First a Dream: A Community Builds a Library [1 ed.] 156550089X, 9781565500891

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"=h

£a

Tirst a T>ream A

Community

Buifcfs a

Library

Tirst a T>ream A

Community Buifds a Li0rary

by Jo

Ann

Illustrations by

Ridley

James

S.

Malott

Foreword by Kevin Starr

The Story of the Belvedere -Tiburon Library Vision Books International

©2001

No

All rights reserved. in

Jo

Ann

part of this

Ridley

book may be reproduced

any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,

including information storage and retrieval systems,

without written pernission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Card

Illustrations

©

Number:

James

S.

21

135165

Malott

ISBN: 1-56550-089-X Published bj Vision Books International of Mill Valley,

CA 94941

for

Belvedere -Tiburon Library Agency and Peninsula Library Foundation

2001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ridley. Jo

Ann, 925-

First a p.

dream

a

:

community

builds a library

:

the story of the Belvedere -Tiburon Library/ by Jo

Ann

Ridley.

-

1st ed.

cm.

Bibliography,

p. ix-x.

Includes index.

ISBN" 15655c

-

1.

Libraries

-

Belvedere.

I.

Tide.

II.

California - History.

4.

Public libraries

Title:

The

2.

Libraries

- California

- California - Tiburon.

story of the Belvedere

Tiburon Library Agency (Calif)

\T

5.

Mann County -

History.

Belvedere (Calif.) - History.

Tiburon Library.

III. Starr.

3.

6.

Public libraries - California

Tiburon

Kevin. IV Malott. James

(Calif.)

S.

V

- History.

IkKcdere

Peninsula Library Foundation (Belvedere Tiburon. Calif.)

Z733.B45 R5 2001

2001 135165

I794i'62—dc21

Printed in U.S.A.

First

Edition

ft CKNOWLEDGMENTS The author thanks Carol

Forell tor her tireless assistance

support during the writing of for the interviews, advice,

•

Aramburu

papers and reportage that are the heart history.

Charles Auerbach

•

Bryan and Genny Chapman

Porteous

Crowe

Marie I-Vldman

•

Anne Lamott

Carol Perot

•

•

•

Betty •

Rita Fink

•

Janet Saville

•

McKegney •

•

•

Anne Brown

Sabra Drohan •

•

•

Tobe

Mary Falk

Allan Littman

Warren Radford

•

Margaret Jones

Deborah Mazzolini

Richard Rozen

Tiburon Clerk's Office

•

•

Coleman

Joanne Horton

Jim Levorsen

Jeanne Price

Barbara Rogers

•

Sharon Bass

•

Barbara Gnoss

•

•

McCrohan

book, and the following people

this

of Belvedere -Tiburon Library

Al

and

•

• •

Deirdre

Tom and

Leonard and

Mark Schatz

•

Town

of

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2011

http://www.archive.org/details/firstdreamcommunOOridl

c

ontents

Foreword Introduction

The

Libraries of Marvelous

i

v

Marin

1

Their Separate Ways - and Back

6

"The Church

of the Library Aliveness"

The Road

to Revelation

This

10 16

the Place!

24

Do

30

The Money Comes

38

A Very Good Year

45

The Support Teams

49

Help Wanted

54

The Groundbreakers

59

is

Things

The

Afterword:

to

Builders

63

The Building

71

Reflections

75

The Next Dream

79

Bibliography

ix

Index

xi

Nothing happens unless first a dream. Carl Sandburg

—

f^w.

„

n

-**5g?

OREWORD

>r%ver the past few decades, Marin County has achieved

\~s Cumulatively, through newspaper emerged

as a luxuriant, exotic

and beguiling

in the California lifestyle, especially

myths, thetic

this

myth

hedonism

of is

articles, novels, films

Marin County

its

place:

fact.

near-mythic reputation.

television,

zero, in fact, for

love of beauty, pleasure

as the epi-center

based, in part, on

ground

and

a

Drake spent

men encountered

a healing sojourn

the

first

Marin County,

fact,

the

found them generous, charming, amiable and, the founding formula, the of the bust Californians.

if

that

is

distinctive

life.

Like

all

of a certain environmental mysticism and aes-

somewhere on

Marinites, in

all

and the outdoor

after

all,

has been possessed of a

of luxuriant restoration of body and soul ever since English sailors under the Francis

Marin County has

command

mood

of Captain

the shores of Marin in June of 1579. Drake's

Miwok you

peoples of the coastal headlands, and

will,

laid-back - which might be taken as

DNA code, of Marin, present in the County since the immemorial era

FIRST A

Marin

had

also

settled in the

and

a Franciscan mission,

DREAM meant

this

Spanish era under the guidance of the Law

as serving spiritual as well as

economic

goals.

The

that the future of the Indies,

Marin County had been

which saw each settlement

who

Spanish, followed by the Mexicans

inher-

from the Spanish, barely knew Marin; but what they knew, they praised and

ited California

revered: these headlands, these groves of great ancient trees, these buff-colored valleys dotted with

oak

trees, these tidelands

water,

and wetlands, the

heron standing not

far

from the

seeming so ancient, so Egyptian, amidst the newness of everything.

No wonder

Marin beckoned

to,

became beloved by such American Gray and George Demont the mystery of rolling

eerie nobility of a great

Otis.

and nurtured,

artists as

artists

Miwok

sacred to the

savannahs of the western county and, above

northwest sector ot San Francisco Bay w

1

In the late nineteenth century,

Theodore Wores, Thaddeus Welch and,

These and other

Mount Tamalpais,

art

ith its

were fascinated,

among

later.

Marin Percy

other things, by

peoples, by the dramatic headlands, by the

all else,

by the southern shoreline defining the

dazzling view of San Francisco rising

in the dis-

tance like Atlantis from the sea. In subsequent years, this dreamy, mystical

among them Selden as the matrix

Gile,

one

ot the first

mood

of Marin, so appreciated by visual

Belvedere librarians

—

led to the

artists

-

emergence of Marin

of the flourishing of Zen Buddhism in Northern California, as pioneered by Zen

philosopher Alan Watts and other Marin-based writers. This sense of interior landscape being reinforced by the near-mystical ter

ambience of Marin

also helped

Marin County become the cen-

of serious psychoanalytic thought, as pursued by Marin residents Erik Erikson and Rollo

May. Poet Robert Hass, recently poet laureate of the United States and a native of Marin, was nurtured ately

in this

and made

environment

it

in his

younger

years. Poet Jane Hirshfield

her own. Another native Marinite, the late

UC

found Marin deliber-

Berkeley Professor Art Quinn,

sought to re-discover in the history of Marin County the causes and patterns of the uniqueness of his native region.

And

yet.

the minute

we

celebrate

Marin County

as the

home

country of dreamers, philoso-

FOREWORD phers, poets, artists the

embodiment

more ordinary

and mystics, we must

of a better

lives.

keep

also

in California as

life

In one part ot

identity

7

its

,

in

mind

that

Marin County

also represented

sought by generations of Americans pursuing

Marin County remained beguiled and beguiling,

enchanting and enchanted. In another aspect ot

its

history, late nineteenth-

and

early

t\\

entieth-

century Marin County was also a place where ordinary dreams seemed to have a better chance of

coming or,

more

true, as they did in

Tiburon and

correctly, as far as the

needed each

other.

and

port, polyglot

As

far as the

Marin formula was concerned,

Tiburon Peninsula formula was concerned, Tiburon and Belvedere

Tiburon was direct.

in Belvedere.

rough-and-ready,

feisty,

a

hard working, railroad depot and ferry

Belvedere, by contrast, was genteei, Yankee, refined and subtle.

Separated by the shortest of distances, each settlement embodied the necessary proclivities and

Bay Area experience. Tiburon was about California

energies of the

working people building California. Belvedere was the genteel point of view, a sort of enclave of

What brought

New

Englandism on the shores

as transportation, drayage,

tradition, the

of

Anglo-American

San Francisco Bay.

these two cities together, even in the early decades ot the twentieth century,

long before affluent suburbanism engulfed the entire Tiburon Peninsula, was the

community nurtured thoughtful liked to read,

who

fact that

each

people, whether college graduates or autodidacts, people

who

loved libraries, and

who somehow managed

to established

then cooperatively, then separately again, then cooperatively once and for In First a

Dream, author

Jo

Ann

them, separately,

all.

Ridley gives us the delightful details of these early years and

the intermittent negotiations that led to consolidation of the libraries. She then anchors the story

of the Belvedere -Tiburon Library

in

nothing

and chronicles an equally compelling ness to the

community Read

way in

less

story, as

that building a library can

than history

itself.

But the author also discerns

suggested by her subtitle.

become one of the most

First a

effective

Dream means

offers wit-

of building

time and history - and for the future.

First a

Dream from

the perspective of an historian,

Peninsula in miniature. Re.nl

First a

Dream from

and you have

a history

of the Tiburon

the perspective of a political scientist, and

you

FIRST

encounter a

local

unteers, leaders

The

result

illustrative

study of local value, local politics, local identity, and local

first-rate case

No

building.

group or type - old

and followers a

is

of the

paradigm

is

in

families,

new

community

families, civic activists, elected officials, vol-

ignored.

of library-creation as

work on

political process at

Tiburon Library,

A DREAM

community building - and

the entire process

money

tor the Belvedere -

a local level. In raising the

shepherding the project through the

selecting a design, overseeing construction,

political process, in

commissioning murals, hiring

acquiring a

a librarian,

site,

ordering

books and placing them on the shelves, the citizens ol two Marin County communities experienced the challenges and the fundamental pleasures

dream come

Thus

ly,

and

Through ativity ic

itself,

just like

to

its

And now

own

side.

all its

history, in experience

But yes

community

human achievement

richness,

come

as well, the

of volunteers

across

all of

first

envisioned before

the Belvedere-Tiburon Library stands, and

and

in the

the Belvedere-Tiburon Library, the written, digital,

has now. with

a

Belvedere and Tiburon, the library had to be

happen.

creating

and mythic

which

their portion of the California

true.

made

is

making

Ridley significantly entitles this history of library creation First a Dream. Just like

California

could be

of

to this portion of

dream

and

of a better

activists created

human

history

is

used constant-

ordered recollections of

this

book.

CD and video record of human cre-

Marin. Yes. Marin County has

lite in

it

Marin can

also be

found

its

exot-

in a library

out of an abiding regard for the record of

— and

across the

Tiburon Peninsula.

Kevin Starr California State Librarian

1NTRODUCTION ....

From

of wars,

the 21st century B.C. onward, every civilization has pestilences,

and economic,

political

and social

managed to build its libraries,

turmoil....

Compared with

are trifling. Moreover, libraries are part of the solution: the worse the times, the

build

libraries.

Of them

it

may

be properly said: if not we,

This call to arms, issued on September the th.it

Tiburon Peninsula

within

impressive

five years

in

Marin County,

would profoundly

new dimension

10, 1992,

new

by a

little

if not

their problems, ours

more important

it is

to

now, when?

group of passionate bibliophiles on

California, launched a remarkable citizen effort

affect the

to library fundraising

raise three million dollars to build a

who?

in the midst

population - and not incidentally, add an

and administration. Their undertaking was

library for this upscale but, as far as library services

to

were

concerned, woefully underserved community.

The

reference to history

was

entirely appropriate.

