up in the children’s area on the first level of the library at 421 S. McClelland St. in Santa Maria, visitors are already using the two preschool-level computers, which were donated by Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library. The library ordered two more computers for kindergarten to eighth grade students. The devices are equipped with learning games in subjects like English, math, geography, and science.
Kathleen Gabel, the nonprofit’s president, started volunteering in 2021 after she saw the storefront in the mall reopen after the pandemic.
“I turned around and there’s this used bookstore, and it was titled Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library,” Gabel said. “And I said, ‘Oh, I could do that.’”
In addition to selling used books, the organization raises money to provide materials and programs from the library’s wish list. Its goal is to encourage reading in the community and the growth of the public library.
“I really enjoy serving our Santa Maria community,” Gabel said.
However, in recent years, the shop was struggling to stay afloat. Volunteers were limited, hours were inconsistent, and the bookstore was losing money. Gabel wanted to change that.
She asked the board to open the library shop on Sundays to cater to people who work during the week. With the help of local farms’ donations and new high school volunteers, it was successful.
“The farms are supporting my objective to be open for their employees on Sundays,” Gabel said. “I know when I worked full time that was when we shopped for fun.”
Promoting reading is important for the community because “children that read become adults that think,” Gabel said. She remembers visiting her local library with her siblings to do homework when she was a kid.
“It was such a great resource for our large family,” she said, “and so I love providing the resources to our community.”
The Friends has raised money and received grants totaling more than $32,000 for the Santa Maria library in 2025, Gabel said. To supply the computers, the nonprofit received a $9,600 grant from the Edwin and Jeanne Woods Family Foundation. Friends also contributed $7,000 of its own funds toward the project.
Fundraisers and book sale events are part of the organization’s activity in the community, too. Earlier this year the nonprofit hosted a barbecue event, a painted chair raffle, and a mah-jongg fundraiser, Gabel said. Coming up in December is a book sale that’ll take place in the Santa Maria Library.
“We’ll schlep all our books over there,” Gabel said with a laugh. “We haven’t had that large of [a sale] in four years.”
Memberships are also available for Friends’ bookstore. Individuals pay $10 per year and families pay $15 for a free book every month worth up to $3.
Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library is located on the second floor of the Santa Maria Town Center East mall. The bookstore is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Call (805) 925-7116 with questions, and visit fsmpl.org for membership details.
Highlights
• The men’s basketball program at Allan Hancock College is hosting Frightmare Forest, a haunted maze, to fundraise for the team. The 3-acre maze runs through the college’s basketball and softball complex next to the vineyard at 800 S. College Drive in Santa Maria. Take part in the scares from 7 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 24 to 26 and on Halloween night. Tickets cost $15 per person and are available on-site or at ahcbulldogs.com/ticketing.
• Join in on family-friendly fun full of trick-or-treating, spooky experiments, and festive games at the Children’s Resource and Referral Discovery Museum’s Boo-seum Bash. Admission is free to the event, which will last from 2 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31. The museum is located at 705 S. McClelland St. in Santa Maria.
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 16 – Oct 23, 2025.