Riverside Public Library Foundation
Literacy Legacy Program
The Design of the New Riverside Main Library
Riverside is deservedly proud of its long distinguished history and its eclectic robust architec- tural legacy. While carrying forward these traditions, principal architects Steve Johnson and Jim Favaro of Johnson Favaro designed a library that is contemporary in plan and conception – a vital modern institution abreast of all technological developments and a symbol of ad - vancement and learning. It creates a landmark befitting of our time, continuing the traditions but also reflecting contemporary aspiration in a way that is commensurate with the contribu - tions of the early 20th century city pioneers.
The exterior design of the new Riverside Main Library is inspired by a wide range of Califor - nia architectural styles – Spanish Colonial Revival, Moorish Revival, Spanish Gothic, Renais- sance Revival. These varied influences include The Mission Inn itself in its use of cast-in-place concrete as well as its inspiration of Mission Revival; the California Missions in the use of white plaster surfaces, both dramatic and simple, that when curved against the California sky, reflect the intense heat of the southwestern sun; the historical and easily recognized arch and balloon vault form – thousands of years old, yet found in the Missions in the late 18th Century, in the neighboring Fox Theater of 1929, in the designs of the Mid-20th- Century architect Irving Gill, in Eero Saarinen’s TWA Terminal at JFK Airport – that give shape to the windows and the ceiling; and the marble print porcelain tile that faces historic Mission Inn Avenue that gives the material substance at once ancient (shared by civic architecture for thousands of years) and yet bold and modern in expression.
In the Interior of the Library, rich reds, golds, greens, and ochres from ancient times and cultures enliven walls, porcelain, and art. The Children’s Space walls and ceilings are at once a colorful marketplace in Guadalajara, a tribute to the mid-century artist Josef Albers, and a little bit of Pompeii thrown in for good measure. A light fixture over the storytime area recalls carnival rides or festival lighting – an homage to Riverside’s Festival of Lights.
From a high vantage point, library patrons will see the extraordinary environs of Riverside.
The 3rd-and 4th-floor areas offer astonishing views of the city spreading north towards the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountain ranges and west to the local landmark Mount Rubidoux. Four large boulders common to the Santa Ana River basin are imbedded in the 3rd-floor outdoor reading terrace, pieces of local terra firma upon which to perch.
The forms of the new library are both time-honored and forward looking for this genera- tion of those living and growing up in Riverside and will create a landmark appropriate of our time – continuing the traditions, yet reflecting today’s hopes and ambitions.
Join the Literacy Legacy
The Riverside Public Library is the cultural and learn- ing center for the community – encouraging the joy
and wonder of reading, the wisdom of diverse ideas,
and the power of lifelong learning.
Library services are provided at eight locations
throughout the City with new technologies, meet -
ing areas for small and large groups, and captivating
children’s spaces. On average each year, more than
500,000 customers visit the Library. They learn new
technologies, sing and dance in storytimes, apply for
work via computers. They borrow more than 500,000
items, (including nearly 44,000 digital materials), par- ticipate in 1,700 programs, and have visited the library website more than 3.5 million times.
The Riverside Public Library Foundation is creating
the LITERACY LEGACY Program to support the future
development and sustainability of our state-of-the-art
libraries.
LITERACY LEGACY will advance our collective vision of
expanding spaces for imagination, discovery, and con-
nections by providing these materials and services:
Books
(more best sellers and children’s books)
Digital Resources
(e-books, e-audiobooks, e-reference materials)
Technology
Adult and Family Literacy Programs
Classes/Programs for all ages
Innovation Centers
Spaces for Community Gathering
Join the Literacy Legacy...
The Literacy Legacy Program
Storytime Area
Innovation Center
Adult Collections
The LITERACY LEGACY PROGRAM
The goal of the Literacy Legacy Program is to raise $10 million over the next five years to support and sustain the Riverside Library, ensuring its excellence for Riverside citizens. You can make a lasting gift and become part of this program in two ways over the five-year period
1 2
You can put your name, or the name of
a loved one, on one of the prominent
spaces in the new Main Library
(see the following pages for spaces and amounts)
You can put your name or the name of a loved
one on the Legacy Wall ($1,000 or $2,500)OR
Marketplace
Carnegie Reading Room
Illuminated globes and a vintage
table from Riverside’s original
Carnegie Library (1903) add
elegance to this 12-seat reading/
meeting space.
The Marketplace is the
distinctive entry to the library
featuring new books, self-check-
out machines, laptop kiosks,
and a grand piano.
In an interior, large, whimsical
space, the Storytime Area invites
reading and learning together in
cheery comfort.