From Ptolemy's legendary

library at

FIRST

A DREAM

Alexandria to the consummate example set by today's Bibhotheque Nationale in Paris, civiliza-

honored learning by erecting repositories

tion has

knowledge recognizes no boundaries public librarx

sj

of time or place,

which nor

is it

to preserve

pestilence, of course,

come

were not part

to act

of the

and share

confined to the

stem sprang from the democratic ideals of service to

munities of Belvedere and Tiburon, the time had

War and

in

elite.

all society.

it.

Thirst for

The .American

In the twin

com-

because the need was great.

equation

when

this library

campaign

began, but economic, political and social challenges were present in varying degrees, and there

were enough

of

recession had

them

begun

branch brought how

to severely test resolve to slash

Is

Many effort.

county library services. While cutbacks

of protest,

right time to raise public

along the way. To begin with,

money

not everybody was distressed tor a library

when

a

momentous mid-stream

which required the practice

enough

Belvedere -Tiburon

to believe that

it

more needful agencies were

was the hurting.

decision to withdraw from the county library system,

of great political finesse

tectural challenges. Too, the project's success

municipalities

w

at the

economic

unforeseen events dictated changes of course during the library advocates' decade-long

One was

conflict

possibly

a statewide

ith

whose goals were not always

and simultaneously presented some

depended on the cooperation

identical, and, indeed, at times

of

archi-

two independent

were unavoidably

in

one another.

Library supporters addressed these thorny issues in terms so articulate that even opponents

were hard-pressed

to

deny them. Appeals

for

funds were further strengthened by the proponents'

conviction that in spite of a prevailing societal dependence on government, determined citizens

need not resign themselves

ment

to

to

make them adequate.

inadequate library services, nor necessarily depend upon governNevertheless, although

times to try to raise three million dollars, are a necessary concomitant of rich

How

is

a library to

it

it

might seem

to

have been the worst of

turned out to be the best of times. Libraries, after

community

all,

life.

be defined in the twenty-first century? Dictionaries reveal no particularly

exotic roots for the word, familiarly

descended from the Romance alternative of the Latin

libraria,

A

SHORT

HISTORY" OF

*

ij

3000 &C plte- HISTORY

Siwei^iA

TDTKRtMT *JE*T

NT

PAPffcJ* 5CK0LLS

i FOLIO*

2000 5u FGYfT

P^I^T^> ©• p*pe^- 6^-niWstR.(b

I47*M_Vv wetlands behind

distance from

on pilings

1

downtown and

it

a

with the

The Tiburon peotwo of them some

another, amazingly,

Marsh

downtown Tiburon Boulevard.

Aramburu, with support from both town mayors and increase in library hours and celebration

should build

in the fiercely protected Railroad

As the Thanksgiving season approached, there was,

lic

it

not combine

ple presented possible locations,

•Vj.

sounded

Lurking behind Tiburon's own concerns was

ering debate about where

^*^

It

a

at last,

something

library friends,

to

be grateful

had managed

to

for.

fund an

full-time reference librarian. This called for an end-of-the-year pub-

which took place

at the library

with appropriate applause from the communitv.

Early in 1988, retired San Francisco architect Jim Levorsen bought a sculpture from Rex Fink

and invited the Finks

to his

Belvedere

home

to see

19

where he and

his wife

Emilv had decided

to

FIRST place

it.

Levorsen know that his guests' contagious devotion

Little did

him smack

pull

into the

Levorsen discerned

middle of the cause. Invited

once

at

why

to analyze the library's current case.

Few on

A DREAM

to attend a

to the library

was going

to

development committee meeting,

they were spinning their wheels.

He

offered to initiate a

and needed resources, and then develop

statistics to

program

support their

the committee were even aware that a project of the sort they were thinking about

required a "program."

Levorsen formed an architecture committee from a wide cross section of the community, divided the existing library floor plan into twenty sections, put teams in charge of each one, and

make

asked them to

required to bring

parallel analyses of

up

it

to standard.

It

was

what the

library presently

tough but immensely productive assignment.

a

In the meantime, other ideas were being tossed about.

next door to the library and

it

was thought they might

for building alterations to join the two,

included a town hall and a

development committee continued At

join forces.

library.

work with

Society

was now

Aramburu earmarked county funds at the

time so the project

architect presented a building plan for a

The town was

the county to

living

fix

Tiburon

not ready to think about

the existing

facility's

it.

The

problems.

few people guessed that the ultimate solution to the library problem was a

this juncture,

parking

to

The Landmarks

but Landmarks was not interested

was abandoned. The Town of Tiburon's consulting civic center that

had and what would be

lot sitting at

the entrance to

downtown Tiburon on

the corner of

Mar West

Street

and

Tiburon Boulevard. In 1985, the Zelinsky family had given almost an acre of the prime piece the

town

in

memory

of the

late

Fred Zelinsky and his wife Juanita.

tractor-turned-developer, the elder Zelinsky historic

only

ambiance.

much

He

was

a

is

A San

credited with preserving

to

Francisco painting con-

much

of the Tiburon's

canny but civic-minded entrepreneur whose children inherited not

of Tiburon, but pride in their father's achievements. To that end,

Ed

Zelinsky, his wife

was

to

be used "for civic

Laleh and his

sister

Barbara Zelinsky Abrams stipulated that their

purposes" on behalf of the public. the property,

which

in

They asked only

due course was done. 20

that a

memorial

gift

to their parents be placed

on

THE ROAD TO REVELATION This

site

was one of three under consideration

haps) incorporating a library. ly as

Blackie's Pasture in

The town

memory

for the

Tiburon town

was considering

also

of a long deceased but

still

cost

(just per-

known

local-

beloved old horse, on the waterfront

complex of city buildings and

housing called The Hilarita.

When was

perhaps

a parcel of open space,

a couple of miles west of downtown, as well as a closer-in existing

low

hall,

the

Mar West-Tiburon Boulevard

like a stalk

would be

a

worked

way

into public consciousness,

it

of asparagus pushing through blacktop. Letters to the editor suggesting that

it

good place

to

location

its

put a library began to appear in the community's weekly newspaper, The

Ar%, not without arousing controversy both on the steering committee and in the populace at large. Still reluctant to give

Land Company about Although

little

up on the post

selling

it

office building, the

to the county.

had been firmed up by March 1989,

hoc meeting called to "discuss larger library

Tiburon town

hall;

of direction emerged from an ad

Belvedere -Tiburon Library," as Rita

new county

librarian

Anne Appel; Third

Aramburu; Jim Wilson, chairman of the committee planning the new

Chuck Auerbach,

representing the Belvedere

library advocate

and president of the Rotary Club; Jim Allen

Land Company; Tom Brown,

husband of librarian Anne Brown; Rex Fink ber of the Marin

a sense

facilities for (the)

Fink's notes record the event. In attendance were the District Supervisor Al

committee queried the Belvedere

library advocate, library architect

in a general liaison capacity; Rita Fink,

County Library Commission; and two

now

library

would require

close to

an acre

for a building

of 10,000 to 12,000 square

increase over the 6,000 square feet envisioned in the three-year-old

and Appel facility,"

told the library activists that to apply for state

they needed a dedicated

schematics and an

official

wish

site

and

mem-

professional library planning consultants.

Wilson presented the town hall-may£

^=y

Fortunately, one basic

-

upcoming

the

component of

exploration already was in

place. In early discussions about a joint

powers authority

to

collect

and spend

tax

funds, the steering committee had con'3? '-i

?

templated partnership with the

"*

of Belvedere and Tiburon. Their mutual

/

presumption that the library would a

cities

county branch stayed on the table

exist as

for

some

time, so did the branch connection obtained in

November announced

its

sion, steering "this

intention to purchase the Tiburon

is

wave of the

a

with their counties to get the

ways ate.

it

facilities

future that

the Board of Supervisors

On that well-publicized occa-

shows the way communities can cooperate

they need." sides, the

did not particularly love the strictures under which the it,

a local institution

the

community was going

over which

it

regional library

committee was counting the

new

library

to construct a building

would have no control of personnel,

offered services. Worse, the county

a

the library.

however, despite mostly good will on both

As they saw

when

when

committee chair Sharon Bass and Supervisor Aramburu had rejoiced together that

unique partnership

Privately,

site for

1992,

it

would have

would not own and fund

contracts, the collection or

was thinking about turning the Corte Madera branch

and closing the Belvedere -Tiburon branch. That eventuality was

a

reduced paid

staff

into a

forestalled

county-wide parcel tax restored some of the library services, but meanwhile,

supplement

to oper-

offers to

with local volunteers were rejected in the face of opposition

from the public employees union representing

librarians.

33

Such severe limitations on the volun-

FIRST A

DREAM

teerism long practiced at the Belvedere -Tiburon branch were not

had

in

So

mind it

for

was

what the

steering committee

library.

its

bumpy

a very

road that the governance subcommittee started

under the leadership of the steering committee's Margaret Jones. Active

down

early in 1994,

in public affairs for three

decades, Jones had developed valuable working relationships with key people in legislative and financial circles at icy

from

UC

many

levels,

and

for

Berkeley. Detail-oriented

good measure, had earned and

energetic, she

Her subcommittee's three-pronged charge was legal structure for sible

governance, to form a taxing

to

a master's

degree in public pol-

was qualified and prepared

for the task.

recommend ways and means of creating and

district

to investigate the

the

consequences of pos-

de-annexation from the county system. This job would have been a major undertaking for

professionals in the field. For a

group of lay persons,

intelligent

and enthusiastic

as they were,

it

seemed almost foolhardy. Every option was meticulously explored. They consulted with elected and administrative cials in

Tiburon and Belvedere and sought advice from professionals experienced

matters.

Much

butions.

They prowled

of

it

was provided pro bono, and some

of

it

was paid

open the doors of

Aramburu's offices

official

ical to their

tax

from seed money contri-

who would

successor, the politically savvy Annette Rose,

whose occupants,

for

at libraries in

her

listen.

was willing

whatever reason, seemed reluctant

viewed by the persistent governance researchers. (Supervisor Rose,

and regular presence

and

the corridors of the county seat with questions about governance process

and procedure, gleaning ideas and concerns from any county Fortunately, Al

for

in legal

offi-

district, consistently

who became

to

nudge

to

be inter-

a real

advocate

rounded up supervisorial support

crit-

well being, and even sent her $3,000 salary raise to the Belvedere -Tiburon Library

building fund.)

An

invaluable mentor as the subcommittee navigated these uncharted waters was Leland

Jordan, a Mill Valley lawyer

known and

"somewhat

retired" after long service as city attorney there. Well-

highly respected at the county seat, Jordan 34

knew everything

there

was

to

know about

THINGS TO DO

and county government.

city

had become intrigued by the unusual negotiations between the

group and the county and perched

library

we

like a quiet

guardian angel on the subcommittee's col-

Jones gratefully recalled that "Leland reviewed

lective shoulder.

sure

He

contacted the appropriate officials at the right time.

He

all

of our documents and

made

gave us exactly the right help

at

exactly the right time."

As the governance subcommittee worked,

a shifting scene

began

need

to indicate the

for

adjustments to meet objectives. In particular, the redevelopment purchase agreement between the

Board of Supervisors and Tiburon having expired regarding

its

new

tor the

new town

library,

went

posed library

to

civic center. Finally, after voters

Ed

hall,

Mayor Nicky

he did

that,

had twice

Wolf, one of the

Zelinsky and asked

site. If

in 1993, the

him

to give

new

town was back

rejected

The

to

square one

Hilarita as the location

council majority that supported the

Tiburon the parcel of land adjoining the pro-

with some creative financing the town could afford to build

its

administrative center there without burdening voters with further taxation. Anxious as everybody else to resolve the issue,

and always generously

inclined, Zelinsky agreed.

