SCLF in the news

Editorial reprinted with permission from The Reporter, Jan. 17, 2006.

A firm foundation

The Solano County Library Foundation has managed to score quite a coup.

The nonprofit organization, which supports a broad range of library and literacy programs, was able to entice Ruth Gardner Begell out of retirement.

Anyone who has lived in Vacaville for more than a decade will recognize the name of the woman who served at the helm of the Vacaville Museum for its first 15 years of existence, from 1985 to 2000. Ms. Begell left at that point to accept a remarkable opportunity as first director of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa.

During those four years, she continued to make her home in Vacaville, and as a result, Solano County has remained near and dear to her heart.

She retired in 2004, and for the first time in years had some free time on her hands. She enjoyed it - at first - but then decided she needed a new challenge.

Enter The Solano County Library Foundation, which had been without an executive director for more than a year.

It looks like the perfect marriage.

A big part of Ms. Begell's job will be raising funds. Since 1994, the group has raised more than $1.2 million to bolster library and literacy programs in Solano County.

Some of the projects the foundation has sponsored include:

• A local "Reach Out and Read," program, in which children receive books during doctor's visits.

• Vacaville library public art projects - which is also right up Ms. Begell's alley. She was instrumental in helping Vacaville establish a public art program when she worked at the Vacaville Museum.

• Purchase of the opening day collection for the Vacaville Public Library's new Town Square branch.

One of Ms. Begell's first assignments will be to lead a campaign to raise $500,000 to purchase books and materials for Solano County's newest library, a 15,600-square-foot facility scheduled to be built in the Fairfield-Cordelia area.

We are certain she will raise to the challenge.

Ms. Begell told The Reporter she was intrigued by the foundation after attending one of the group's annual authors' luncheons fundraiser. As an avid reader, she said she felt a strong affinity for the foundation's goals.

"It had everything I was looking for - a good cause, a great board that's passionate about the library," Begell said. "There's nothing better to serve than libraries. It's so important for people to be educated, to have access to books and information. And best of all, libraries are free. They're one of the keystones of our democracy."

We couldn't agree more with Ms. Begell's assessments and priorities.

Congratulations to both Ms. Begell and the Solano County Library Foundation for striking a deal that promises to deliver a winning partnership.