For those of us lucky enough to have a little extra time on our hands during quarantine season, now’s the perfect chance to pick up a new hobby. Sticking to that hobby, though—especially without the motivation that comes with having others around—can be challenging.
But the Santa Maria public library has just the solution to isolation woes: the Book Club over the Phone, a new take on Valley Reads, which is an in-person book club the library has hosted for years.
“It is attended by faithful participants, and we gather every fourth Tuesday of the month,” Library Technician Jose Gaytan told the Sun. “However, since the closures, we couldn’t meet for obvious reasons. My supervisor was watching a webinar, and one of them discussed virtual book clubs, and we thought that was a good idea. That’s where it was born.”
The first session of Book Club over the Phone will be held on May 5. Gaytan encouraged interested community members to email him their name and phone number at jgaytan@cityofsantamaria.org. Then, on May 5, Gaytan will set up a teleconference with all the phone numbers and lead a group book discussion.
Rather than picking one book for all club members to read and discuss, Gaytan said that the first meeting will center on a single genre: mystery novels. This way, participants will have more freedom to choose their book and, in turn, gain inspiration for their reading list from other book club callers.
The open-ended approach provides an opportunity for people to get in the habit of reading, even for those who aren’t avid readers. Gaytan emphasized that no one should feel intimidated by the book club, and offered some advice on how new readers can find books that suit them.
“The way I started reading was I thought about, ‘OK, what movies do I like to watch?’ A lot of them were science fiction, so then I fell in love with science fiction books,” he said. “My advice is to think of a type of movie that you like and then see if there’s a written genre based on or around that. You know how the old adage goes: ‘The book was better than the movie.’ I can attest that the book is definitely better than the movie.”
Book Club over the Phone isn’t the only option for reading while the library remains closed: Through the California State Library’s Zip Books program, Santa Maria Public Library also offers a doorstep delivery service.
“With patrons who are looking for a certain title that we might not have here, we can go ahead and order it through amazon.com,” Gaytan explained. “It has to be $50 or less if it’s a physical book or $75 or less if it’s an audio book, and then it goes directly to their home. Then they have 30 days to return the book.”
Patrons can call (805) 925-0994 to see if the book they want to read fits the Zip Books guidelines, or they can fill out a book request form on the city’s website. The library also has a wide collection of e-books and e-audiobooks that library cardholders can access even while the library remains closed. Even those who don’t have a library card can join the fun: sign up for an e-library card online.
Highlights
• Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV), a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit, launched a Quick Response Loan program on March 18. Within a month, WEV received 118 loan applications amounting to more than $1 million in funding requests. As of April 20, the nonprofit had approved 45 loans adding up to $362,500, 36 of which went to local small businesses. The loans are up to $10,000 each with a fixed interest rate that can be repaid over 36 months. Find more information about the loan program and other business resources at wevonline.org.
• Santa Maria’s Code Enforcement Division announced on April 22 that Pierce Chiropractic & Sports Injury Center was awarded the Code Officers Distinguished Excellence (CODE) Award. Operated through the city attorney’s office, the award intends to “recognize businesses that are making a positive contribution to the community,” according to the city. Located at 1415 East Main St. in Santa Maria, Pierce Chiropractic & Sports Injury Center was nominated “for its current efforts in implementing safe practices to stop the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to offer chiropractic services to the members of the community in the safest manner possible,” according to the release.
Staff Writer Malea Martin wrote this week’s Spotlight. Send tips to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 7, 2020.