Wolf's sensible approach to solving Tiburon's problem, undertaken with strong support from

Town Manager Bob sure on the

town

Kleinert and

Councilman Andrew Thompson, removed

to sell the original gift parcel to finance the

new town

hall.

the financial pres-

The

effect

was

to fur-

ther distance the county from library governance considerations.

Creation of the joint powers structure of library governance, the subcommittee's most daunting task, gradually took shape during almost daily deliberations and was finished and ready for

submission to the steering committee on schedule. to

propose the creation of a taxing

district

A

second,

somewhat

The subcommittee met

its

undertaking was

under California's Mello-Roos Community

Act of 1982, which had been researched and recommended during an study.

easier,

third charge with an unequivocal

earlier steering

Facilities

committee

recommendation

that the

Belvedere -Tiburon Library should leave the county library system.

The

idea at

first

did not have

unanimous

support. Cutting the umbilical cord had 35

its

uncer-

FIRST A tain,

DREAM when two

even frightening aspects. Most reservations were dispelled, however,

steering

committee members, suspecting that the Tiburon Peninsula was getting short-changed, decided to find out for themselves. Undertaken friend

first

Chuck Auerbach when Gordon was

involved digging records out of county tax

by Belvedere's Robert Gordon, and then by his

felled

by a

fatal illness, the

and working up

files

complicated analysis

a chart that

proved their suspi-

cions correct. Belvedere and Tiburon were sending $552,000 to the county for library services that cost $276,000.

The Marin County

auditor confirmed the figures.

How could the county justify taking twice the tax revenue they were sending back? about an independent Belvedere -Tiburon Library's entitlement to

at least

some of the

Queried library-

designated county tax revenues, the county counsel affirmed that Belvedere and Tiburon were entitled both to their share of ad

valorem and special parcel tax revenues.

This David and Goliath triumph was ing committee.

turnover

It

just

one more serendipitous experience

would not have happened except

at the top

for a fortuitously (for the

for the steer-

committee) timed

of county government. Earlier attempts to access public tax records had been

blocked by the previous administrator,

who

also

had made

it

clear that if Belvedere-Tiburon

pulled out of the county library system, they wouldn't see a penny of tax money. In September 1994, mittee's legally

armed with many

positive

developments and the governance subcom-

and philosophically defensible proposals, the steering committee and the

Belvedere and Tiburon councils came together to

make some momentous

decisions. First, they

accepted the recommendation to create an appointive joint powers agency. Given the two municipalities' lopsided population situation, the governance subcommittee had deliberated

long and hard about the composition of a JPA and settled on seven members to serve staggered three-year terms. Three

would be appointed by Belvedere and

three by Tiburon, with the sev-

enth nominated from the Reed Union School District to serve as liaison to the schools. Tiburon

earned

its

smaller neighbor's deep respect for agreeing to equal representation on the

library agency.

36

new

THINGS TO DO

Tiburon predicated

its

approval of the proposed de-annexation from the county system on

proof that the agency could meet both the bond repayment and operating expenses with anticipated tax revenues.

showing vices

The governance subcommittee prepared and submitted

that not only could

it

a

proposed budget

be done, but that an independent library would offer more ser-

than the county was providing.

The

steering committee could take stock of affairs

promised the perfect library

site,

a beautiful building

now

with some satisfaction.

It

was

was on the drawing board, fundraising was

well under way, the library's independence from county restrictions was practically a fait accompli

and plans ity to

solve

sive event.

for its

governance were

own problem

in place. In retrospect,

it

appears that the steering committee's abil-

of land acquisition, the linchpin of successful fundraising, was the deci-

Given the unpredictable and unforeseen paths traversed during the "learning

ence," these were

amazing accomplishments. And more were coming.

37

experi-

THE MONEY The fundraising arm of nized and flexing obtain a healthy

its

COMES

the Belvedere -Tiburon Library Steering

Committee had been orga-

muscles since February 1992. Three major objectives were before

chunk of the required $3 million through

large private

it:

and corporate donations,

then go to the public; introduce a bond measure to supplement funds for construction and operation;

and

When

establish

an endowment fund

checks and pledges began to

Titchell, a Belvedere attorney

known

to

meet annual operating

come

in

soon

for previous

costs.

after the site designation

ceremony, Haskell

pro bono assistance to the community, worked

with his law firm to help establish the Peninsula Library Foundation, a 501C3 nonprofit organization

to

receive

and dispense

gifts

and other contributions. The Belvedere Community

Foundation and the Tiburon Peninsula Foundation sheltered the funds until the new library foundation received federal and state tax exempt status a few months

As the fundraising campaign heated up,

so did opposition.

38

later.

Never openly

hostile,

it

sprang

THE MONEY COMES nevertheless from influential quarters

and was

attributable to the 1991 recession sending ripples

of nervousness through every public agency in the

money

to

buy land

for a library

still

Some

people objected that using public

competed with important needs

Others were concerned that because the land was a funds purchase plan (then

state.

segments of

in other

society.

Tiburon, the proposed redevelopment

gift to

under consideration) was tantamount

to taxing the citizens to pur-

chase something they already owned.

Debate found public if

we

its

way

into council

forum of The Ar/('s "Letters

and supervisor chambers, but most of it

to the Editor."

The county's

Tiburon couldn't afford were willing

to

pay

for

to build it.

is

the purpose of building a

lack of money didn't

and operate

a

new

mean

library. It

town

and declared

found themselves scurrying about relatively

it

question ofWhether they

own

letter writer

likened the old library

perfectly satisfactory. Steering

to defuse criticism

and put out small

fires

committee members ignited by naysayers.

few and anyway, supporters were in the ascendancy. Sabra

Drohan, widow of a former Tiburon councilman who had strong presence in her

a

and

Intolerable library conditions should strengthen, not weaken, resolve.

social scene

But naysayers were

library

that the citizens of Belvedere

was only

Apparently not agreeing that conditions were intolerable, one to a small

new

one reader asked. Fundraisers took on the doubters

can't afford to staff the present one.'"

with articulate aplomb.

"What

took, place in the

right, joined

led the

town

to incorporation,

and

a

Allan Littman to co-chair a major donor committee.

Drohan's practical experience supporting good causes on the Tiburon Peninsula complemented Liftman's energy and organizational

An than

initial series

to raise large

was the men and

skills

and

to great effect.

of benefit parties was planned to involve and inform the community rather

donations.

women

It

began with

a large party at

Drohan's elegant

of the steering committee, not a

caterer,

who

kitchen to prepare boeuf bourguignon for the guests. "Loving hands at

Sharon Bass

The

first

"That's the philosophy behind everything fiscal

we

hilltop

home, but

it

took over her spacious

home?

Yes,"

laughed

did."

year ended in September 1992 with $61,400 in gifts and pledges, the largest 39

FIRST A

DREAM

being the $20,000 from the Belvedere City Council. (The Belvedere

The

donated $25,000.)

Community Foundation

following year, $186,000 was contributed or pledged.

Then came

from individual donors. Having discussed the library campaign with

large gift

a

later

the

first

prominent

Belvedere couple at a fundraising party, Littman and Drohan followed up by taking them to

lunch

at

M adrona Hotel in Sausalito. They

the Casa

remembered being nervous about whether

all

knew why

they were there, but Littman

broach the subject over the salad or over

to

coffee.

After five minutes of small talk about the spectacular view of San Francisco Bay, the guests got right to the point.

"We've decided to make

astonished co-chairs. "We'll

call

you

more

where

community

site

more or

less

did. Bill

and Sara Kimball's generous

that the library

was going

to

gift

be built and

secure and the citizenry deeply involved in the planning,

could go to prospective donors and

we'll build

it." It

more unusual because affluence.

to the library fund," they told the

large donations.

In 1994, with the solicitors

They

after lunch."

of $100,000 persuaded others in the inspired

major donation

a

Many

a

a

"Here's what we're going to build and here's

community-based operation deliberately low key

high-powered campaign might have been expected

donor

large

During one gathering

was

say,

at the

solicitations

home

took place

at

up

to

in the midst

of such

intimate evenings in various homes.

of Virginia and Dick Boesel, the

paigner, their neighbor Fred Gellert stood

in nature, all the

announce

a

latter a

$150,000

devoted library cam-

gift

from the Gellert

Family Foundation.

Another important

when Littman

gift

was announced under unforgettable circumstances one morning

stepped out of the shower to answer the telephone. Dripping wet, he heard a vice

president of Wells Fargo

Bank

tell

him

$250,000 for a children's room to be

Large

gifts

were

that Carl Reichardt, Wells Fargo

named

in

honor of his wife

essential, of course. Yet, fundraisers

the hundreds of peninsula residents

who responded

were

CEO, wished

pledge

Patricia.

just as grateful for smaller gifts

from

generously to the public phase of the cam-

paign, which opened with a general mailing to every household on the peninsula in 40

to

May

1994.

THE MONEY COiWES

By

early 1995, the Peninsula Library

tions

Foundation held three quarters of a million dollars

and pledges, including S250,000 from an anonymous

of the library as a Still,

gilt

in

dona-

completion

estate revealed just before

from Dr. Joseph A. Baird.

funds were coming in more slowly than the committee had anticipated. Despite the

obvious moral support and "chins up!" admonitions from the community, discouragement sometimes knocked on the door at campaign headquarters. Always interested in the

library pro-

he helped launch, ex-supervisor Al Aramburu walked in one morning and found the volun-

ject

teer staff enveloped in

new

renderings ol the far

new

He

gloom.

library building

you have come! This library

He was

right.

pointed to the wall decorated with

is

They had come

and

told them,

going to be

Mark

Schatz's architectural

"You can't get discouraged now. Think

how

built!"

a long way, but

nobody knew

that 1995

would mark

the crucial

turning point in the campaign. In April, the community was stunned by a front page headline in

The

Art?,

"Belvedere Couple Leaves SI Million to Library" This huge and seemingly sudden

bequest actually had been the best kept secret in town lor some time. attorney,

must have been

which was, truth

ject,

to

listening tell,

when

constantly.

his old iriend

Chuck Auerbach

Among Kuhns'

Eleanor, a childless Belvedere couple of advanced years hearts. After her

clients

been

as

one of the

estate.

talked about his pet pro-

a

his wile

very large estate and very big

Kuhns suggested

the

beneficiaries, an idea that delighted Mrs. Knight.

The new

ninety-three, just four told

a Belvedere

husband's death, Mrs. Knight consulted Kuhns about revising her will to carry

a great reader.

Kuhns

Kuhns,

were Gordon Knight and

who had

out the couple's plan to leave the bulk of the estate to charity.

Tiburon Library

Bill

months

library

would

after her

receive SI. 2 million. Mrs.

new

Belvedere-

Her husband had

Knight died

at the

age of

husband's passing.

Auerbach about the bequest, but swore him

to secrecy,

pending settlement of the

Bursting with the news, Auerbach had to attend meetings and social lunctions with steer-

ing committee friends for six

months before he was allowed

ing largess. 41

to utter a

word about

the

impend-

FIRST A

DREAM

How was the Knights' overwhelming generosity to be recognized oring major benefactors were being fabricated to

named

sections.

mount

?

