Riverside_County_Library_System Knowpia

Riverside County Library System
Riverside County Library System
	LocationLibrary Management Offices5840 Mission Blvd.Riverside, California 92509, USA951-369-3003Fax 951-369-6801Hours: M-F 8-5Established1911Branches35, 2 museums and 2 resource vansCollectionSize1,550,173 books and periodicals52,742 audio materials (CDs, audiobooks)23,731 video items (DVDs and VHS tapes)Access and useCirculation3,464,547 items42% are children's materials3,170,424 visits/year127,717 program attendance/yearPopulation served1,094,681Other informationDirectorBarbara Howison (Director and County Librarian)Employees214 (FTEs)31 ALA-accredited librariansWebsitewww.rivlib.net

The Riverside County Library System (RCLS), located in Riverside County, California, United States, is a public library system composed of 35 libraries, two museums and two mobile resource vans. The RCLS is a member of the Inland Library Network.^[1] It is the first library system in the nation that turned over its entire operation to a private company.^[2]

Management edit

Prior to July 1997, the Riverside County public libraries were managed by the city of Riverside, California. When property tax money was diverted from libraries to schools in the early 1990s, the library system began to experience cut in hours, dwindling collections, and staff lay-offs. In July 1997, the County hired Library Systems and Services, Inc., located in Germantown, Maryland to operate its sprawling public library system. All library employees, except for the county librarian, janitorial service, and landscape maintenance, work for the private company.^[3] LS&S divided the library system into three districts, increased hours within each district and added staff.^[2] For its success, the RCLS Management Outsourcing Program became the 1998 National Council for Public-Private Partnerships Project Award Winner.^[4]

Services edit

RCLS operates several in-demand literacy services including Adult Literacy, English as a Second Language, and Digital Literacy.
An extensive digital resources catalogue including career building tools, homework help and e-resources.
All library locations offer printing services to community members
All library locations offer free Wi-Fi and computer access. Wi-Fi hotspots and Chromebooks are also available for loan from all branches including the mobile resource vans.
Project Connect Now supports social work programs for the at-risk and homeless population of Riverside, including the "Lawyers in the Library" program which brings free legal aid to those in need.
Through grant funding from the California State Library and partnerships with local school districts, "Lunch at the Library" provides a free lunch for all those under 18 during the summer.
With funding from the California State Library and California State Parks, library card holders can now check out a park pass to bring their family to any of the hundreds of state parks throughout California
The Riverside County Library System is co-recipient of the Raul and Estella Mora Award for its annual promotion of Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros.
The program earned the library a John Cotton Dana Award in 2005.^[5] for the outreach program Leer Es Triunfar (Reading Is Succeeding), an outreach program for the system's Spanish language readers.
The Riverside County Library was chosen by the Association for Library Services to Children as the site of the 2010 Arbuthnot Lecture, featuring Kathleen T. Horning.

Retrospective edit

In November 2007, RCLS sponsored a retrospective exhibit of photographs portraying 125 years of Riverside County library history, "The Libraries of Riverside County: A Millennium of Service" in the lobby of the UC Riverside Science Library as well as traveling over 250 miles throughout the county. The exhibit was viewed by over 275,000 people during its year long exhibition. It commemorated public, private, academic, medical and tribal libraries in Riverside County.^[6] In 2022, the System celebrates 25 years since the merger with LS&S.

Members edit

Library Connect Mobile Resource Vans edit

Desert Resource Van
Western Resource Van

Libraries edit

Anza Valley Community Library
Cabazon Library
Calimesa Library
Canyon Lake Branch Library
Cathedral City Branch Library
Coachella Branch Library
Desert Hot Springs Library
Eastvale Library
El Cerrito Library
French Valley Library
Glen Avon Branch Library
Grace Mellman Community Library
Highgrove Branch Library
Home Gardens Library
Idyllwild Branch Library
Indio Library
La Quinta Library
Lake Elsinore Library
Lake Tamarisk Library
Lakeside Branch Library
Louis Robidoux Branch Library
Mead Valley Library
Mecca Library
Menifee Library
Norco Branch Library
Nuview Branch Library
Palm Desert Public Library
Perris Library
San Jacinto Branch Library
Sun City Branch Library
Ronald H. Roberts Temecula Public Library
Thousand Palms Library
Valle Vista Library
Wildomar Library
Woodcrest Community Library

Museums edit

Edward Dean Museum
La Quinta Museum

References edit

^ "Riverside County Library System". Your Electronic Library on the Web. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
^ ^a ^b "One Year Later: Private Management in Riverside Co., CA". School Library Journal. 1998-07-01. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
^ Oder, Norman (2004-10-01). "More on LSSI". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
^ "RIVERSIDE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM MANAGEMENT OUTSOURCING PROGRAM". ncppp.org. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
^ "2005 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Winners". John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Winners. EBSCOHost.
^ "Exhibit Honors History of Riverside County Libraries". Office of Strategic Communications, University of California. 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2008-06-15.