More Than Books: What It Means to Be a Librarian in Walnut Creek

The New York Times recently asked librarians across the US what it means to be a librarian today. In summary, they wrote: “Because all libraries are archives of longing: places to imagine, to investigate, to escape, they’re where the information is. They’re where people can go to dream, to plan, to think and above all to learn. Librarians make that possible.”

We asked Addie Spanbock, Senior Community Library Manager at Walnut Creek, and Alexandra Birnbach, the Community Library Manager at Ygnacio Valley, the same questions. Here is what they told us:

What does it mean to be a librarian in the United States right now?
It’s about welcoming people and building trust
The librarian’s core job is making everyone who contacts the library, in person, by email, or by phone, feel welcome, seen, and part of the community. Once that trust exists, librarians can connect patrons with what they need, whether that’s information and research help, entertainment, learning, or a safe place for their kids. The library serves people from all backgrounds and lived experiences. It’s essential to respect those differences.

It means protecting access to information
Libraries operate amid challenges like threats to intellectual freedom, barriers to technology and literacy, political division, disinformation, racial injustice, and social isolation. Librarians help care for the community and protect people’s civil rights.

It involves ensuring there are multiple ways to deliver access
Libraries and librarians remove barriers to learning and connection in four main ways: access to technology, diverse collections and resources, literacy programs for all ages, and cultural programming.

What do you want the public to know about running a library?
The job is dynamic, unpredictable, and far bigger than books. Library management is less about administering a collection and more about supporting people and holding together a complex, ever-changing community ecosystem, which demands flexibility, empathy, and collaboration.

People come first
Running a library takes a team from the library staff, fellow managers, and leadership, to partnerships with city agencies, community organizations, and the Friends and Foundation groups. It’s paramount that we all work together, listen to community members, whether that’s addressing issues, responding to crises, or simply helping out.

What challenges do libraries face today?
Book banning and threats to intellectual freedom are top of mind. However, the most immediate challenge is that many people don’t think of the Library, or, if they do, they don’t think it has anything to offer them. Libraries are constantly working to become more visible to the community, to become a place people think of and want to visit because it does, in fact, have something for them.

What are your most memorable interactions with people?

Our librarians’ most memorable experiences were when they could make a measurable difference.

AB: A couple who had been evicted and lost their car to repossession needed a safe place to stay that would also take their two cats. I phoned around, found a shelter with space, and arranged for the shelter to pick them up, along with their pets. 

AS: One of my first library jobs was working on a Santa Cruz Public Library bookmobile that served 55+ communities, including low-income housing and migrant farm communities in Watsonville. Providing circulation services meant setting up a WiFi network outside the vehicle, hunting for a good signal, and sometimes asking patrons to wait while we troubleshot a dropped connection. Patrons were often waiting when the bookmobile arrived, eager to pick up requested items or choose their next reads. 

What would librarians do with $10,000 more in their budgets?

AB: Although it would take much more, I’d start by investing the $10,000 in a library languages department that supports bilingual staff, focuses on translation services, expands our language collections, and ensures library materials (instructions, flyers, signage) are available in our community's languages.

AS: I would use the funds to reach community members who aren’t currently using the library. Engaging people who don’t yet have a library card is especially important, as it gives us the opportunity to show how valuable we are as a community resource. We can have an even greater impact by intentionally reaching those who could most benefit from using the library.

Walnut Creek's two library managers show what being a librarian looks like in practice. Each day's unpredictability keeps them coming back, adapting to the needs of the community for timely information and resources. The city of Walnut Creek’s librarians’ answers share one thread: libraries succeed when people feel welcome and see themselves reflected. 

If you haven’t visited in a while, or ever, consider this your invitation. Get a library card, ask a question, and find out what’s waiting for you.

Gen Z, Meet the OG of Sharing:

Your Public Library

Missy Hunter, Communications Manager

While raising two Gen Zs, I've realized that the concept of sharing is a big part of their culture. After all, they were brought up on Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The other day, I asked my kids to list everything that shows this thinking, and it was way too long to share. No pun intended. From shared gym memberships and Spotify plans to thrifted clothing and even product reviews via user-generated content, sharing drives much of Gen Z's thinking.

Editor's note: Stories from the Stacks is a new edition to our WCLF newsletter designed to give an inside look at the people, programs, collections and projects that make our libraries vibrant community resources and gathering spaces—and see how WCLF supporters help make it all possible.

Let's be honest. Gen Z didn't invent sharing, and neither did their parents or even their grandparents. Andrew Carnegie started the first free public library in the US in 1886 to lend books. In other words, libraries have been sharing since before the Greatest Generation was born in the early 1900s.

Think about it: one book is purchased and then shared with hundreds of readers over its lifetime. We've been sharing for generations. With a library, very few new resources are consumed every time someone wants to read what's made the New York Times bestseller list. The library represents reuse, on repeat.