At the time, plaques hon-

in alcoves, special

rooms and other

For the children's storytelling well, Jim Levorsen had designed

wainscoting panel to resemble shelves fdled with books. Each book would bear on

name of a

child, to be selected

wood book

handcrafted felt,

should receive

When Kuhns

by

its

much more prominent

With

named

the Knight bequest, $2

known

steering committee

that

it

_;

in *

had always

would ask the

voters for

supplemental funding for construction

and operation through posal and a

bond

a parcel tax pro-

issue in a single ballot

measure. At the beginning of the capital

campaign,

it

had

to

weigh the advantages

of holding an immediate election against waiting for large donations to

influence the electorate. library

supporters

in

Most

potential

Tiburon

and

Belvedere also were active supporters of schools,

open space and the new

town

Crowded

hall.

ballots

its

tile

spine the

Knights, the steering committee

recognition, perhaps

million was in hand.

The

The

possibility to Mrs. Knight, she

agreed to the main reading room being their honor.

Heath

donor. Another category of donors was to be honored by

spines placed in appropriate areas.

mentioned that

a

produced

intense competition for voter dollars.

42

,

A

'f>*

naming

the library for them.

would have none of it, but

SL

'

1^

finally

.J

THE MONEY COMES

Few knew

this better

started acquisition

Kuhn

than the Tiburon councilman who, operating virtually alone, had jump-

of the library

invited board

site

members and

cuss the timing of bond measures

macy was an agreement

and now was serving on the

leaders from these groups to

and

meet together with him and

community. The

tax elections in the

to coordinate rather

their

dis-

result of Kuhn's diplo-

than compete with each other in submitting ballot

measures. Another happy outcome of that meeting was that a

changed

library steering committee. Al

view of the library campaign as competition

number of community

for their

own

cause,

leaders

and became good

friends of the library.

For various reasons the library bond election was postponed several times, but the delays were not

all

bad news. In 1994, Marin County voters approved Measure L, decimated by the

library services

state's raid

a

S36 parcel tax

to restore

on the budget. That turn ot events helped shape, and

positively affected, the later Belvedere -Tiburon library measure.

The

library's

and Belvedere It

in

Measure E, which

November

finally

reached the electorate within the

1995, included a two-part tax

would continue the aforementioned Measure L parcel

the interest and retire the bonds thirty years hence. the years, the steering committee wisely to exceed

$10

for

had

measure and

tax,

Aware

city limits of

a SI. 6 million

Tiburon

bond

and impose an additional S30

that costs inevitably

would

issue.

to

pay

escalate over

rejected cautionary suggestions for a parcel tax not

twenty years, opting for the long view. $30 for an indefinite period.

Professional consultants expected that while Mello-Roos bonds were not particularly popular

with investors, the generally positive perception of the Tiburon and Belvedere municipalities

should ensure the success of the measure. Expectations were

correct.

Measure

an astonishing 77 percent of the voters and the bonds sold out, mostly

locally,

E was

approved by

within hours of the

public ottering.

The

extraordinarily large margin of approval for the library measure

the promotional efforts of a "Yes

on

E Committee" headed

by Al

was due

in great part to

Kuhn and Leonard

Rogers, two

seasoned veterans of the library wars. Leaving nothing to chance, the steering committee hired 43

FIRST A Steve Kline, a professional election consultant.

DREAM

Under

his direction the "Yes"

and distributed well-designed promotional material, sent

a factually

registered voter in the Belvedere -Tiburon taxing district

and

on three solicited

levels,

phone

It

trees

comprehensive

up

letter to

a "field operations

every

network"

with area captains, neighborhood leaders and neighborhood assistants. They

endorsement cards from

their use.

set

committee prepared

would help

track

citizens,

how

handed out absentee

ballot applications

and urged

people voted. After business hours, volunteer-manned

sprouted in donated real estate

offices.

Nobody could have

Tiburon without knowing about the new library and being subjected

to

tele-

lived in Belvedere or its

advocates' pleasant

blandishments. .Alter three years

-

capital

lic it

effort,

the steering committee's

first

two

financial objectives

funding from corporate and private contributors and the public's approval of a parcel tax

and bond tions,

of concentrated

issue

— had been

would take longer

to

achieved.

The

third,

an endowment fund

accomplish, but would

library befitting a special

come

all in

community was approaching

happen.

44

to support

ongoing opera-

good time. The dream of a pub-

reality.

The dreamers were making

A Tor

a

group of

trailblazers trying to build a

stances, the steering in

VERY GOOD YEAR

community

library

committee was doing well. Not only had

1995 with the Si million Knight bequest, other events

The Town of Tiburon, impressed

made

it

by public interest and not a

its

under odds-strewn circum-

financial fortunes taken flight

a particularly little

memorable

pressure,

year.

abandoned hope

of profiting from a sale and in February, gave the Zelinsky property to the library as an outright gift.

A

sense of sadness, however, accompanied the Tiburon council's unanimously approved and

otherwise welcome resolution.

They had not expected

had died only the week before and would not see the being.

A founder and driving force

edged inspiration

for the steering

to cast

library

in the library cause.

it

as a

memorial

He would

Rex Fink

he had worked so hard

to

who

bring into

Fink was a born mediator and an acknowl-

committee's notably collaborative deliberations. "Just his pres-

ence in a meeting was wonderful," a friend remembered. "Rex was a positive peace and goodness."

to

be greatly missed. 4S

spirit

who

radiated

FIRST A

On library

the heels of the library site resolution

DREAM

came

the county's affirmation that an independent

agency was entitled to receive Belvedere and Tiburon's share of library tax revenues. In

March, the steering committee passed

its

own momentous

resolution for a "Proposed General

Financing, Construction and Operating Plan for the Forthcoming Joint Public Agency to Build the

New

Public Library for Tiburon and Belvedere in 1996 and to

The Town of Tiburon

Open

in 1997."

it

quickly passed the resolution required to create the joint powers

authority (JPA), and the City of Belvedere shortly followed suit.

By May

Dan

bond schedule and

Bort, well versed in

Mello-Roos and library matters, had

agreement drawn up and ready resolutions lic

and boundary maps

to go. Yet to

Mark Pressman

Meanwhile, public body that It

was

a

had Bort and

powers

of the required pub-

Associates to activate the

Pressman already had provided thousands of dollars worth matters, as

joint

do by October: prepare the bond documents, submit

to the recorder for the parcel tax, post notices

hearing for the proposed JPA and hire

bond

a

1995, Tiburon attorney

of personal pro

bond

issue.

bono consultation on

his firm.

in July 1995, the

Belvedere-Tiburon Library Agency became a legal

would be responsible

for the library's

entity, the

development, operation and maintenance.

challenging transition for the steering committee, six of

agency. Tiburon appointed Sharon Bass, Allan Littman

whom

and Carol

were appointed

to the

Forell; Belvedere appointees

were Chuck Auerbach. Rita Fink and Margaret Jones. The Reed School District appointed Richard Rozen, a local school board

activist, early library

governance subcommittee. Rozen was chosen as

supporter and a

member

of the library

chair.

Although Rozen and the others could draw on extensive experience, there was precious precedent for formulating bylaws and policies for the library they were contemplating.

was on hand

to help

with the research, so

munity foundation bylaws

for

it fell

models and seek

mainly

to

Rozen and

legal advice

Forell to

Even fewer examples

No

local

this

staff

com-

from Ed San Diego, Belvedere's

manager, and Rob Ewing, Tiburon's town attorney. "We couldn't have done two," Forell said.

comb

little

city

without those

existed for policy decisions, so they simply adapted famil-

46

A VERY GOOD YEAR iar

school district personnel and warrant policies to the library situation.

of policies, later expanded by the

new

brought to the other agency members

"We were

at

it

library director, along with

It

was

this bare

bones

set

proposed bylaws, that they

for approval.

seven days a week," Rozen recalled. "Everything was an issue.

aspects were bigger than any of us expected.

We

learned

how

difficult

it is

The

operating

to turn a small

group

with a tremendous stake and personal agendas, however well meaning, into a public agency." It is

a tribute to Rozen's stamina that he chaired the

agency as

it

created

itself,

stayed through-

out the two years library building process, and simultaneously maintained his San Francisco dental practice.

Furthermore, he emerged a happy warrior: "What's not to

The remaining members Advisory Board.

To

it

about a library?"

of the steering committee became the Peninsula Library Foundation

The PLF and

the Belvedere -Tiburon Library

entities critical to the library's existence,

to administer

like

one

to help

support

Agency (BTLA) comprised the two

it

by raising private funds, the other

using those private funds and public moneys.

the steering committee's great surprise, de-annexation from the county library system

was

quickly approved by supervisors following the departure of the previous county administrator, and

was scheduled

to

become

effective the following year, in July 1996.

assume administration of the

existing library,

nent and more glamorous successor.

Anne Brown, who had

returned as desk supervisor in 1994, stayed

Her husband Tom worked atmosphere

in the

at

which was soldiering on

at the post right

The agency

in the

prepared to

shadow of its immi-

retired as librarian in

1992 but

through moving day three years

later.

her side as a volunteer with a mission to create a more comfortable

shabby old quarters. The Browns were enormously helpful

ational continuity during critical transitional periods

when

in preserving oper-

the steering committee

and the agency

were focusing on the new building.

Along with the

steering committee

helped keep friendships

warm

cerned. In a farewell gesture to

members who had

as far as delicate relations its

negotiated the de-annexation,

Brown

with the county library system were con-

departing Belvedere -Tiburon branch, the county agreed to leave 47

FIRST A

behind the 30,000 books comprising the

had won the

day.

words

the beloved

last.

The rough bond

at least there

and

to her friend Rita

That won't

library's collection. Affability

Most of the volumes were old and not

Tiburon Boulevard, but

When

DREAM

The

would be books on the

tireless library

times didn't

is

of

them would make

shelves

when

the

new

all

sides

the trip to

library opened.

advocate Artelle Farley passed away in 1993, her

Fink were, "Build that new

future

all

and cooperation on

library.

Don't

let

rough times get

in

last

your way.

what counts."

last.

By the end of 1995,

issue to proceed with construction.

Indeed

was three months away.

48

it

there were adequate funds from gifts

had been

a very

good

year.

and the

Groundbreaking

T

HE SUPPORT TEAMS

To

suggest that breaking ground was the achievement of an enormous team effort certainly

states the obvious,

on

to

command

and understates what was not

public attention

- acquiring the

as obvious.

While there was much going

property, raising the

structing the building, formulating the governance and

money, designing and con-

becoming an independent

who

library

-

the

success of every undertaking rested on the quiet

work

names

campaign headquarters, planned and executed

in the paper.

Without

fanfare, they staffed

of people

seldom,

fundraising events, bird-dogged the often boring but essential detail work, raised track of

The

it,

and attended

first

of

to the existing library's

The

warts,

Marie Feldman,

steering committee rustled to

manage

ever,

saw

money and

their

kept

ongoing needs.

many campaign headquarters was

space.

if

located at Point Tiburon Plaza in donated

up furniture and

office

the office. She recruited

equipment and asked one

and

its stal-

ran, with elegant efficiency, a staff

of volunteer receptionists, dispensers of public information, makers of 49

of

lists

and keepers of records.

A DREAM

FIRST

most of whom arrived with no computer experience but were

fast learners.

quarters on borrowed time until the next eviction notice, for

more than tour

managed

days

new

before the files

keep an

to

from

open from 10 a.m.

office

library

was

finished,

to

noon,

five

Operating

in

years Feldman's crew

week. They moved

a

donated

five

times

Tiburon fireman Larry Bogel hauling the increasingly heavy

office to office as his contribution to the project.

Feldman

keep the community abreast of library

also originated In the Stackj, a newsletter to

campaign news.

