Staff with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office is making a donation this week to the Santa Maria Library as a way to help reduce crime in the city of Santa Maria.
The DA’s Office says staff will dropping off gently-used children’s books at the newly-opened bookstore at the library on Friday. They’re calling it a new form of crime prevention.
Santa Maria Library Director/City Librarian Mary Housel said in a press release, "Thanks to the generosity of the Santa Maria community and especially this gift of children’s books from Joyce Dudley and her colleagues, the Library is delighted to have help getting books into the hands of children, many of whom have never owned their very own book."
A donation of 50 cents will be requested for each book, but those who cannot afford to be will be able to take the books for free, according to the press release.
All money raised from the books will go back to the library.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley said, "As your District Attorney, I am convinced another way to keep our communities safe is to ensure that our children remain in school. Thus, we will continue to focus on our wrap-around/service-oriented Truancy Prevention program (CLASS). As a former Early Childhood Educator, I believe early access to books is a key factor for our communities’ children in terms of both future school engagement and success, therefore we have taken it upon ourselves to donate our own family children’s books to our Santa Maria Library… We are very excited about finding another opportunity to participate in public service in order to perpetuate public safety."
The bookstore, called "The Library Shop," has been closed for months while renovations took place. It re-opened earlier this month. There, people can buy, donate or choose from a selection of books inside a donation box.
The Santa Maria Library is located at 421 S. McClelland St.
