Friends of the Chula Vista Library
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We Are the Friends

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Founded in 1968, the Friends of the Chula Vista Library is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the support of the Chula Vista Public Library and the Chula Vista Heritage Museum through advocacy, fundraising and volunteerism.

The Friends provide volunteers and financial assistance for many of the programs and services at the Civic Center, Otay Ranch  and South Chula Vista libraries as well as operations at the Museum. The Friends sponsor cultural events, underwrite summer reading programs for children and adults, and provide presentations to local schools and community groups.If you agree that our libraries and museum are a vital resource in our community, we invite you to join the Friends today.

Click here to learn more about the organization, its officers and goals.
Click here to download a copy of our newsletter, Among Friends.

Find us on Facebook!
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  • Welcome to our newest Friends
  •  Film Forum films at Civic Center
  • Woman of Year honors for CarmenRichardson 
  • These chairs have personality
  • S.T.E.A.M.
  • "Ribbons" for South Chula Vista's planter
  • Fill your life with music (for free)
  • 10 Easy Ways to Support Your Library

Adopt a Chair, Support Your Library

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Here's a great way to support the Chula Vista Public Library: Adopt a chair in the newly renovated Civic Center auditorium. When you make a $100 contribution to the Friends, we will acknowledge your gift with a plaque on the arm of one of the new chairs. And your tax-deductible donation will benefit library programs and services.
Click here to download the fund-raising flier. Click here to see the chairs that have already been named. And click here to reserve your chair today. (But hurry: There are only 66 seats available out of 154 seats!)

Save the Date for Bon Appetit 2018

The date for the 2018 Bon Appétit, the Chula Vista Public Library Foundation's annual fundraiser featuring food and beverages from local vendors and restaurants, is April 28, 2018.

The event will be held at Otay Ranch Town Center. In addition to a variety of tasting stations, the evening will feature music and live and silent auctions.

Free Family Museum Passes

​Check out the library's free family museum passes for adults and children. Each pass is good for a week, and is available for checkout to library cardholders at each library branch's Accounts Desk. They may also be reserved in advance via the library's website:www.chulavistalibrary.com 
 
The San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park, allows two adults and up to four children under the age of 18 to visit. It also gives visitors a 10% discount at The Museum Store, Bibliotique and Panama 66 Restaurant. 

The Living Coast Discovery Center, in the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, offers its pass for two adults and two children. 

The New Children's Museum, at 200 W. Island Ave, allows two adults and all children in the household to enter. 

The San Diego Museum of Man, located at 1350 El Prado in Balboa Park, offers admission to two adults and up to four children.

Museum Exhibit: Fronterizos: A History of the Spanish-Speaking People of the South Bay, San Diego is open

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Claudio Gonzales Luccero, his sisters and his mother (seated) Asuncion Lucero Cosio de Gonzales in La Paz, Baja California 1904. (Courtesy of Joaquin Blanco)
This exhibit presents an oral history of the Spanish speaking peoples of South Bay, San Diego, and sheds light on citizens’ contributions to the community.  This history focuses on the cultural heritage of the majority of residents in this region.  The South Bay will be seen within the larger context of Mexican-American history, including: the Portolá Expedition, the land grants to the first families, the great immigration during the Mexican Revolution, the Otay Valley farmers and labor strikes, jockeys and card dealers during Prohibition days, contributions of service members, and the Chicano Movement of the 1970s and 1980s.  The museum exhibit, catalog book and website will highlight historical achievements of Latinos in education, politics, art, sports and community activism. 
   The exhibit runs through early January, 2019.

​   The exhibit is funded by the Local Heritage Museum Chapter of the Friends of the Chula Vista Library and a Community Enhancement Program Grant, via Supervisor Greg Cox, from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Need a Gift? It's in the Bag!

Looking for the perfect gift for your intelligent, discerning, book-loving friends and relatives? You can demonstrate that you are equally intelligent and discerning by giving a membership to the Friends of the Chula Vista Library. One-year memberships are available for as little as $10. But when you choose a membership at the $25 Sponsor level or above we’ll even toss in a bright red FCVL book bag and Friends stylus pen. You will get a coupon that is redeemable at the Friends bookstore for the bag and pen.

Click here to make your donation through our secure website. Or download a form you can print and send us with your check. Either way, your gift is  a tax-deductible donation to the Friends and the perfect way to support the library programs you love.
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Already a Friend? You will receive a bag, too, when you renew at the $50 Patron level or above any time during 2018. Thank you! (11/15/15)

And As Long As You're Shopping . . .

You can support the Friends when you shop online, any time of the year. Simply visit the Amazon Smile website next time you shop on Amazon. Your account settings (and those Amazon prices) are the same, but purchases through the Smile site merit a 0.5 percent donation to the charity of your choice. On your first visit, select the Friends of the Chula Vista Library as your charity and then shop as usual, knowing that your shopping spree is helping to fund the library programs and services you love. (Of course, you can still donate to the Friends by sending us a good old-fashioned check or clicking on our Donate button. The library gets 100 percent of that gift!) (12/10/15)

Annual Report Highlights Library Achievements

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From traditional activities like the Summer Reading Program to high-tech innovations like Zinio and Tutor.com, the Chula Vista Public Library continued to make great strides in meeting the needs of the community during the past fiscal year.

Some highlights:
  • 2,925 participants in the Paws to Read Summer Reading Program;
  • 149,434 Internet/computer sessions;
  • 9 kindergarten Boot Camps to prepare children for school; and
  • 160 hours opening hours each week!
Click here to download the full report. 

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten

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The Chula Vista Public Library has joined the  "1,000 Books Before Kindergarten" initiative, which encourages parents to read at least 1,000 books to their children by age 5. Children who are read to regularly have an easier time learning to read and achieve a higher level of success throughout their school careers. 


​REAL Card for Kindergarteners and 1st Graders

All kindergarten and first graders in Chula Vista got a special Chula Vista Public Library card in their in enrollment packets. It is called the REAL Card. They can use their REAL card at any Chula Vista Public Library to get started. Children can take home two library books for free. When they bring them back, they can borrow two more. There are no ­fines, no fees. No parent registration or signature is required. Their card is good through 6th grade.  They can get books and look at Tumblebooks programs online and more!  The Friends of the Library are funding $10,000 for new books and materials for this effort.
 
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You're Among Friends . . .

To read more about the Friends, download an issue of our  newsletter, Among Friends.
Click below to download our latest issue.
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Summer 2017
Winter 2017
​Fall 2016

​Winter 2016
Fall 2015

Spring 2015
Winter 2015
Summer 2014
Spring 2014
Fall 2013
Summer 2013

Spring 2013
Winter 2012
Summer 2012
Spring 2012
Fall 2011
Summer 2011
Spring 2011
Winter 2011

Friends Wanted

Do you know someone who would be a good Friend? Spread the word by downloading a copy of our membership brochure.
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Last updated 3/9/16
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