A

valuable public relations instrument,

it

is

still

published by the Peninsula

Library Foundation. Struggles by the volunteer staff to

become computer

frequently frustrating. Amusing, for instance,

when

literate

were occasionally amusing and

they were compiling

lists

of prospective vol-

unteers and donors sorted from a box of raffle ticket stubs bought by out-of-towners, baby passers-by

and probably

a family

pooch or two. And

when

frustrating,

sitters,

quite unwittingly they

used the wrong computer application to enter thousands of names and addresses for the Measure

E campaign nearby

when

mailing. Yet there always things

-

a

be a library-assigned angel of mercy hovering

huge job — and didn't send

Lots of people didn't send

ingly

to

went wrong. In flew computer expert Casey Hannahs, who re-entered the

in the correct application

erosity,

seemed

bills for services

for a

S3 million campaign

Those expenses had

Chapman,

to be

bill.

rendered the

along with steering committee and foundation

low

a

list

new

library project.

frugality,

Widespread gen-

kept overhead expenses amaz-

effort.

met without tapping

into building fund donations.

Genny

on her job with

creative

the steering committee's peripatetic events coordinator, took

verve, organizing volunteer committees to devise entertaining

ways of encouraging contributions

from the populace. They sponsored a library logo contest and imprinted the winning "book-

worm"

logo on tee shirts and caps to

bookworm-shaped cookies their bills to the library.

sell at

community

to benefit the cause.

A local

artist,

carnivals.

A Tiburon

Another restaurant

let

restaurateur baked

diners donate a portion of

with the help of community children, designed and 50

made

FIRST

ceramic banks in the shape of books to place

A

receive donations. restaurant,

steering

whose founder had

A DREAM

at

cash registers in Belvedere and Tiburon shops to

committee member's daughter conducted lent his old

Main

Street ark to the

first

a tennis clinic.

The

Tiburon-Belvedere branch

hosted a benefit series of family dinner nights with professional storytellers on hand for

library,

the children.

There were play readings and authors' nights

where guests paid $25

to

in

some of the peninsula's

loveliest

rub elbows with prominent Marin County writers. Elaine

homes,

Petrocelli, the

popular owner of Book Passage, a Corte Madera bookstore, inaugurated what has become an

annual library benefit

mer

at the

San Francisco Yacht Club, previewing her pick of new books

for

sum-

reading.

The major revenue-producer of the With multiple

empty

library site.

trip to

Washington, D.C.

portfolio

early

campaign was

attractions for all ages,

for a personally

and

a "Raising the

Roof" party on the

a raffle offering such fine prizes as a

conducted tour of the Library of Congress, and

worth $10,000, the combination dog parade-picnic-carnival-dance helped

a stock

raise the

library roof by $18,000.

Two women's are

still

active.

fundraising groups were generated from

The "Rarebooks"

is

a

library benefits in elegant peninsula

wrote and published

a

cookbook

group of rather more seasoned

er

was

"Bookmarks,"

who

focus

called

a successful party cruise

on

Home at Five,

to build

Dinner by

campaign they

Nobody knows more about

The younger among them, with

families

raising funds for the children's library. Their to

first

still

at

home,

money-rais-

sponsor events that

room.

she learned that the $600,000 budgeted for the

and maintain the quality of the

Chapman founded

Six.

plan and hostess

in the library

on San Francisco Bay, and they continue

substantially benefit the children's

When

women who

and San Francisco homes. Early

that kind of cooking than the library crowd. are the

Chapman's campaign volunteers and

the Library Society,

new

library's collection

collection aspired to by the director

which today si

is

was not enough and the agency.

an important source of private funding.

THE SUPPORT TEAM Regular memberships are S5U; Millennium Lifetime memberships are $2,500.

The money

is

reserved exclusively tor the director's discretionary purchases of books, research materials and

audio and video materials. As of this writing, the society has raised $2 50,000 and

numbers

in the

its

membership

hundreds.

Volunteer support took some unusual turns aside from raising money. Even as the steering

committee was preoccupied with multiple tasks connected with building the new

library,

could not, nor did they wish

but the 1993

to,

ignore the existing

facility.

Usage continued

to grow,

financial crisis left the Belvedere -Tiburon branch without reference services.

When word

they

of that

got out, forty people called the library and offered to help. Rita Fink persuaded the county to

let

volunteers assist on-duty library personnel, and together they weathered another rough patch.

So many to single

families

in the

them out whose

Chapman and er,

community supported tor

the library campaign that

long time were completely absorbed by the library campaign.

her husband Bryan

(at

various times steering committee co-chair,

and member of the governance subcommittee)

members of the

volunteer treasurer of the

PLF and

a dollar-a-year

fessional expertise as a systems analyst to the cataloging

difficult

one

A

them. So,

retired

man

for the

clarity

and programmer

ot

BTLA wit.

volunteer

work

first

couple appeared

of both

brought her pro-

in the old library, then

the paid

when

had

to

statt.

the Finks were recruiting library enthusiasts at their breakfast

meetings and a professional librarian enlisted for the duration. Barbara Rogers, at the Mill Valley library,

Carol

Tom became

at the inceptions

Carol

treasur-

Tom and

too, are

investment banker,

and dry

to

its first

Genny

and acquisitions department of the new one. Both Perots are known

work eight-hour days alongside

A third

are

steering committee.

and can report on budgets and balance sheets with

moved

both risky and

mention. However, three couples were typical ot Belvedere and Tiburon

lives for a

Perot, both early

it is

a great store

who was working

of practical knowledge to contribute and tor ten years

served as secretary of the steering committee. Another asset was her talented husband, cheerfully volunteered to write publicity releases

when

52

the need arose. Retiree

Len

whom

she

Rogers, besides

FIRST A

DREAM

acting as a publicist and co-chairing the parcel tax election campaign, contributed his professional

trade fair experience to presenting benefit

in use today

and

chamber music

initiating a successful foreign

only person ever to chair both the

PLF and

concerts, designing the library card

language program

at the

library.

Rogers

is

the

BTLA.

the

Like most quiet volunteers, these couples and dozens of people

what they have done. The same thing may be

new

said about those

like

who were

them don't

talk

about

well publicized by virtue

of having agreed to high profile duties but performed behind the scenes

far

beyond the

call

of

those duties.

"The contributions of these terms,"

skilled individuals really shouldn't be

commented an agency board member, "but

their volunteer

something

work saved

the library

the truth

many thousands

is

of dollars.

measured

in just

monetary

that the professional quality of

How do we

say 'thank you' tor

like that-"

Actually, they did say

thank you,

in

an exceptional gesture

of appreciation that will

remain

place as long as the library exists. Prominently displayed in the library's Rex Fink Reading are

two

beautiful, handcrafted

library effort,

commemorative books

whether modest or magnificent,

is

in

which every person's support

gratefully acknowledged.

53

in

Room of the

n

ELF WANTED

g^ roundbreaking rime was approaching and the steering committee ^"J that was to find a library director baby.

The

was crucial

right individual

"municipal library" category but responsibility to the Belvedere

it

did

when approaching

selecting the director.

With

the desirable qualities their at least in

its

at the birthing

to the administration

The

list

and then take charge of the

of an institution that

falls

into the

ideal director

would have

to relish

unique circumstances.

library design, the

agency wanted

a hiring consultant standing by,

new

faced a major task, and

the creature of a joint powers authority that gives operating

it

director should bring to their

the administrative sense, had long ago gone the

ink date stamps.) line

be present

Tiburon Library Agency. The

the opportunity to pioneer in such

As

is

to

still

of qualifications developed

report of the meeting "They're

Looking

at the

to involve the

community

sponsored a workshop to ascertain

new

way

of

library.

(The word

"librarian,"

Annie Lamott's smeary blue-

workshop inspired The Ai\

for 'Perfection' in Library Director."

s4

in

to

head-

FIRST

That was expectations. set

right, said the

all

bemused

A DREAM

consultant.

A

good candidate would welcome such

She factored the community-generated qualifications

into guidelines for the

out the criteria for educational and professional backgrounds, and

mensurate with what

libraries

They hoped

so.

They

com-

a salary

of similar size were paying library directors. Could anyone

the Tiburon Peninsula on $55,000 to $65,000 a year? official

recommended

BTLA,

live

on

placed an ad in the

publication of the American Library Association, and waited.

Meanwhile,

Knick, a retired banker, offered the agency an effective recruiting

Bill

Educational and professional qualifications were equally important for

someone working

provided a psychological

test

which the

in a

all

tool.

very well, but mental qualifications were

challenging administrative and social milieu. Knick

selection

committee administered

to the finalists;

it

fasci-

nated givers and takers alike, and proved extremely helpful.

Equally important was timing, as Deborah Mazzolini, the director of the Belmont Public

Concord, Massachusetts was about

Library, in

desk as she came to work, and looked countably

fall

open

to

down

to learn.

She dropped an armload

to see the

new

"We

of taking responsibility for

planning and operating a superior

are seeking a Library Director

on her

issue of American Libraries unac-

an advertisement headed "Library Director."

single-sentence paragraph:

of mail

who

What caught

is

her eye was a

interested in the challenges

library."

Mazzolini was perfectly happy with her job in the affluent Boston suburb, and so was her partner Eric Schoenberg, a musician with a thriving business in nearby Lexington. But she liked a challenge.

Even without knowledge

create a library from

ground

of the situation, she sensed

an unparalleled opportunity

zero, an experience granted very few library professionals.

the ad again, saw that the deadline for written applications was that day, and picked

phone.

It

was

still

afternoon on the West Coast.

Belvedere City Hall, where

hundred or

The number

listed in the

members of the agency were using an empty

so applications they

had received. "Was

it

She read

up the

tele-

ad was answered

office to sort

to

at

through the

too late to fax a resume that night?"

Barbara Rogers, one of the professional librarians on the selection committee, had spent long 55

HELP WANTED hours reading applications, and at the last-minute fax. ly

went

in Library

weary

that she almost didn't look

Marin's

Library; assistant director at the

in Boston; eight years at the

Concord Free Library;

Minuteman Library Network, an automated

MARINet. The

The Belmont

elected representa-

Library would hate to lose her. In

of the Mississippi

Chuck Auerbach began was

to

Mazzolini.

and

six

her.

fact, it

consortium similar

appeared that the entire library

Mazzolini made the

final cut

commu-

of twelve candidates,

six

from the west.

phone the East Coast candidates

to

who was

weekend and couldn't

interview

library

references she listed answered board inquiries with paeans of praise.

suburban Boston would miss

first call

degree in Education from Ohio University; a Master's

and Information Science from Simmons College

region; president of the

from east

BS

Eastern Massachusetts Regional Library System Executive Board for the Boston sub-

tive to the

nity of

so

But she knew she should; and once seen, Mazzolini's resume immediate-

credentials were impressive: a

Waterman Free Public

to

end of the week was

to the short list pile.

The Degree

at the

The

president of a regional organization slated to meet on the

out for an interview.

fly

to schedule interview dates.

The

next

call, to a

Pennsylvania candi-

date, revealed another unavoidable professional conflict, but before ringing off, she asked if the

committee could interview her by phone conference. Auerbach had low pages research, he got

company was

that

it

yel-

in

every major city in the United States.