Libby is a reminder that sharing is digital, too. Through Libby, your library card gives you access to thousands of e-book and audiobook titles. The Contra Costa County Library and the Walnut Creek Library Foundation purchase audiobooks and e-books for the Walnut Creek and Ygnacio Valley Libraries every year to increase and update collections. Each title has a limited number of purchased licenses. Those licenses, shared across the community, represent the same sharing logic that makes thrifting feel smart, except libraries perfected the model first.

Thanks to your continued support, a $30,000 gift from the Walnut Creek Library Foundation just made that shared collection bigger, meaning shorter waits and more titles available the moment you want them.

So, the next time someone calls the library "old school," you can tell them it isn't. The library is the OG of sharing, and everyone else is just catching up.

The Walnut Creek Library is a Utopia for the Curious

Missy Hunter, Communications Manager

As a self-professed book addict, I have kept my favorites for sharing. I hand friends the unwrapped gift that I can’t wait for them to open. While recently decluttering my wall of books, I decided I’d listen to one at the same time. Fair trade, right? I downloaded the Libby app and started listening to the audiobook The Library Book by Susan Orlean, about the 1986 fire that destroyed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more at the Los Angeles Central Library. Reading this book reminded me of what I take for granted in a library.

It is no secret that California public schools are seeing larger budget cuts than ever. High school librarians in Walnut Creek are stretched thin, in some cases, covering multiple campuses at once. Additionally, Ygnacio Valley Library is now closed for renovations. The Walnut Creek Library is more essential than ever.

I took a tour with the Walnut Creek Library Manager, Addie Spanbock, who graciously led me through the library and shared a plethora of information. What began as a Carnegie Library in 1916, kitty corner from what is now City Hall and the police station, was relocated and rebuilt in 1961 at its current location. Then, in 2007, The Walnut Creek Library Foundation was formed to raise funds to support our two public libraries.

Walnut Creek community came together through voting and donations to build the Walnut Creek Library, which opened in 2010. I’ve decided that the Walnut Creek Library is a utopia for the curious. Here is some of what I discovered:

1. It’s the biggest library in Contra Costa County. At 42,000 square feet, it’s one thing to hear that, but I’m betting most Walnut Creek residents don’t know that fact. I didn’t. It’s something to appreciate while standing inside and marveling and what the community created.

2. The Walnut Creek Library is an art gallery, too. The Bedford Gallery curates the library’s art collection, which is so remarkable that when the library opened, there were tours specifically designed to introduce people to the artwork, and it continues to grow. A 1968 Jack Laycox painting titled Emerging Towers was recently donated by the estate of former Walnut Creek Mayor, Gwen Regalia. There is also a community art gallery, separate from the curated collection. This was created to encourage the development of artistic expression. Here’s to hoping we see some of our friends or neighbors’ artwork up there someday.

3. The library helps adults learn to read. The Contra Costa County Library has a program called Project Second Chance. Qualified adults get basic literacy instruction with volunteer tutors that Project Second Chance (PSC) trains and supports. The Walnut Creek Library provides a space for those tutoring sessions to take place. The Library Book did make the statement that “A library isn’t simply a warehouse for books. It’s a place where people’s lives can change.” The Walnut Creek Library is proving this every day.

4. History is hiding in plain sight. If you grew up in Walnut Creek, you likely visited The Walnut Creek Historical Society at Shadelands Ranch at some point during your school years. Did you know that the Walnut Creek Library also has history waiting for you to discover? If you poke around, you’ll see a collection of microfilm copies of various documents ranging from the first US Census in 1790 and local historical newspapers such as the Contra Costa Gazette from 1870 to more recent editions of the Contra Costa Times in 2013. This is one of the few places left in the county where you can find microfilm. Another historical vault exists in the library’s genealogy collection, with docents who can help with research.

5. The Russian language collection in the library exists nowhere else in the county. What makes libraries strong is knowing who lives within its community. While specific data for Walnut Creek is limited, word of mouth reports there is a significant Russian speaking community. It looks like you don’t have to be the average library user to find something that was collected with you in mind.

When I started listening to The Library Book, I thought I was listening to a book about a library fire. After my tour of the Walnut Creek Library, I am beginning to think I was listening to a book about communities. Because books are only one part of what happens inside a library.

A person learns to read. Someone searches for a newspaper from the day they were born. A child sees the shhh! art that spans the two-story height of the library. Someone purchases a book from the used bookstore. An adult sits at a computer. An artist gets a wall in the community library. A teenager finds a study room. A group hears about the behind the scenes thinking from an author. Someone finds their favorite Russian book. Someone walks in because they need a place to be. And someone like me borrows an e-book without ever walking through the front door and then realizes she probably should.

Maybe that’s the thing about libraries. They keep changing. Whether through books or not, libraries are places that keep finding new ways to take you somewhere.