Goats Are Back to Lagoon

NASIG 2026: A Year in Making

End of the Old Guard: Rene's Retirement

On 16 April 2026, we had a retirement party for Rene Belling after her 37 years' working at Santa Cruz Public Libraries (SCPL). It is truly a giant milestone to any new comers. 

Courtesy of Mike Zulim

Rene's retirement marks the end of the old guard at our former Processing Team which consisted of four full time employees, two for print and two for media at Technical Services (TS), now Collection Management Services (CMS). Since December 1999 when I started working at TS, the team had been reduced to two people who later morphed into copy catalogers. Rene was the last standing old guard after the retirement of her book counterpart Jeff in 2023. Now the team is succeeded by two young catalogers who are assisted by a team of ad hoc processors. 

Rene, in floral blouse, with three CMS managers, Shelley, Sarah and Margaret

 Courtesy of Mike Zulim

In honor of the end of an era as well as her long service, Rene invited all SCPL's old guards, local and mobile. The guest list included three directors, three CMS managers, and her coworkers within and outside CMS. A retirement party turned into an unintended SCPL reunion. Everyone in the department was asked beforehand to contribute, either cash, food or labor. For my contributions, I donated some cash, two army-sized trays of chow mein (chicken & vegetarian) and a big bowl of home fried rice. Looking around so many hungry mouths, I was a little relieved to see my noodles and rice having some mileage, before they totally disappeared. 

Victor with his ubiquitous trivia game

 Courtesy of Mike Zulim

As usual, there was a farewell choir and Victor's trivia quiz. My saving grace was the presence of ex-Head of Cataloger Dody and Collection Development Manager Gail. We three chatted at our table and decided to depart before the quiz winner was announced. The glory belonged to the winner and party honoree. 

Our table doing trivia (Dody, Michael and Gail)

Happy Retirement, Rene! Farewell to the old guard!!

Overusing Localities in Recent Titles

There has been a trend to overuse local references when writing about a story or incident in a particular place. Examples of such phenomenon are too abundant to list them all.

Courtesy of https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Cannabis-author/dp/1954118627

Recently I have read two books in a row that demonstrate this tendency, i.e., Meg Waite Clayton's Typewriter Beach (2025), and Scott Eden's A Killing in Cannabis (2026). The former has literally exhausted place names like Carmel, while the latter, has exploited to the last drop place names like 38th Avenue (Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, California). The writer's reference to 212 Fern Street, the late Tushar Atre's cannabis business site, is truly unprecedented. A palm-sized building renovated from an automotive shop has suddenly been elevated to an enormous business empire building. The author mentions the street number countless times in a 370-page book. I would totally surrender myself to the description, if Paul did not have his studio right across the street for more than 20 years, or if we did not shop at Santa Cruz Costco and pass it by it weekly. 

Courtesy of https://www.amazon.com/Typewriter-Beach-Meg-Waite-Clayton/dp/006342214X

Meg's Typewriter Beach followed suit by referring constantly to Carmel-by-the-sea and Carmel Point. The word Carmel alone has been used 90 times, whereas Point, 62 times, in a 305-page book. It was, however, surpassed by Nina Simon's Mother-daughter Murder Night (2023). Elkhorn Slough, or simply Slough, is used 99 times in a book of 357 pages. Such a fondness for overusing local references might be characteristic of any out-of stater or transplanted authors, perhaps in order to endear themselves to both local readers and publishers. 

Courtesy of https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65646968-mother-daughter-murder-night

There is a commonality to all those titles with distinctive real places: powerful Silicon Valley tycoons, LA high-powered real estate moguls, or reclusive Oscar-winners descending upon, residing at, or immortalizing humble places like Fern Street. While in awe of recent titles for local authenticity and colors, we are wondering if there is an underlying insecurity or lack of deeper knowledge of local history. Heavy makeup is always a tell-tale sign of the desire to hide. More often than not, overreliance on limited named places shrink the universe of a character or story. No wonder, most activities conducted by Gemma and Sam take place no further than the Point in Typewriter Beach.

Visiting Dallas in March

Paul and I visited Dallas from March 5th to the 11th. It was an overdue visit, as we did not go last year, when it coincided with our busy preparations for the 50th reunion in Shanghai in April 2025.

Unlike the scorching August heat that we often experienced in the past 30 odd years, the weather in Dallas this time was actually quite pleasant. We were even drenched by a couple of heavy downpours. As the main freeway I-635 has more or less been restored to its normal state, the travel time was significantly reduced from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to our hotel adjacent to the LBJ Freeway.