It

and convenient, so the interviews were scheduled.

was Mazzolini's

turn, she

which point Schoenberg stuck

down and

some

touch with a San Francisco office of Kinko's, the well-known copy

had made video conferencing available

affordable,

When

in

a better idea. After

his

bounced onto the screen and

hands down choice. with the board and

It

its

was the

dream

"Hi! This

head into the camera frame and waved

the questions zipped between California

of camera time they had bought.

said,

and Massachusetts

The board was unanimously

hello.

is

Mazzolini

for the forty-five

captivated.

new

library.

56

And, of course, those

sat

minutes

She appeared

smile, the look in the eye, the cheerful confidence, the

for the

Eric!," at

to be a

empathy

"perfect" qualifications.

»

FIRST A

Following interviews with

Mazzolini

to

make, even harder

"out there" for a musician

the finalists, they offered her the job.

for

who wondered

Schoenberg,

who made custom

acoustic guitars. In

if

there

It

was

a

hard decision for

would be something

to

do

Marin County Was he kidding 5 :

Mazzolini dithered over some of the contract provisions and her apprehensions about

Still,

West Coast

living conditions.

struction of the library, cerns,

all

DREAM

and

With

the board chafing to have a director on the job during con-

Auerbach made

finally pressing

daily calls to Massachusetts trying to assuage her con-

hard for an answer - "Today, Debbie!" She called back that afternoon

and accepted. Hired

and town

in

May

officials

1996, Mazzolini

and the

public,

made

and

start

interviewing

small office the agency rented for her two blocks the street from the old library.

Thoroughly up

to

Mazzolini arrived

It

Tiburon

to

By August, she was

at

a couple of orientation trips to staff.

away from

was none too soon

the construction

as far as the

new

just in

)

who had been

new

library's mission.

McCrohan

how

she would imple-

wrote:

"Mazzolini has old-fashioned

about

ideas

how

libraries serve their

communities their

citizens,

modern

and but very

ideas about

those needs....

and

right across

was concerned.

The

how

libraries

meet

>

r\~-

idea of a 'library without walls'

comes up almost immediately... not

talk

~i

about architecture, but about 57

)

covering the library

from the beginning, interviewed Mazzolini about the

her desk in a

time to suggest modifications or additions to

Deirdre McCrohan, an Ar/( reporter

ment

library

library

speed concerning the computer's fast-moving impact on library technology,

incorporate into the plan.

story

site

meet

\;

HELP WANTED a library

whose

new

that the

possibilities are

expanded and transformed by

The

world ot on-line information.

Some

key... is to

whereas the single wafer-thin disc of a

'I

like to feel

Mazzolini didn't say so

I

confident

library as a

pick the best format for presenting each resource. a globe,

CD-ROM

am working with

beg

to

remain

seems made

She describes her leadership

Oxford English Dictionary....

feels

evolving role as a point of access to an enormous

volume of Emerson and

materials, such as a

sensus-oriented.

its

She

between the traditional image of a

library can strike the right balance

quiet sanctuary for reading and reflecting and

technology-....

in

for the

book and paper form,

mammoth

32-volume

and con-

style as participatory, collegial

people as opposed to people working for

in the interview, but she

knew

me.'..."

her job was going to present the

new

In previous positions under city or county administrations, she was

challenge she was looking

for.

handed an annual

budget and dealt with the bureaucratic constraints that came with

library

including spending city hall to get

assume

all

or losing the surplus.

repaired.

Now

It

a pipe

an outstanding community

In the

broke

she would have to learn

responsibility for the entire library operation.

to create

nice to

it

it

facility.

And

so

how

A small

it

in a

midwinter

to prepare

with.

The community

liked

what

it

freeze, she called

an overall budget and

price, she believed, for the

freedom

proved.

photo that accompanied the.4r^ interview, Mazzolini looked

work

it,

saw. Besides,

how

like

someone

it

would be

could they go wrong with an

2 administrator who. in her spare time, clog dances, weaves and makes jewelry There was no

doubt that they had found

a superior library director for their superior library.

58

j[he groundbreakers

y-yn January 1996, the Peninsula Library Foundation and Belvedere -Tiburon Library Agency JL determined that

it

was time

to start building their

the building committee had finished

hoops and were ready

to go.

pancy

library.

By February

jumping through town, county,

They opened

state

the architects

and

of their qualifications, they

and

federal permit

eleven construction bids, nine of which had

under the estimated budget. Alter careful review to Midstate

new

come

in

awarded the contract

Construction of Petaluma. Groundbreaking was scheduled for March 1996, occu-

for April 1997.

There was no question about who was going

to turn over that first shovelful

of

Jim

dirt.

Levorsen, coordinating design and architectural teams during the preceding eight years, had

an outstanding example of constancy In a sense, they

all

for the

two dozen or so committees involved

set

in the project.

were groundbreakers.

In essence, though, Levorsen

and Mark Schatz cleared the path 59

to

ground-breaking

day.

THE GROUXDBREAKERS Schatz presided at building committee meetings and saw

two

it

that the group's decisions stuck.

also nurtured the library's symbiotic relationship with the

keep

staff abreast

selection ot

ing

to

it

BSA

of developments and untangle the inevitable odd

and Schatz

to the library,

Only one

Town

seemed

new town

to design a

hall

had

of Tiburon, taking care to

snarl.

Consequently Tiburon's

and the Zelinskv memorial plaza connect-

a natural progression in the

serious controversy

The

making

ot a civic center complex.

arisen over the design of the library.

The Tiburon Design

Review Board and most of the public had no complaints about the 44-foot-high roof line on the plan Schatz brought to the nents, including

community workshop

one adamant Tiburon council person,

obscure the view ot the Old

A

four years earlier, but a handful of vocal oppo-

local contracting firm,

Hilary's Church.

St.

did.

The

They requested

Hadley and Robinson, put them up

Zoning regulations on Tiburon Boulevard decreed

a

would

story poles to prove their point.

at cost.

maximum

mayor reminded Ar^

buildings, although a former Tiburon

building, they claimed,

height ot 30 feet for

new

readers ot possible discretionary

adjustments. In a subsequent letter to the editor. BSA's Henrik Bull wrote a courteous, but resolute, response to the protests. feel strongly

numbers....

Committee) Politics

change

is

a relative matter.

hope the design that has been developed with

I

will not be

and pragmatism won

planning

I

often lost in a contusion ot

(the excellent Library Building

out. Schatz lowered the offending roofline by five teet.

felt

the design

table.

The

of the handsome structure, but in his

was somehow compromised.

architectural collaboration of Levorsen to the

is

are things

compromised."

in height scarce lv affected the public's perception

The

Form and proportion

about. In our age of quantification, artistic judgment

heart of hearts, the architect

brought

"Height

and Schatz had begun with the vision each

Levorsen, for instance, was taken with the idea ot tucking library

users into reading alcoves, similar to those in the library at Oxford University. Schatz's experience at

Harvard had exposed him

He

to

Boston

liked Richardson's concept of

tall

libraries

designed by H. H. Richardson in the early 1900s.

central spaces

60

surrounded by walls

ot books.

Wanting

to

FIRST

keep

open

this library's space

to views,

A DREAM

Schatz adapted and innovated so that that the building

uniquely embraced both or their visions.

That

this

could be accomplished within the context of a revered architectural heritage was

impressive enough, but a state-of-the-art

BSA

had accepted

a

still

larger charge.

and technologically and physically

meters or 10,200 square

feet,

and do

it

tor

They must

flexible library

construct and furnish

within the unyielding para-

under $3.5 million. Given the constantly ascending

building costs of the day, coming in at budget would be another big accomplishment.

One to the

more, although not entirely unexpected, element

in the

equation sent the architect back

drawing board more than once along the way. The Belvedere -Tiburon Library was

branch of the Marin County Free Library System

when

the design process began, which

still

a

made

building plans subject to county- guidelines. Consequently, the later decision to de-annex shifted a

number of operating and

staff responsibilities

from the county's headquarters

pendent library and forced changes that reduced certain space allocations. free

the plus side, once

of generic county specifications, the architect recovered some ideas the count}' had said "no"

has a children's restroom space in the

The ual

all

the branches will have to have one."

main reading room,

festive

a feature not de rigeur in

groundbreaking ceremony on March

and community'

a gift for

of

newly inde-

including a children's restroom removed from the original plan because "if Belvedere -Tiburon

to,

is

On

to the

effort.

He

also enclosed

Marin Count)' branch

24, 1996

capped nearly

More than

a

hundred excited youngsters, waving

makers bought by parents

for

decade of individ-

like the rest

"...

We

are the builders

plastic souvenir shovels

S5 apiece) were there to accept their

"builders of libraries," were the ones truly giddy with joy

Chuck Auerbach,

libraries.

Richard Rozen spoke for the Belvedere -Tiburon Library Agency. "This

our children and grandchildren," he told the assembled throng.

libraries!"

a

some study

gift,

(money-

but the adults, the

on that bright Sunday afternoon.

of the library gang wearing a white hard hat over his broad grin,

introduced Marin County Supervisor Annette Rose,

who welcomed

the crowd, and the mayors of

Tiburon and Belvedere, Nicky Wolf and Lani Valentine, made short congratulatory speeches. 61

COMCTMJCTOTf/

D&SK/VCIP^ lK)|TEWO^vJAKJ

1

'^fc^lS, »^7

117 '

DR&XM

FIRST A

Major donors were thanked. The Reed School World.

Ed

District's

second graders sang

It's

a

Whole

New

Zelinsky spoke of his family's pleasure in donating the land for the library and future

civic center.

Then, Jim Levorsen plunged

a

commemorative

and declared the ground broken. Engraved on Library Ground-Breaking.

A week tion. It

later,

March

its

stainless steel shovel into the

hallowed

soil

shiny blade were the words "Belvedere-Tiburon

24. 1996."

bulldozers and backhoes

moved

was show time!

62

in to clear, grade

and excavate

for the

founda-

VHE •"Tvuring

JLrH

the year that the library

o'clock every

up

to the time

Two dozen

The men and one woman committee;

Mark

was under construction, designated

Monday morning. The weekly "shack

overlay for a project that,

volunteer committees.

BUILDERS

principals

met

at the site at

meetings" constituted the managerial

of groundbreaking, had involved an

uncommon number of

committees, however, cannot run a construction program.

assigned to that role were Jim Levorsen, chairman of the building

Schatz, the supervising architect representing

BSA; Olin Shanrock and Bob

Alton representing the contractor, Midstate Construction; Matt Sherrill representing Conversion

Management

Associates,

services as project

whose

president,

manager; and Carol

Glenn Isaacson of Belvedere, underwrote

who

Forell,

Sherrilfs

with her alternate, Leonard Rogers, repre-

sented the Belvedere -Tiburon Library Agency. Forell eral years,

was an appropriate choice

for the job.

She had been on the steering committee

and was one of the three Tiburon appointees 63

to the

new

BTLA board.

for sev-

Another com-

FIRST A pelling reason to

hand her

DREAM

seismic engineer, had served

on the design committee, and

on the Town of Tiburon's adjacent building

tant

the strong-minded

men, whose

was hardly viewed

as

sending

crises,

project.

a

lamb

to slaughter.

until his death in 1998,

Asking Nick

to

often did.

hold her

She was

own

known

her husband, a well

fact that

respective responsibilities ultimately

about architecture and construction

And come what may

was the

a personalized hard hat

was

work with

Forell's wife to

were

to her

bright, organized

a consul-

governing board,

and knew enough

with a good sense of humor, come what may.

The shack team weathered and

survived as friends

when

emergencies, arguments and conflicts of interest turned them into temporary adversaries.

