Fontana Branch Library prepares to expand

Printed in Fontana Community Connection Newsletter, March 2007

The Fontana Branch Library, operated by the San Bernardino County Library, is going through some major changes as preparations take place to move from the current facility to the new 92,500 square foot Library and Resource/Technology Center currently under construction in downtown Fontana.  

As part of those changes, the County Library has hired a new branch manager, a youth services manager and several part-time staff. Interviews for children’s and young adult librarians are also underway. This is the initial step towards creating a more departmentalized library with staff as experts in specific areas and functions of the library.  

New branch manager, Leonard Hernandez, is familiar with the County Library system, having embarked on his career as a young adult specialist with the San Bernardino County Library, coordinating volunteer and teen services at Chino and Chino Hills Branch Libraries. Hernandez served as branch manager at the Montclair Branch Library were he revitalized multiple programs, services, and outreach endeavors.  

“I feel a great sense of excitement and privilege working on the new Fontana Library. I know that this library is an amazing tool that will enrich and better people’s lives,” Hernandez said.   

Helen Fisher, youth services manager, is also no stranger to the area. Fisher started with San Bernardino County Library Administration as the Literacy Program coordinator and coordinated County-wide grant funded programs for adults and families. Fisher was also the branch manager of the Lake Arrowhead Branch Library where her hands-on approach resulted in innovative and creative programming for teens. Now in Fontana, Fisher is excited to bring more programming to the library and to serve the needs of the growing and diverse community.  

Hernandez and Fisher are already hard at work enhancing programming to respond to the changing needs of Fontana. The library recently re-vamped story times and they are now offered on Thursday afternoons at 4 pm. Additional weekly story times will be added throughout the next year as well as after school programs for teens and elementary aged students. Summer Reading Program 2007 will be the biggest program ever at the Fontana Library and will include performers like jugglers and magicians two times a week for families, craft programs for children once per week, and programs for teens once per week. In addition to the scheduled weekly programs children and teens will earn incentives for reading books. As the library moves forward the focus will be on more family programming and responding to the needs of the community.  

“We recently surveyed story time participants and the results indicated families would be more inclined to attend on Thursday afternoons. We made the change and the results are better than we anticipated with more than 30 children attending story time weekly,” said Fisher, calling attention to the fact that the desires of those that attend the library are the driving force behind the changes being made.  

What else do Fontana library-goers want to see? The answer is additional books and resources.  

The County Library is continuing to purchase new materials for Fontana residents including $15,000 of new Spanish materials and $50,000 in children’s and young adult materials. Many online resources are also available, such as live homework help where kids can connect online to a live tutor. The library subscribes to many databases including Science Online, American History Online, 24/7 reference and more.  

In addition to the Fontana Branch Library, San Bernardino County operates both the Kaiser Branch Library at Kaiser High School and the new Summit Branch Library at Summit High School.  

The Kaiser Branch Library houses an extensive collection of adult, young adult and children’s materials, which includes the materials of the Kaiser High School Library. Available to the public are fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, audio books, and educational and popular video cassettes and DVDs.  

Access to the library catalog of the San Bernardino County Library and the Riverside County Library systems is available from the 15 public computers at the Kaiser branch as well as from any computer at home with internet access. Residents have the ability to request titles from any library in both systems. Through the San Bernardino County Library’s Web Library, patrons can use online databases and links to internet sites to find answers to their questions, receive help with homework assignments, decide what to read next, check out electronic books, and more. The Kaiser Branch Library also offers families the opportunity to participate in story times for children, adult literacy programs, and to be a tutor or to volunteer in the library.  

The Summit Branch Library is a new facility located on the Summit High School campus in northern Fontana. The branch boasts a collection of more than 18,000 items that include books, DVDs, and audio material for the entire family. There are 16 computers available for the public to use that feature high speed Internet and provide access to the wealth of online reference resources the San Bernardino County Library provides. There is also regular children’s and young adult programming at the branch.  

Fontana, Summit, and Kaiser Branch Libraries have access to books throughout San Bernardino and Riverside County Libraries which means almost anything a patron is seeking can be found. The libraries offer a little bit of everything, from popular magazines and fiction, car repair manuals, music CDs, DVDs, and more.  

For more information about San Bernardino County libraries, visit www.sbcounty.gov/library or call the following libraries directly: 

Fontana Branch (909) 822-8330

Kaiser Branch (909) 357-5900 x8029

Summit Branch (909) 357-5950 x3024