About Us
2009-2010 Highlights
- Be an Informed Community Member: Local, National and World Affairs
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Community members will have the information they need to support and promote democracy, to fulfill their civic responsibilities at the local, state and national levels, to fully participate in community decision making, and to participate successfully in American life.
- The Pima County Public Library continues to strengthen partnerships with organizations to provide citizens with the information they need to participate in a democratic community.
- The League of Women Voters provided kiosks for voter information in libraries. In addition libraries throughout Pima County were sites for voters to provide identification to authenticate provisional ballots from the polls.
- Pima County Public Libraries provided space for Census 2010 information and intake locations for individuals who had not received census forms at their residence.
- Libraries throughout Pima County are inviting elected officials to participate in "Meet Me @ the Library" forums to provide public question and answer sessions.
- Create Young Readers: Early Literacy
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Children from birth to age five will have programs and services designed to ensure that they will enter school ready to learn to read, write, and listen.
- In partnership with MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS, Reading Seed, Pima County Public Library Adult Education, and the Pima County Public Library, the Reach the Parent, Teach the Child curriculum was developed. Reach the Parent, Teach the Child is a family-focused program built around reading, telling and talking about stories. The goal is to empower parents to actively engage their young children, ages 0-8, in activities that will develop and foster a love of reading.
- Partnership with The Parent Connection's Stay and Play program continued at seven branch libraries. Stay and Play promotes healthy cognitive and emotional development for children ages 8 months to 4 years and their parents or caregivers. Playgroup includes songs, games and play that promote language acquisition, social/emotional skills, motor skills, and intellectual growth.
- In partnership with MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS, Read to Me, Arizona! continued to provide free resources including community Family Read Aloud Nights, where families in low-income areas of Tucson and Southern Arizona learn effective read aloud practices; Blue Book Houses, which are located at various social service agencies and provide gently used books; and a new Web site, www.ReadToMeArizona.org , which contains a wealth of early literacy information and read aloud resources for families with young children
- Literacy for Success in Every Day Life: Adult, Teen and Family Literacy
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Adults and teens will have the support they need to improve their literacy skills in order to meet their personal goals and fulfill their responsibilities as parents, citizens, and workers.
- The Pima County Public Library provides opportunities for adults and teens to obtain the skills they need to succeed as parents, citizens and workers.
- All branches of the Pima County Public Library provide computer classes and many have "Job Days" to provide individuals with help in entering or re-entering the workforce. To that end, computer instructors were hired speaking 6 different languages to provide "Job Day" help to the many populations in our communities. In addition library page jobs were filled with youth workers from Pima County One-stop.
- Laptop mobile computer labs have been added to many library locations taking advantage of wireless access to provide increased availability the community.
- GED, ESL and Citizenship classes are being offered at many libraries throughout Pima County.
- Satisfy Curiosity: Lifelong Learning
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Residents will have the resources they need to explore topics of personal interest and continue to learn throughout their lives.
- Adult Services partnered with organizations to offer 154 programs and 172 computer classes for mature adults as part of the Fit for Life 50+ programs held at 21 libraries.
- There were 132 author and authorship programs offered at 23 libraries. Adult Services assisted libraries by identifying and working with authors and writing workshop presenters.
- PCPL partnered with the Tucson Festival of Books to promote participation in this community wide literary event. Information was shared with library customers and Pima County Employees as well as partner agencies and support groups. Over 80,000 people attended the event.
- Succeed in School: Homework Help
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Students will have the resources they need to succeed in school.
- For support for the Homework Help program, the Pima County Library Foundation received a $36,000 grant from the Angel Charities. The funds will go towards increasing the number of hours that tutors will be available to assist students with their educational needs.
- Virtual Library successfully created the www.Homeworkaz.org website to offer access to the library's databases without requiring a library card. All these homework resources are available to all members of the State of Arizona.
- Visit a Comfortable Place: Physical and Virtual Spaces
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Residents will have safe and welcoming physical spaces to meet and interact with others or to sit quietly and read and will have open and accessible virtual spaces to support networking.
- The Pima County Public Library is dedicated to making safe, welcoming and comfortable community gathering places.
- All branches of the Pima County Public Library have designated quiet times or spaces for individuals needing a quiet environment.
- Many libraries have spaces where individuals are allowed to have food and drink in the library - exemplified in the beautiful " Café " setting on the first floor of the Main Library.
- Pima County Public Libraries are designated "Safe Places" for children and youth in need of assistance.