Cell phones were always at the ready; Forell recalls

some problems had

to

be addressed by a higher authority.

once needing an immediate decision that involved

a

major expenditure. She called

Richard Rozen's dental office in San Francisco and, over the protests of his receptionist, insisted

on talking tions,

to the

BTLA chairman,

now! Used

to these

he propped open his patient's mouth, took the

California's notoriously railroad yard a century ago,

need

right

to rest

on

a

call

and the

almost daily library-related interrup-

and made the decision. marshy

quake-prone

soil

were the

problems the builders had

compensation

raft

first

site's

landfill, left

to tackle.

over from the old

The

library

would

foundation. That meant constructing two floating concrete

pads separated by a grid of block walls, to equalize the weight of the building and the weight of the dirt displaced for the foundation to

In

effect, as

above the sloping bedrock,

below the

in situ, the architect

Schatz's progress report, published in the

lated newsletter, to say,

is

was

a

The first a pit for the

kept the

summer 1996

tas/{

think of the

community

well informed.

issue of the library's widely circu-

marvel of architect-and-engineer-speak

how we

it,

surface.

mud.

While the shack team supervised

seemed

fifty feet

one interested architect rather inelegantly but accurately described

library as a boat hull sitting in

Mark

sit

in

layman's language. This,

are going to build your library:

involved the cleaning and grading of the

new foundations. Following 64

this,

site

and

the excavation

the contractors began

woi\ on

of

the

it

THE BUILDERS underground building. slab

utilities

Once

which will tie water, power,

underground woi\ was

the

was poured. This woi\ included

gas,

sewer and other systems into the

in place, the

the installation

lower concrete foundation

of waterproofing membrane,

placement of steel reinforcing bars and plywood edge forms.

From which are

this slab the first vertical

visible

walls have grown. The concrete masonry walls,

now, will eventually serve as bracing walls

which will support the building. The forms are all

around the perimeter and,

in the 'raft' foundation,

now in place for sloping concrete walls

after these are poured, work^ will begin

on the top

slab,

which will become the actual floor of the building.

One fascinating aspect of the the installation es

worf( which will take place in the next few weekj

of the 'Walter Duct' system

is

in the top floor slab. This system compris-

a series of connected metal trays cast into the slab, which can accommodate a chang-

ing network^ of wires to provide

and

cables for power, telephone,

maximum flexibility

and data

lines. It

was designed

with current systems, and to allow for future conver-

sion to fiber optics or whatever other

new wiring technology might

replace these pre-

sent materials.

Once the top slab has been poured... begin. This

is

the actual

woodframingfor the building will

probably the most interesting phase of the construction process and the

one which goes the most quickly. By the end of September, the construction crew will 'top

off the structure with

the final form

While neers

and

aspects

the uppermost

of the building will be apparent

this construction has

the

main reading galleiy, and

to all.

been taking place under the watchful eyes of the engi-

the project manager, citizen groups have been actively meeting on other

of the

project, including interiors, technology

The coming months promise

new

beams over

library

to

and commissioned

art worlds....

be very exciting ones for Tiburon and Belvedere as the

and adjacent Tiburon Town Hall both grow from 65

the ground

up....

FIRST

A DREAM

Schatz did not exaggerate. These were indeed exciting times for the community. In June, Midstate reported that the project was ahead of schedule Next door, construction of the Tiburon

Town

Hall was about

to begin.

Their plates already

and Nick Forell were deep

hall)

Jim Wilson,

ager, architect

borhood

work out knotty

Levorsen, Schatz (who had designed the

with Tiburon's always cooperative project man-

situations arising

from parking and related neigh-

issues.

Once

hired, the

new

from Boston

flying out priority

to

in conferences

full,

was

to

library director, not

for critical

due

to

move

to

Marin

until August, lost

meetings with the library architects, wish

lists

in

no time

hand. Her

urge the hiring of a consultant to the technology committee to ensure

in

first

optimum

preparation for any future, as well as the present, advances in library technology. Anticipating pos-

more

sibly

rapid growth than even local planners had envisioned, she foresaw needs for increased

shelf space to

tion

handle the larger collection she was going

and administrative

from

a

activities.

Some of it would have

wisdom born of practical experience most

shove, she could be very firm. Sooner or

wanted

if

they could possibly afford

later,

to insist on,

and more space

for circula-

to wait, but Mazzolini's concerns

of the others did not have.

When

sprang

push came

to

the architects and the agency gave her whatever she

it.

In August, delayed delivery of the Walker

put the project three weeks behind schedule.

Duct system brought foundation work It

to a halt

and

would be made up, Midstate assured the shack

team. Meanwhile, there was that matter of the murals.

Schatz had specified murals for the walls of the children's room, the main reading room and a

"donors wall"

in the lobby.

For the children's room, Jim Levorsen envisioned children's book

illustrations. After extensive research,

he suggested

Charlie Brown, creators of a mural in the the

new San

for the job

Francisco

same mind, and once more, public comment was

ground drawings and possible themes Their idea

for the children's

at a

room was

invited

San Francisco's Mark Evans and

Main Public

when

Library. Schatz

was of

the muralists unveiled back-

community meeting. a frieze of

66

open and closed books "circumnavigating"

THE BUILDERS the

room above entists

and

the shelves

and depicting

favorite characters

subtle,

explorers, historical figures, sci-

from children's

monochromatic sienna

color against a

wash.

It

literature in full, but

was an enchanting concept and

it

got rave reviews, except for a gasp of disbelief

from

women

room. All of the

in the

were men.

illustrated figures

When

the

gave Evans and

ahead

tor the

S44.200,

been

agency

finally

Brown

the go-

mural,

at a cost

of

some changes had

effected, with additional

subjects

that

represented

not

only the gender-related and ethnic concerns, but local ical figures

histor-

broadly representative

of the world children

and

live.

in

The

which today's likes

of Peter

Rabbit, Amelia Earhart, Blackie

the Tiburon

horse of blessed

memory, Albert Einstein,

a space

module, and Maurice Sendak's

Where the Wild Things Are are

famous roommates at

in perpetuity.

So

are Elizabeth

I

and Marie Curie, the

latter further identified,

the behest of a chemical engineer on the committee, by a scrap of Mendeleyev's periodic table.

Proposed murals elsewhere

in the library,

however, generated enough controversy to derail 67

FIRST A

them.

Comments and

draped

complained that

letters to the editor

maps, trompe

figures,

DREAM library walls did not

parchment sheets and quotes about

I'oeil

need

local scenery,

literature. Better to

spend

the $100,000 on books.

Topping

out, a

major point

in construction traditionally observed

by a

party,

wasn't going to

meet the projected end of September deadline, but shack meetings remained upbeat. Midstate ished

work on

the steel columns, duct

control despite rising costs.

The topping out over their heads at est

beam by an

party,

last,

work and underground

By October, they were on November

crowned

for the

utilities,

and the budget was under

weeks ahead of schedule.

five

14, celebrated

completion of the building's

shell

day by a traditional evergreen bough lashed

agile construction worker.

fin-

There was, of course,

speeches, and refreshments featuring tree-shaped cookies.

The

-

a roof

to the high-

press coverage of the requisite

highlight of the event was a trip

through the unfinished building's maze of two-by-fours and plywood walls led by a beaming

Mark

Schatz.

He knew what

library supporters exited the

As 1997

it

was going

to look like

room-by-room

rolled in, the pace accelerated.

attention as electrical, plumbing, cabinetry,

A special committee was appointed for April 13. Volunteers ing.

to

finished,

and by the time the

ecstatic

tour, they did, too.

A

stream of subcontractors vied for the shack team's

tile,

landscaping and other work neared completion.

plan the greatest of

all

library dedications,

were weeding out the books that would not be moved

still

on schedule

to the

new

build-

Non-fiction was delivered to San Quentin prison; fiction went to the Goodwill; children's

books were distributed

to assorted charities.

quarters and in constant

enced crew holding the

demand

at the

construction

parchment

tight budget.

The

site,

moved out and

the battle for literary quotations in the

of the faux

Mazzolini,

now ensconced was

grateful for

in

nearby temporary

Anne Brown's

experi-

fort at the old library.

In February, Midstate Construction lost

when

interior wall finish

the painters

moved

in.

Schatz

may have

main reading room, but he was consoled by approval

he had always wanted but couldn't find room

expensive specialty paint job was possible because 68

BSA and

for in the

Midstate had

THE BUILDERS brought

in the library

$130,000 under their estimate.

so-far bare cathedral ceiling with

match the beams and other

The

saving also allowed Schatz to line the

wood, another budget-breaker he had given up on. Stained

interior trim,

it

had

a

stunning

effect

on the main reading room,

to as

did the custom lighting. Dissatisfied with the commercial lighting specified in the original plan,

Schatz designed and had fabricated simple, but elegant, wall sconces and drop the reading

room and

The mid-April

lights to illuminate

alcoves.

dedication date closed

in.

Walls painted; murals finished; lighting in place;

flooring installed; shelves awaiting the arrival of books; furnishings delivered; computers waiting to

go online;

April

staff in training.

movers began

3,

to clear

Books were shelved and of order barely hinted staff.

That

night,

all

party for the donors.

Not everything was

staff

at the

the

out the old

library.

precisely

By

on schedule, but

just

library

was

On

at their stations.

The semblance

accomplished by volunteers and the library

dream-makers dressed up and hosted

The brand new

enough.

April 12, they had completed the move.

members were executing dry runs gargantuan tasks

close

just

a

formal pre-opening champagne

waiting for a signal to

start breathing.

At the actual event the following day, the dedication program of ceremonies and anthems of praise expected of such openings

was

a virtual love fest that reunited the

the alumni of the "Breakfast Club," the steering committee, and less

all

those

devotion had turned their magnificent dream into a magnificent

The District

festivities

began

at

noon with

whose decade of relent-

reality.

Girl Scouts raised the flag; the

the

community; an honor guard of local

Marin Men's Chorus sang America

Levorsen unveiled a dedicatory plaque; Al Aramburu moved old friends a

state officials,

a rousing mood-setter by the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary

Non-marching Band. Chuck Auerbach welcomed

Boy and

county and

the Beautiful; Jim

to tears

and laughter with

song he had written that recognized by name every principal in the ten-year saga; Supervisor

Annette Rose read a congratulatory resolution from Marin County; Sabra Drohan and Allan

Littman presented State Librarian

a

book honoring benefactors; Deborah Mazzolini was introduced; and

Kevin Starr dedicated California's newest library 69

to the people

who

built

it.

finally,

FIRST

Then

Rita Fink

and Sharon Bass stepped

A DREAM to the

gabled entry and cut the ribbon.

dred well-wishers surged through the open doors for their ty effort

had wrought, and saw that

it

was very good.

70

first

look

at

what

a gigantic

Two huncommuni-

T*HE BUILDING sjt Dream Turns

w/Ved itself.

Into Reality -

A

Stunning Library!" trumpeted The Ar\. The headline

ten years of grassroots involvement, not the least of

From

it

salut-

originating with the local weekly

the beginning, the paper had reported every development in the often complicated

library story.

No

fewer than 207 articles and

letters to the editor

had kept the Tiburon Peninsula

well informed every step of the way. The Arl(s support was critical to the achievement, which the

paper honored

in a special section chronicling the past, present

and future

of the

new Belvedere -

Tiburon Library.