The main purpose of our visit was seeing and spending time with Paul's sister Crissie who resorts mainly to a scooter to move around her apartment. To go out for a dinner or other entertainment, she needs to get help into a wheelchair, for her battery operated scooter is simply too heavy to be transported with a vehicle. With the combined effort of her daughter Nikki, Paul and me, we managed to have dinner at Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe, a Greek Restaurant. Two days later, her plan to visit a dinner-theater was aborted, due to her miscommunication with a receptionist. Hence, we settled on dining with at her Sunrise facility.

We saw Rob and Nikki, two of Crissie's five children residing in Dallas. Despite torrents of change in their respective lives, they both seemed to cope well with their new situations. The relationship between the two appeared to be thawing as well. It is so good to see them taking extra care of their mother by visiting her more often, and reinforcing their bonding. This is particularly true of Rob who shares the same intense interest in tennis as his mother. He is like a walking encyclopedia powered by AI on tennis, in the know of many nuances that would escape most of us laymen. It turns out that tennis, like golf, goes on all year round. Crissie, on the other hand, watches major tennis matches with gusto and a good memory. She is watching less news this time than before, which is beneficial to her health.

Rob watches one of tennis matches at Indian Wells 2026

A week in Dallas came and went before our eyes. The week back home was quickened too with a week long heat wave, work and family calls. There has not been a dull moment.

Gary Kurutz, a True California Librarian, Historian and Writer

I am deeply saddened at the passing of Gary Francis Kurutz (1948-2025), after learning it first on Facebook and confirmed by BrittneyDawn Cook, Editor of the California State Library Foundation (CSLF) Bulletin. 

My association with Gary is relatively short, compared with his other longtime associates and colleagues. The catalyst is Harriet G. Eddy (1876-1966), the first organizer of the California County Library System, and one of the two assistants to the 9th State Librarian James L. Gillis (1857-1917). Guided by Dr. Michael K. Buckland at Berkeley, I was researching and writing about her since 2018. Upon the completion of two years' writing, I was contemplating about its prospective publishers. Dr. Buckland advised me that the Bulletin would likely accept a paper on Eddy, if it had some new material in it. Also it was an open access journal.

At the kind recommendation of Cynthia Mediavilla, emeritus professor at University of California, Los Angeles, I contacted Gary Kurutz, Editor of Bulletin in August 2020. Gary read the manuscript and was interested. He would like to include it in Bulletin #129. Owing to the imminent COVID-19 and overlength of the manuscript, he revised his publishing plan by turning it into a special edition, with his ingenious and tireless efforts in securing the needed funding. Edited professionally by Pat Morris and Gary himself, the 2021 Special Edition is a beautiful and classic tribute to Eddy, an unsung heroine in the history of California libraries. Looking at the official publication, the quiet Gary could not help cheering loudly to Dr. Buckland, "We are very pleased for you, Michael! Harriet lives on!" (Re: Beautiful! On Sat, Jul 17, 2021 at 10:51 AM) 

Gary's 2021 Special Edition published!

During the process of revising, rewriting and proofreading, Gary and I maintained in constant contact, mainly by email. On August  22, 2020, he shared with me his lifelong dream plan, "It has been a goal of mine to create a pictorial history of early library service in California. Those photographs of makeshift library buildings and libraries sharing space in general stores are an amazing story. The dedication of the traveling librarians like Eddy makes me admire their valor. It must have been very frightening on some of those roads long before AAA and service stations every few miles."

Gary was a staunching supporter of creating and preserving early library service in California. Two years later I completed an article on Laura Steffens Suggett (1874-1946) under the close guidance of Dr. Buckland. In January 18, 2023, I emailed both Gary and BrittneyDawn, the new editor of Bulletin about the manuscript. As one of the two assistants to Gillis, Laura was a California library pioneer, and contemporary of Eddy. Gary replied three days later to unequivocally endorse the Laura project as our biblical-heroine, even though he had retired from the position of Editor of Bulletin. Little did I know that Gary and Laura both served as the Head Librarian of Sutro Library, from 1979 to 1980, and 1917 to 1923 respectively.

Thanks to two editors of Bulletin, Laura's story is out for the public

As a true California librarian, historian and writer, Gary guided me generously to the rich resources California State Library (CSL) housed, such as the California History Section at the CSL, his pictorial article entitled, It's a Long Trip from Headquarters (Bulletin #92), and his exhibits celebrating Early County Library Service in California. 

