Affordable books are hard to come by, let alone affordable books written in Spanish.
But Kathleen Gabel and the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library are determined to make sure that families have access to books in their native language.
“Our mission is to also support literacy and reading,” said Gabel, president of the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library. “We have an 80 percent [Hispanic] population, but we didn’t have any Spanish books to hand out.”
To bring Spanish books to the community at a reasonable price, the Friends of the Santa Maria Library received a $1,000 grant to purchase books and launched a donation drive in partnership with several Hispanic-owned businesses across the city. Gabel’s goal is to collect as many donations as possible before their Christmas rush to have Spanish books available ahead of the holiday season.
“I love trying to support our community. It’s at least 80 percent Hispanic people, and that’s why we’re here—it’s to support their reading as well as everyone else’s,” Gabel said.
The Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library is a nonprofit organization that provides resources and books and supports programs at Santa Maria’s main branch through fundraisers and donations throughout the year. Alongside the support to the library, the nonprofit operates a used bookstore to help promote literacy and reading.
The bookstore first opened its doors in 1983 inside the main branch and has since moved to a location in the Santa Maria mall. Books start at $1, with the most expensive books typically costing $8, except for collector’s items or rare books, Gabel said.
“We have great donations from the community; we’re Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library, but we get our books from the community—not the library—to sell,” Gabel said.
The Friends received the $1,000 grant to buy Spanish books, and the group went to Gavin’s books—a fellow used book store where Gabel “cleared his shelf” of Spanish books. She also went to the Mexican Consulate in Santa Maria, which provided many educational books for kids in kindergarten to sixth grade, but she needs novels or nonfiction books, too.
“I’m pretty sure Barnes and Noble has Spanish books, but I can’t afford those, nor is that the point,” Gabel said. “It’s hard for the community to find them, and that’s why it’s hard to receive donations because once you find them, it’s hard to give [them] up.”
Kevin’s Jewelers in the Santa Maria Mall; Tony Cravello Insurance and Financial Solutions in the Santa Maria Inn office section; Hacienda Realty on Jones Street; and the U.S. Bank on South Broadway are the participating businesses collecting Spanish books.
The Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library bookstore is in the Santa Maria Town Center mall, on the second floor across from Sky Zone. Visit fsmpl.org to financially contribute; call (805) 925-7116 for more information.
Highlights
• Santa Barbara County is collecting donations for Toys for Tots in the Joseph Centeno Betteravia Government Administration Building (511 East Lakeside Parkway) or at any county fire station. All toys collected through the campaign will stay in the community and be distributed to low-income families through the Unity Shoppe—a Santa Barbara nonprofit dedicated to providing free essential services to residents impacted by poverty, natural disasters, or health crises. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will present Toys for Tots with its donations of toys during the Dec. 3 meeting in Santa Maria. The boxes will be picked up on Dec. 19. Toys can be dropped off anytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., seven days a week. Visit countyofsb.org for more information or visit unityshoppe.org to learn more about the nonprofit.
• Santa Maria water customers are invited to a free distribution event at the Recycling Park at the Santa Maria Landfill, 2065 East Main St., on Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The Utilities Department is offering fats, oils, and grease (FOG) trappers and other related complimentary items. The FOG trappers are ideal for safely disposing of fats, oils, and grease used in the kitchen. This promotion helps to encourage and remind residents to never put FOG down the drain because those substances clog pipes and back up sewer lines. City customer verification is required. To ensure safe traffic flow, access to the distribution booth will only be possible after entering the landfill site via the scale house. Direct questions to (805) 925-0951, Ext. 7270.
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 8, 2024.
