By Carolyn Mish
Samantha Zenack
Long before Samantha Zenack began working with her therapy dog, Winnie, she brought her daughter to Tales to Tails events at the Downtown Library.
“When my daughter was about six, she was working on her reading and she wasn’t feeling super comfortable in class reading out loud,” Zenack said. “We went every single weekend. It was every Saturday, and for a very long time it was just a part of our routine.”
Coming out of COVID-19, Zenack began to seek opportunities to volunteer with her dog, Winnie, as she began working as a therapy dog. Tales to Tails, available at multiple Santa Cruz Public Library branches, was the perfect opportunity for her.
“The intent of the program is to be for any child who would like to participate, whether they’re struggling with reading or not,” Zenack said. “What’s being provided is a space for children to share a book in whatever way is comfortable to them with a therapy dog that gives them unconditional support for their reading.”
Her experience volunteering with Winnie has been a simple way to incorporate service into her routine. “It seems to work beautifully with kids,” Zenack said. “By and large, they feel really comfortable with it. It’s a simple thing, and it’s really sweet when [the kids and dogs] get comfortable with one another.”
Debby Peronto, vice president of the Aptos Chapter of the Friends, Aptos representative of Friends of Santa Cruz Public Library Board
While libraries and education were not the focus of Peronto’s career, she recalls their importance in her life from an early age.
“I grew up in a very financially challenged childhood, and the only thing we could do for free was go to the library,” Peronto said. “Every week, my mom would ride her bike, carrying my two year old brother. I was seven, and I’d ride my bike behind hers all the way to the library. And they’d give us as many free books as we could carry with us on our trip back, as long as we returned them. It was amazing for me.”
In 2016, Peronto helped found the Aptos branch of the Friends. She quickly began to involve herself in projects and campaigns, and has been contributing to the chapter ever since.
“Several of us believed that libraries should have book sales, and so we started monthly book sales and did that for about six years until the library closed for remodeling,” Peronto said. “We were able to use that money to get more programs for summer reading and to contribute to the branches that don’t have Friends groups, so they can have summer reading also.”
In addition to book sales that helped improve the Aptos Library, Peronto also helped fundraise with the Realizing the Promise campaign, which has today raised over 2.6 million dollars in funds supplementing Measure S to build the new Downtown Library.
“What’s exciting in Aptos is that now that the library is built, we don’t have to save money for that anymore,” Peronto said. “Our fundraising we do now can be for community service projects, like our November book sale, and we can use that money to support programs that the library is requesting or community members demonstrate a need for.”
Peronto also acts as the Aptos representative in her role on the Friends of Santa Cruz Public Library Board, and cites her involvement in the umbrella organization as another way she feels connected to the work.
“That enables me to use my experience from Aptos while learning more about the overall system and what it means, too,” Peronto said. “I sit on the advocacy, policy, procedures, and nominating committees.”
Peronto’s commitment to her neighborhood Aptos chapter is exemplary of what it means to be a Friend; to want and work for a better, more accessible, and more resourced library for everyone in the community to enjoy.
Libraries are for everyone: any member of our community can benefit from the programs and services offered across the ten branches. Similarly, anyone can be a Friend. Whether through advocacy, donations, or volunteering, anyone and everyone can make a vital difference in supporting the Friends’ work and Santa Cruz Public Libraries.
Carolyn Mish holds a position at the Division of Undergraduate Education at UCSC as a Student Writer. She reports on events and community stories in order to highlight voices and perspectives.