Gary was a loving husband, caring father and proud grandfather. In March 17, 2021, he was all excited that his son, daughter-in-law, and baby granddaughter would drive from San Diego to Sacramento. Since their arrival time was at 2:00 AM, Gary and his wife were understandably concerned about their safety. He was happy again that that in July that year, the son's family would join them to spend time in South Lake Tahoe.

Gary was a true admirer of natural beauty in California. He wrote more than once to show his love for Santa Cruz where I live and work, its surfing culture, and tourists from all over the world. "Santa Cruz must be bursting with visitors. Several people in my neighborhood have told me their trips to your beautiful community. How fortunate you are," wrote Gary in August 20, 2020.

We miss you, Gary. So does California, its mountains, forests and beaches.

Revisit Magical Capitola

Last Thursday, Paul suggested that we revisit Capitola. Even though the City of Capitola is only two miles away from our home, we had not been there since the devastating storm of 2023 that broke its Wharf midsection, and destroyed the structures of both Capitola Boat and Bait, and the Wharf House Restaurant. The monster storms also damaged many businesses along the Esplanade. 

Being a stranger in our own neighborhood, we found ourselves lost the moment we parked our car at one of the three-hour metered spots in front of Margaritaville. There were no other parking spaces, but a tall sign a short distance away, indicating the area we were in, forthe ParkMoble app. To get a better cell phone signal, Paul went to the sign and entered from scratch his credit card number, and other essential data to update our seldom-used app.

View from Stockton Bridge

Our first destination was, of course, the restored Capitola Wharf. The moment we approached the wharf, a tranquility transcended on us, along with a revelation of its refreshing modernity. The grimy portable toilets were replaced by three ultra modern bathrooms at the entrance. Going forward, we found the wharf seemed much wider than before with the bouncy and strong new boards. 

The End of New Capitola Wharf 

The Bait Shop was open for business in a semi-tent and under-construction building, while the end restaurant was gone forever. Everywhere you could feel the pride of locals who had kept their new wharf spanking clean and well-funded. They made substantial contributions by immortalizing their families or loved ones' names in bronze plates drilled into the lookouts, benches, railings and front metal banners. The pristine telescopes installed on both sides were new, and in perfect working condition. What a magical transformation of the Wharf!

We ventured along the Esplanade. All the businesses seemed to be there, displaying a collective resilience after damage from several storms in recent years. Further down Monterey Avenue, we reacquainted ourselves with Britannia Arms, the old British red phone booth, Geisha Sushi, and Thai Basil Restaurnt.

Britannia Arms, British Phonebooth, and Geisha Sushi in the back

Capitola is the Carmel of Santa Cruz County, known for its neat and quint boutique shops and houses. as one could glean from its one-room historical museum on Capitola Road, or residential homes and rentals along Riverview Drive. A feel of magic and pride was again deeply felt and permeated the magical village.

Capitola Historical Museum

 

Old Riverview Court & Historic Capitola Cottage

 

December, a Month of Flexibility

Right after the celebration of Thanksgiving in Pleasanton, Nick told us that he would drive his family to Santa Cruz to have Christmas or New Year's with us. Paul and I could not be happier, shopping and preparing a roomful of presents for them. 

Waves at Rockview Drive 12/25/25

Little did we know that an ongoing atmospheric river was brewing on the horizon. As it happened, the rain poured down around the two major holidays, including their eves. We revised our holiday plan accordingly by visiting each other on in-between dry days, and resorting to FaceTime to watch the kids opening their Christmas presents. We managed to connect ourselves with two sisters, one in New York by crashing Hui's big party on December 28, and one in Texas by a surprise call to Crissie immediately after, both utilizing FaceTime. In the meantime, we celebrated three birthdays remotely the same way, and through online delivery.

Opening Christmas presents

Such flexibility is the order of the day in our life and work. Since this fiscal year, our library has encountered an unexpected challenge. Our reliance on shelf-ready for print materials met a roadblock when the new vendor Ingram failed to deliver the promised result. Overbooking itself at the bidding, it was soon overwhelmed with the demand from a huge number of abandoned customers after the quick demise of veteran vendor Baker & Taylor.

What has it meant for our flexible workflow? At the beginning, our copy catalogers were inundated daily with dozens of carts of new titles. Ever since the cataloging meeting of 7/16/2025, I have re-enlisted myself as part of the cataloging team. After my being decommissioned for nearly two decades, I cataloged 18 carts (more than 600 volumes) from July to December. Our team has now been divided into two sections, cataloging and processing, with additional help from ILL and Outreach. All of a sudden, déjà vu of our former department has appeared now and then. Apparently, we are not alone in such a remake. Many a library is on the same track, according to Post-B&T, Vendor Jostle for the Library Market. 

