The new library van for Isla Vista was unveiled on October 4 to cheers from a small group of book lovers. When Goleta divorced its library services from Santa Barbara, it hoped to broaden the availability of books to underserved communities like Isla Vista’s families and children. The little library started at I.V.’s Community Center is now bolstered by the mobile one, which will bring books, craft kits, movies, the Library of Things, and Wi-Fi to the community Monday through Friday at parks, kids’ gathering spots, and Friendship Manor. (See the library’s website for the full schedule.)
The new service is partly from $200,000 secured by State Senator Monique Limón for a wider library outreach. “Library services are vital resources that serve as community hubs for people to gather, share information, and promote literacy,” Limón said at Tuesday’s ceremony. “I am glad to see this project come to fruition and to see the benefits it will bring to our community for years to come.”
Isla Vista sits next to UC Santa Barbara and its millions of books and materials in several library caches, but as Spencer Brandt, president of I.V.’s Community Services District, pointed out, “This is the first time in our community’s over 70-year history that there will be library services accessible to all in Isla Vista,” including children who are pre-school, elementary, middle school, and high school students.
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