Thank you for Libby Hanson’s June 12 article “Checking in” highlighting the fresh challenges facing libraries across the United States with the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and associated funding. While the article mentioned that the Summer Reading Program may be in jeopardy in Paso Robles, the board members of the SLO County Library Foundation want to clarify that this contraction of funding will not affect the 2025 Summer Reading Program at the 14 branches in the SLO County system. The SLO County Library Foundation is fully committed to sponsoring summer reading and has already funded this summer’s programs. Indeed, supporting this annual program is one of the primary missions of the SLO County Library Foundation, which receives bequests and donations to be shared among the libraries across the SLO County system for programs such as Summer Reading and Library by Mail.
The Summer Reading Program kicked off on June 7 and will end on Aug. 9 with a big celebration at Cuesta College. This summer’s reading program encourages readers of all ages to exercise their “curiosity muscle” and discover new ideas and media with the help of our friends at the public library. The 14-branch SLO County library system includes every public library in SLO County except for those in Paso Robles and Templeton, which operate independently of the SLO County library system. In these financially tenuous times for local public services, it’s important to support all our libraries because libraries are for everyone.
Juliane McAdam
president
San Luis Obispo County Library Foundation
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 6, 2025.