Holiday lunch 2025 at Abbott Square

Self-reliance is still needed in our endeavor to save in-house basic labor cost. We had a heavy lesson in the supply chain shortage, post Covid-19. But our memory is short, requiring constant reinforcement and reminders. Flexibility has helped us to succeed in the year past and will surely help us in the year ahead.

Early Thanksgiving Dinner from Grey Bears

We received our early Thanksgiving dinner from Grey Bears on November 8, 2025. Last Saturday, Paul and I rushed through our breakfast, and set off to Grey Bears' headquarters to pick our holiday dinner. 

Festive volunteers greeting us

Seeing a long line of cars ahead of us, we knew that we were definitely not the first in line. Guided by sets of volunteers in visible vests, our Tesla crawled forward, turned around the dead end to drive past the Bears Electronic Recycling Center. Such a busy traffic scene was a sharp contrast to the quiet Saturday morning exactly a week before. 

Moving forward to turn at the road end

We finally inched our way into the Bears yard. To make more room in a tight yard space, all vehicles were ordered to make four or five lanes, so as to be called upon to receive our dinners at the kitchen gate. Like many years before, everything was well organized with proper signs and cheerful volunteers tasked with specific duties. 

Lanes were created to make more room in a small yard

Unlike the past tradition, one could order online up to six dinners without having to specify the name for each receiver. One name was ample. The new system seemed to be more streamlined. Once one's name was checked by one volunteer, a colorful shopping bag or more would be waiting at the gate, depending on the quantity of dinners. Colorful bags turned out to be donations from Santa Cruz New Leaf Community Markets. It is another streamlined item for Grey Bears this year. Instead of clumsy handlings when several dinners were involved, roomy New Leaf bags can hold two or three dinners easily.

Grey Bears in full swing for holidays

By the time we left the yard, we saw the line of waiting cars not only not diminishing, but growing to the corner of Chanticleer and Soquel Avenues. Curiously, no one seemed to be in an anxious hurry, but hopeful. Perhaps, they shared the same feeling as we did: we were indeed fortunate to live in such a supportive and generous community. Politics could swing left or right, but our local community was something we could always rely upon. Grey Bear's early Thanksgiving Dinner is one living example. 

Second in line to pick up our holiday dinners

Crossing Whale Bridge on Veterans Day

It has been my wish for some time to cross the Whale Bridge erected in July 2025. It is a bicycle and pedestrian crossing over Highway 1 to connect the Chanticleer Avenue that is cutoff by the highway. Since the day it was conceived, the bridge has been attracting negative speculation and complaints about too few users, due to its long curved span, rather than a conventional straight shot over-crossing. 

Much Ridiculed Cracked Mandilion  

Shortly after 2:00 pm on this Veterans Day, Paul and I decided to embark on our humble adventure, in order to see for ourselves if the controversy was worthwhile. After half a mile from our home, we arrived at the foot of the bridge. Indeed, the much criticized whale medallion at the entrance was cracked in a few places. As the cracks were the same color as the rest of the design, they somehow blended in nicely and even gave some weather-beaten characteristics. 

Highway 1 South Traffic on Veterans Day

Once on the bridge, we noticed a sharp contrast between the serenity around us and tremendous traffic on Highway 1 South. There were about five pedestrians and cyclists on our way over. In about a quarter of a mile, we reached the other end of the bridge, finding ourselves looking at the buildings of Grey Bears and its Electronic Recycling Center on our right, and Santa Cruz SPCA on our left, which solved the mystery of dog walkers on the bridge. Since we were on the campus of Grey Bears, we might as well do some shopping at its Thrift Store, where we spent $2.19 to replace our worn out lemon squeezer and an aqua blue basket. 

SPCA Dog Walker

On our way back, we saw much busier foot traffic. There were about 15 people, walking by themselves or with dogs, and some riding standard or electric bicycles. It is a safe route with high and strong railings sealed on both sides of the crossing. Perhaps to offset their severity, a total of 18 metal whale cutouts were attached, eight on the southbound side, and 10 on the northbound. 

Whale and Paul

The Whale Bridge is quite a feat and improvement to our local area and life, after a construction cost of about $34 million sourced from Measure D sales tax, State Senate Bill 1, and regional funds. Unlike the famed rail-trail debate, the bridge is standing tall and proud! From the bridge we can have a better nearby view, including the water purification facility. 

Water Purification Facility