Accomplishments

Since its founding in 1998, the Walnut Creek Library Foundation has raised more than $1,800,000 for new and improved library facilities, collections, programs and services for both the Walnut Creek Downtown and Ygnacio Valley libraries.

The following is a brief summary of just a few of our accomplishments, made possible by the generosity of individual and business donors.

• Ygnacio Valley Library Improvements (2004)
  
• Downtown Library Capital and Endowment Campaign (2006)
• One City, One Book: Walnut Creek Reads (2006, 2007)
• Live! From The Library (current)
  
• Summer Children’s Reading Program (since 2003)
  
• Women of California History Collection (1999)
  
• David N. Bortin Classical Music Collection (in progress)
  
• Jerry Miller Opera Collection (in progress)
  
• Ann Shelton Fund for the Celebration of Books and Reading
  (in progress)

Ygnacio Valley Library Improvements (2004)

For the Ygnacio Valley Library (also known as the Thurman G. Casey Library), the Walnut Creek Library Foundation raised more than $180,000 to redesign the entrance and checkout areas, seismically brace shelving, expand computer access throughout the building, and replace carpeting and upholstery. These changes have made this 30-year-old library “new” again. Read more about the project . . .

Women of California History Collection (1999)

The Women of California History Collection, available at both libraries, comprises books purchased with a $5,000 gift from the Walnut Creek Women's Club, made by the club when it disbanded in 1999. Among its many volumes, the collection includes the following:

• A Frontier Lady: Recollections of the Gold Rush and Early California by Sarah Royce
• Migrant Daughter: Coming of Age as a Mexican-American Woman by Frances Tywoniak
• The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods by Julia Butterfly Hill

The Walnut Creek Women's Club also donated $100,000 toward the new Walnut Creek Downtown Library. Learn more about ways to
give . . .