Although the

library

was not completely finished when

lowing ribbon cutting, the people

community workshop

who came

four years earlier: "A

to see

it

it

opened

for business the

had not forgotten what they asked

warm and welcoming atmosphere

with

day

fol-

for at the

lots of light,

display space, storage rooms, separated 'quiet' and 'noisy' areas, cozy reading niches, a place to

show

local art, lamps, a fireplace,

and

a public

meeting room." 71

Clearly, they

had been heard.

FIRST A

The

DREAM

low-lying, generously proportioned shingled building

the two towns' unique traditional architecture, with a respectful that once occupied the rior

with

site.

woodwork and comfortable wing can be closed

children's

adult library decorum, and the glass-walled study

Cozy niches abound

noisy space. a

The

memorial

which

for

tor quiet reading.

The

gallery,

nod

to the simple railroad sheds

The Founders Room,

It

off,

room

is

warms and welcomes.

furnishings,

should exuberance ever intrude

encloses yet another potentially

Rex Fink Reading Room,

fireplace in the

his friends quickly raised $25,000,

over the mantel hangs one of Fink's fine paintings. Fink's collection.

contemporary celebration of

brick-paved courtyard invites entrance, and the pale yellow inte-

rich cherry-stained

its

Stacks are easily accessible.

upon

The

a

is

flanked by sofas and easy chairs, and

was

from Rita

selected at her invitation

located off the lobby, can be anything

it

needs

meeting place, video screening room, movie theater or classroom. Natural

through view windows. Operable casement windows admit fresh

air that

to

be - art

light floods

can be circulated by

ceil-

ing fans.

Although literate

and

it

was not

as well publicized as

supporters wanted the

new

some items on

facility to offer

world on

a

main reading room and

children's

community wish

the latest in access to cyberspace.

their foresighted library director did not disappoint

puters in the

the

It's

library

under the

was being designed. In anticipation

floor are saving

Yet to be installed

commissioned

room

when

for the next

the building

earlier bv Sabra

grown up

in

whatever

is

to

Bill

the other side of the

much

when

the Belvedere -

life-size

as a

bronze heron,

memorial

to their late

Drohan, former Tiburon Mayor Al Kuhn and

Horton. The internationally famous wildlife sculptor,

Marin, delivered the $30,000

gift a

of the

come, the Walker Ducts

opened was Wheatley Allen's

Tom

architects

of technology.

Drohan, Joy Kuhn and Joanne Horton

husbands, former Tiburon councilman Belvedere shipping executive

wave

of

The

thought that

a staggering

technology taken for granted in libraries today hadn't even been invented

Tiburon

computer-

them. Anyone can reach out from com-

wing and touch somebody on

T-l line carrying 150,000 words a second.

list,

who had

few weeks after the opening and surprised assem72

FIRST A

DREAM

bled guests with not one, but two herons. Alight in the circular planting prepared for the single piece in the front courtyard, the pair were such a spectacular addition to the courtyard that the

board found the money Just as a

the public

to

buy the second heron.

newly-launched vessel takes

and

staff began to

use the

a

library.

shakedown

Some were

major correction. Certain spaces didn't work quite

as

cruise, unforeseen glitches

Founders

The

replaced.

planned and were

Room

help.

shifted. Interior lighting

The

were too heavy

director called for to

move and had

more to

be

building committee identified these and other problems and asked the appropriate

come back

volunteer committees to library to

as

simply finishing touches; others required

was readjusted. Exterior signage and the landscaping needed bulletin boards. Tables ordered for the

showed up

grumble about

to

work. Almost everybody was too thrilled with their new-

it.

Few, however, were pleased with the professionally installed landscaping surrounding their beautiful building. Joy plantings.

Under her

Kuhn,

a gifted

direction, the roses

propriate materials were

amateur landscapes volunteered

removed and replaced with native vegetation and plantings unique in the

situations required the continued attention of the

after ten years

two

architects.

upon

to

remain

as

As the contracted pro-

undertook

of volunteering equally professional

ished with committee work, but was prevailed

to the

low maintenance landscaping.

fessional deeply devoted to the building he designed, Schatz gladly

mitment. Levorsen,

redo the design and

(which were being eaten by hungrv deer) and other inap-

Tiburon Peninsula. Even the herons seemed happier

Some

to

to fulfill his

wanted

skills,

com-

to be fin-

chairman of the building com-

mittee for another year. Five

months

after the library

opened,

a progress report

from the

library director indicated that

The

was operating

the planners

must have done quite

a bit, if not everything, right.

high

community

was being used, admired and enjoyed. Her

level of

intended necessarily to greatly

improved

support;

it

reflect the

library's effect

new

library

library's functional effectiveness,

on the community. General 73

circulation

at a

statistics

were not

but they did

reflect a

had increased more than

THE BUILDING 60 percent. Children's room circulation had increased by 126 percent and usage was skyrocketing. People were asking for more library hours.

using

MARINet cards

Some 350

to access the

community

left

San Francisco. Interviewed

Of Jim without

"It's

my

to

its

restraints

more money, and

site,

library,

Schatz, ALA,

Tiburon Library,

who saw

accomplishment despite

could have used a bigger

Mark

to

which the

library belongs.

patrons had signed up as Internet users and the T-l line was in constant demand.

a miracle of

of-the-art

8,500 Belvedere and Tiburon patrons were

county-wide Internet consortium

All things considered, the people

was

More than

a lot

and they were proud

building recognized that their

and almost overwhelming

more of

space, but there

book

in

was,

library

obstacles.

all theirs,

They

a state-

it.

Bull Stockwell Allen in 2000 to for this

it

new

December of

become

a principal at Field Paoli in

that year, he said of the Belvedere -

proudest achievement to date."

Levorsen, AIA, the library dedication program noted: Special thanks go to Jim Levorsen,

whom

there

would be no

library.

His devotion

to the project

and professional

coordination of all aspects of the design and construction insured that our splendid building dedicated today.

74

expertise in the

community would have

the

EFLECTIONS

y-y n 1895, dreamers grounded an old side-wheeler on the beach and established the

J. on the Tiburon Peninsula. In 1929, dreamers welcomed at

the height of the Depression.

years.

And

in 1997,

government, provided

the nation and, as far as

and how did

is

known, none

a diverse

to

Tiburon

for

else its

thought possible. They built

support, and gave

in California,

it

have ever done

to the

a

landmark new-

community. Few

in

that.

group drawn from two independent communities work so well

together for ten challenging years 5

motivated by one

branch library

library

took more dreamers to keep the doors open for almost seventy

dreamers did what nobody

library, structured its

Why

It

a count)'

first

common goal, and

To begin

with, they were strong, competent individuals

they never lost their enthusiasm for that goal.

They worked

well together because the leaders developed and sustained a process-oriented, non-hierarchical

modus

operandi.

When

they talk about

it,

the participants and library director, 75

still

enchanted by the

commu-

REFLECTIONS nity that built the library, are clear

about the reasons

for their

remarkable success, as well as what

they might have done differently:

many good

Margaret Jones: "This project worked well because so

without expecting any personal benefit or special treatment. That matters!"

tribute for years

Sharon Bass:

was absolutely ludicrous

"It

ing a library, and then giving to us that

or that

it

it

people were willing to con-

would evolve

would become

Allan Littman:

for a

But

to the county.

it

group that's

to

what we had

to the point that the local library

a library

"When

a

few

unique

to California

local citizens

best library possible, they sensed that

if

contemplate raising funds and buildin

mind.

would secede from

It

never occurred

the county system,

and perhaps the nation."

conceived the idea of building and operating the

they asked their fellow citizens to do their best, they would

not be disappointed. Their hopes were realized and the seemingly impossible was achieved."

Leonard Rogers: "We knew we had a talented community and people emerged from

legal

and financial experts

Margaret Jones: ple

would

as

needed,

to landscapers."

"Much should

be credited to Sharon Bass's leadership. She believed that peo-

were having fun participating. They came back

stay with the project only if they

because they enjoyed the comradeship and shared sense of accomplishment. Each individual's success in

some

aspect of the project

became

part of the

were many disagreements, but there was always

group together.

A change

a lot

whole group's

of warmth,

also.

feeling of success.

There

Kind laughter helps hold

a

of pace or tone during a meeting helps defuse tensions."

Genny Chapman: "This was the

first

board

I've ever

served on where everybody worked. There

were no slackers!" Allan Littman: "At c.uly in the capital

first

campaign

amount of money, but only cient funding for

its

we

if

didn't

know

a prospective

all

the things

we would have

donor was willing

to write a

remember

I

check

for a substantial

he was assured that once the library was built there would be

maintenance.

It

made

us think about that right away."

76

that

to do.

suffi-

FIRST A

Deborah Mazzolini:

what we

who we

"New

libraries are

do, but Belvedere -Tiburon are

DREAM

being built

all

over the country, and

many

will offer

unique. Structural organization and governance makes us

is

and enables our decision-making

process.

The

joint

powers agency and support from

the parcel tax are critical aspects of this library's uniqueness. Seceding from the county system

opened up our taking control of the building and establishing

all

operational

management

free

from pre-established bureaucracies."

"Some of the mistakes we made

Carol Fore//:

we

look far enough into the future once

Richard Rozen: process began, but

we were bowled All: "If you

"It it

decided to separate from the county library system."

would have been

wasn't

realistic.

over by having to

We

make

better to have hired a library director before the design

didn't have the money. so

many

have talent in the community, use

degree. In addition to the advice

availed ourselves

more of

we

planning may have been because we didn't

in

fast decisions."

We should

it.

Then, while we were building, ,

have trusted ourselves to a greater

we

got from the library consultant

hired,

we could have

the opinion of local library professionals. After the architect

was

engaged, the hierarchical situation that developed probably was unavoidable because professionals are

tee

used to relying on other professionals. But

on down.

A perfect example

is

it

affected decisions

the inappropriate landscaping that

from the building commit-

was

beautifully redesigned

by a local volunteer."

Deborah Mazzolini: "The storage space

is

inadequate, but lack of storage and operating space

are traditional complaints in the library world.

There could have been

circulation desk to certain areas of the reading room,

young people. Those things can be the building

was

started.

Richard Rozen: dime.'

The

Needs

"We had

so

corrected.

shifted

much

and we need more

This library belonged

when we

better sight lines facilities for

from the

children and

system

when

make changes

'on a

to the county-

left it."

invested in design that

architect did as well as he could adjusting space to

we

couldn't

meet those new needs."

Deborah Mazzolini: "Always remember that what's truly exciting and unique about 77

this

mW* i\

V

.

...!,-.

FIRST A library

is

the

community involvement made

ited participation

by volunteers.

My

DREAM

possible by the

colleagues always are

JPA governance

that permits unlim-

amazed when

talk

I

about the high

degree of mutual trust that exists between the library administration and the community."

As they reminisce, these

steering

committee veterans agree that

if

they were to do

other aspects of planning and building the library would be approached quite differently.

door reading area

is

again,

The

out-

not often used and might better have been put at the rear of the building

instead of next to busy

walkways next

it

Tiburon Boulevard. In warm weather, the open casement windows along

to the building

were potential head-knockers and were replaced. The reference

department needed an expensive etched glass partition

installed to separate

it

from

traffic in

the

corridor leading to the children's library.

The is

library's architectural footprint will not allow for significant expansion,

needed.

Some on

room and wish

for a

That might be they can do

it

the steering committee look

second

just

story,

up

to the cathedral ceiling in the

or at least a balcony to

one more challenge

for the

again.

78

however much

it

main reading

accommodate more books.

dreamers

to take on.

They

did

it

before,

and

J/Ifterword: the next dream

The Belvedere -Tiburon Library today purposes as varied as the people infants