The Oculus Rift Virtual Reality
Station, 3-D printers, a sound
recording booth, iMac desktops,
and the Young Adult book collection
in the Innovation Center inspire
aspiration and creativity.
With views to the north and south,
the fourth-floor Adult Collections
space offers non-fiction, fiction,
large-print, and Spanish books
and materials.
Please see the forms at the back of this brochure for how to participate.
DOUBLE YOUR DONATION with your company’s matching gift program. Receive full donor credit for both your pledged amount and the amount of our company’s match. If your company has a matching gift program, please include this on the enclosed pledge form.
For ongoing updates on the Literacy Legacy Program and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit our website:
riversidelibraryfoundation.org
Join the Literary Legacy -- on the Donor Wall
Riverside Public Library • 3900 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside 92501 Join the Literary Legacy -- by Naming a Prominent
Space in the Main Library
SPACE AMOUNT SQUARE FEET
Marketplace $1,000,000 1,334
Children’s Library $1,000,000 2,260
Adult Collections $1,000,000 3,466
Community Room $750,000 1,902
Reading Room (Third Floor) $750,000 2,132
Terrace $650,000 1,500
Innovation Center $500,000 1,216
Friends of the Library Book Store $300,000 830
Storytime Area $300,000 810
Early Learning Corner $300,000 750
Carnegie Reading Room $250,000 550
Conference Room $150,000 364
Staircase $100,000
Study Room A--8 person $75,000 194
Elevator (3) $75,000
Study Room B- 5 person $50,000 120
Study Room C--5person $50,000 120
Soundbooth $50,000
Stacks: 23 Children’s $5,000
Stacks: 4 Innovation Center/Marketplace $7,500
Stacks: 14 Adult $10,000
Donor Wall $2,500-$1,000
The Riverside Public Library Foundation • P .O. Box 349, Riverside, CA 92502-0349 • Tax ID: 33-0780130 • riversidelibraryfoundation.org The Riverside Public Library Foundation raises funds
to ensure the excellence of public library services for City of Riverside residents
Since 1997, the Foundation – thanks to the generosity of Riverside indi - viduals and businesses and foundation grants – has raised more than $1.8 million, providing enhancements to library services that otherwise would not have been possible.
Because of the Foundation’s wonderful donors and supporters, the Library currently offers these programs and services:
The Annual SUMMER READING PROGRAM
Works of art, the fountain and amphitheater at the SSgt Salvador J. Lara Casa Blanca Family Library
The Martin Luther King, Jr ., Special Collection
The Veterans’ Oral History Project
The HEALTH LITERACY Collection
BOOKS for the collections: best sellers, books for children, hundreds of new books for the Orange Terrace Library; books to support the EARLY LEARNING programs The PLAY AND LEARN ISLANDS, with manipulatives and STEM activities The system-wide POLARIS INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM (ILS) MAKERSPACE – high-tech equipment for creativity and innovation TOYS-TO-GO, the toy-lending library in each of the 8 library branches SELF-SERVICE KIOSKS - in each library branch
The automated LAPTOP CHECKOUT STATION in the Main Library E-BOOKS, E-AUDIOBOOKS, and digital licenses for all library patrons Past Programs offered by the Library:
Computers provided at low cost to families who together learn computer skills at the library
The STORYMOBILE – serving day-care programs in the City The EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM for ages 0-5 and their caregivers On-line homework help for grades K-8
The TEEN SPACE in the Main Library
The Riverside Public Library Foundation Board - 2021
The Foundation raises funds through annual community donations, fundraisers, permanent restricted and unrestricted endowments, major and planned gifts, endowed collections, honorary and memo - rial gifts and securing grants. All grants received are passed through 100% to the Library; additional fundraising covers all administrative expenses.
The volunteer Board makes all decisions related to the Foundation.
The only paid staff is a part-time assistant who performs the day-to- day work of the Foundation. This arrangement makes it possible to give directly to the Library the overwhelming majority of the total funds raised. (See our annual report at riversidelibraryfoundation.org) Board members make an annual meaningful financial contribution to the Foundation and positively promote the Riverside Public Library and the Foundation to the City Council and to the community.
Funds raised from this campaign will supplement but not take the place of City funding for the Library.
2021 Board Members
Susan Toscano, President
Julie Hartwigsen, CFO
Irene Conable, Secretary
Judith Fish, Immediate Past President
Brian Federici
Linda Itzen
Ai Kelly
Eric LaNier
Marsha Loveridge
Barbara Purvis
Susan Rainey
Georgia Renne
Cheryl Sautter-Konyn
Barbara Shackelton
John Wahlin
Steven Ybarra
Members Emeriti
Henry Coil
Wendell Tucker