By Khalida Sarwari and Matt Wilson
Gayathri Kanth, who has been the community librarian at the Saratoga Library since April 2010, is returning to her roots in Cupertino, where she’ll take the reins at the county library district’s branch with the highest traffic.
Kanth,whose last day is Oct. 2, took the Saratoga top job three years ago after working her way up to manager of adult services at the Cupertino branch, where she spent about 11 years beginning in 1998.
“I was really, really happy in Saratoga. I had a fantastic time there with our staff, the community, our city, you name it,” Kanth said. “It was fantastic, but this is the next step.”
Kanth will be leaving her mark on the Saratoga Library and community in the numerous successful events she organized.In May,the library hosted a “fair-style” 10th anniversary event, with author panels, carnival games and an e-gadget petting zoo, which encouraged people to play around with and learn about tablets and e-readers. The event was attended by more than 1,000 people, including local dignitaries.
Just this past month, the library held an event just for kindergarteners and their families and invited children’s author Matthew Gollub to read multicultural tales to the kids while their parents attended a mini-workshop on the benefits of reading. This event, held on a weeknight, was attended by more than 200 people.
Kanth’s last project is the transformation of the library’s copy room into a local government research center. In partnership with the city of Saratoga, the library will move all city council meeting tapes, agendas and minutes to one central area. The center will also have IRS and voter registration forms and a work station. The installation takes place Oct. 2.
“I’m super excited about it,” Kanth said.
In her new job, Kanth will manage overall library operations, supervise staff, network with the community and work with the library foundation, civic groups and Friends of Cupertino Library. She takes over for Mark Fink, who was promoted to the district’s services manager for outreach and public awareness. In early 2010, Fink had replaced Rosanne Macek, who became director of the Mountain View Library after about two years leading the library.
The Cupertino branch, which has a circulation of about 3 milion items annually, is the Santa Clara Library District’s biggest and busiest—factors that Kanth said influenced her decision to make the transition.
“I think it’s a great challenge because of the extreme busyness of the library,” she said. “If you have ever been to the Cupertino Library around 2 p.m., it’s a zoo.”
Kanth believes her experience with the Cupertino branch and the community will help her jump right in.
“I’m used to the culture of Cupertino, I’m used to the community of Cupertino and a lot of staff are there from when I first left,” she said. “Even though I was with Cupertino for many, many years, it is one thing to even be a manager, but to be the head of the library is very different.”
Kanth’s first day on the new job is Oct. 29, after she returns from a family trip to India and Thailand.
Originally from India, Kanth came to the United States in 1992 with a background in English literature. One of her earliest experiences in the United States was exploring the Mountain View Public Library.
“I felt this is a welcoming place. The library was that place that really gave me that sense of welcoming,” she said.
An acting librarian will be appointed to replace Kanth while the Saratoga Library conducts a nationwide search for its next community librarian.
