General Information

The Friends of the Library of the Santa Ynez Valley was incorporated in 1994 as a 501)c)(3) to support and promote the programs and function of our library. As with similar organizations affiliated with other libraries, it is the Friends’ mission “to increase public awareness of library services and to stimulate the expansion of the library’s collections, facilities and services to meet the needs of the community.”

The library which serves this part of the Santa Ynez Valley with its main facility in the County building on Mission Drive is a branch of the Santa Barbara Public Library with “twigs” in Santa Ynez and Los Olivos. The basic administrative costs of the library are shared by the County of Santa Barbara and the City of Solvang in a ratio that is roughly proportional to the populations served. Since the competing demands of public funding require balance in the financial commitments of governmental agencies, there are always going to be monetary shortfalls to meet the needs of our libraries.

The Friends raises money annually through a membership drive, grant solicitation and annual gifts. The Board acts as a volunteer body with no executive director so that every contributed dollar goes to the Valley libraries.

Friends recent accomplishments:

• Funding for young people’s programs - including the summer

reading programs and the teen writers’ workshop

• Finance of a part time coordinator to provide coverage that

maximizes volunteer efforts

• Purchase of three computers and wireless service to provide

access for seniors teens and tourists to the Internet

• Purchase of a digital camera and screen for library programs

• Provided funds to open the library on Mondays when

governmental financial support was insufficient

• Supplement the library’s collection of books, tapes and other

materials