Shut-In Service


Volunteers have been selecting materials to meet individual interests and delivering them to Santa Monica residents confined at home and in health
care or retirement facilities since 1973. Any Santa Monican who has
difficulty coming to the Library or carrying books because of age, illness, temporary or permanent disability can be served.


All materials that can be borrowed by walk-in patrons can be checked out
for our homebound Library users. Homebound patrons do not need a Library
card to receive this entirely free service. To sign up, please call 310-458-8646.  Click here for information on becoming a volunteer with the Shut-In Service.  You can also contact us via email at Shut.In@smgov.net.


Large Print Book Collection


If you have difficulty reading the small type typical of most printed material,
you may be interested in our large print book collection. The Library
subscribes to several large print standing order plans and acquires
bestsellers, biographies, and other quality fiction and nonfiction books as quickly as they become available in large print format. Many large print
books are purchased in paperback because they are lighter and usually
easier to handle.



The large print collection at the New Main Library is located on the
first floor at the west wall behind the Information Desk.  There are
also large print book collections at each of the library branches, the Ken Edwards Center, 1527 Fourth St. and a smaller collection at the
Senior Recreation Center, 1450 Ocean Ave.


Talking Books Service


Patrons with visual and/or physical impairments, who participate in the
Library of Congress' Talking Books Service through the Braille Institute
in Los Angeles, may be able to receive equipment and/or Talking Book
cassettes on an interim, emergency basis only as available from the
Ocean Park and Fairview Branch libraries. For more information, call the
Ocean Park Branch at (310) 392-3804 and the Fairview Branch Library
at (310) 450-0443.


Ken Edwards Center Reading Collection


The Ken Edwards Center Reading collection is a collaborative project
of the Santa Monica Public Library and the Ken Edwards Center, a public
facility owned and operated by the City of Santa Monica. Approximately
200 books including popular fiction and new nonfiction titles (about half
are in large print) are available to be signed out (a library card is not
necessary) for two weeks at a time.


The Ken Edwards Center is located at 1527 Fourth Street. It is open
from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and every other
Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.


Volunteer Opportunities


 Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library - raise funds and support many valuable Library collections and services. If you would like to help in their bookstore and other activities, call 310-458-8608.


Shut-In Service - volunteers, who are interested in books and people,
can directly aid Santa Monica's homebound residents. Volunteers
regularly select and deliver library materials several hours every two
weeks. Visits may vary from a few minutes to thirty minutes or more and
are eagerly anticipated by our homebound patrons. For more information,
call 310-458-8646. For other volunteer opportunities within the City of
Santa Monica click here.


Equipment for Special Needs at the Main Library


Available at the second floor Reference Desk, Main Library offers public
access to a TTY/TDD-equipped telephone, magnifying sheets, 8 1/2 by 11
inches that can be signed out to use in the Library, and the Optelect,
Visual Enlargement machine.


Books Plus . . .


Many books, periodicals, and reference materials of particular interest to
seniors are available. Subjects include health and nutrition, estate
planning, retirement, finance, jobs, travel, arts and literature, and
consumer information. Nonfiction materials and periodicals are located
on the second floor, fiction on the first floor. The New Books gondolas,
located just inside the 601 Santa Monica Blvd. entrance at Main Library,
holds bestsellers of all kinds.


Audiovisual collections, located on the Main Library's first floor, have
many materials that may be of particular interest to seniors. Books-on-
cassette and books-on-CD, classic and contemporary titles, are available
to check out for four weeks at a time. Sound Recordings of popular and
classical music and compact discs can be checked out for four weeks
at a time.


The Main Library offers DVDs and videos of new and old popular feature
films, Shakespearean plays, opera, travel, and a variety of other
documentaries. There's also an extensive collection of closed-captioned
videos. Up to 5 video titles and 3 DVDs may be checked out from the
Main Library for 7 days (no renewals). Please note: Branch libraries
may have different number limits on their audiovisual collections.


Programs of Interest at the Main Library


The Library is one of 12 partner libraries in the California Center for the
Book, a state affiliate of the Library of Congress' Center for the Book.
This partnership supports special author, and other book programs. For
more information, check the California Center for the Book web site.

The Library offers a number of author appearances, book signings,
informative workshops and other events, focusing on a wide variety of topics
and interests. The Library also now  offers several free monthly movie
screenings in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium, including musicals,
movie classics, and a Book-To-Movie discussion series that features a movie screening and a discussion of the book it was based on. Be sure to keep
an eye on our calendar page for a listing of current and upcoming events.


Other Library Services


Information and Referral - The Main Library's Reference Services provides
an extensive range of specialized directories and referral information
about agencies, services, education, and other subjects of interest to
senior citizens.


Forms - Income tax forms are available online at all library locations and
voter registration forms are also available. Ask for other forms of interest
at the Reference Desk.


 Telephone Reference - Questions requiring brief responses are answered
by librarians in the Main Library Reference Department Mon.-Thurs. 10 a.m.
to 9 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
The number to call is 310-434-2608.


Catalog Assistance - If you wish a book held for you, call Catalog
Assistance 310-458-8614, may be called during regular Main Library
service hours. Staff will pull the item while you wait and put it on Will
Call for you.  It will be held for 24 hours and can be picked up at the
Customer Services Desk.