Tag archives: libraries

Looking SBIFF-y as the Festival Nears
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 27, 2026

With the start of the 41st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival less than two weeks away as this issue hits newsstands, you’d think the folks over at SBIFF might be a little bit too busy to be booking special screenings. Nope. On January 29, a mere six days from opening night, the Riviera Theatre […]

Executive Order Targets Libraries
By Montecito Journal   |   April 15, 2025

On March 14th, the Senate passed a continuing resolution for fiscal year 2025, providing funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through September 2025. On the evening of March 14th, President Trump then ordered that the IMLS – the singular federal agency dedicated to funding library services – “be eliminated to the […]

Book to Action
By Kim Crail   |   April 11, 2023

Each year, Santa Barbara Public Library chooses a social topic of interest or challenge that the community is facing and develops a series of programs to explore potential solutions. Through selected readings, presentations, and community engagement, the library hopes to inspire action in the community to improve lives and invest in a more sustainable future. […]

An Eventful May
By Kim Crail   |   May 10, 2022

We’re having an eventful May at the Montecito Library. Check our calendar at SBPLibrary.org or come by to see what’s happening! Watershed Classes for K-6 with Explore Ecology Have you ever wondered where the water goes when it rains? In this lesson series, students will learn how water moves across the land and what can […]

Library Friends: They’ll Be There for You
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 3, 2022

It’s not hard to get a clear picture of the breadth of the age range served by the Montecito Library. Take a look at the events tab on the Friends of the Montecito Library website and you’ll find Italian Conversation, Knit ‘n’ Needle, Poetry Club, Spanish Conversation, Pre-School Story Time, and a New Yorker Discussion […]

Stay and Play
By Kim Crail   |   March 8, 2022

Spring is almost here and the Montecito Library is keen to bring back some weekly programs for younger children! Our answer? Stay and Play, an outdoor opportunity for little ones to play and their grownups to chill. No rushing to get anywhere at a certain time or abrupt transitions, just a wide window of time […]

Gather, Learn, Grow
By Lynda Millner   |   December 28, 2021

“A library outranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never-failing spring in the desert.” – Andrew Carnegie In case you think libraries are not exciting or boring, wrong. A group of donors and patrons recently gathered in the Faulkner Gallery for cocktails, moving on to the Santa […]

Welcome Back!
By Kim Crail   |   January 28, 2021

We now offer limited indoor browsing for our patrons, one household at a time. We will admit that staff were wary about this. We have been pleasantly surprised by how cooperative and respectful people have been with our new procedures. “Grab-n-Go” is offered Tuesdays from 2 pm to 5 pm and Thursdays from 10 am […]

The Future of Montecito Library
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   September 10, 2020

Next Monday, September 14, the City of Carpinteria’s Ad Hoc Library Committee and Working Group will make a presentation to the Carpinteria City Council, which could impact funding and management options for both Carpinteria and Montecito libraries. In response to a Request for Qualifications for Library Consulting Services by the City of Carpinteria issued last […]

Harry and The Potters 2019 Library Tour Hits SB
By Joanne A Calitri   |   August 1, 2019

Millennial Massachusetts-born brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge, the Harry and The Potters band, arrived at the Santa Barbara Public Library on Saturday, July 27, on their whirlwind U.S. Summer Tour, and part of the library’s annual Harry Potter birthday celebrations for literacy. The band’s gigs are at all major libraries and clubs, and the next […]