Saratoga's Library and Public Art Commission holds a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, in the Linda Callon Conference Room at City Hall, 13777 Fruitvale Ave. The meeting was moved up from Oct. 12 because of the holiday, according to the commission's agenda planner, and it can also be joined on Zoom.
Commissioners will select a chair and vice chair for 2026-27 and hear reports from the Santa Clara County Library District, the Saratoga Community Library, the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries and the city.
Book sale and donation drive
The Friends of the Saratoga Libraries' report says the group's fall paperback sale will run Oct. 17 and 18 in the library's Community Room. On Oct. 17 the Friends will also collect book donations in front of the library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The group's Book-Go-Round holiday gift shop opens Friday, Nov. 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. for members, who can join at the door, and to the public at 6 p.m. The shop will be closed Nov. 25 and 26, the report says.
The county library district's report notes that all of its libraries, including Saratoga's, will be closed Monday, Oct. 12, for Indigenous Peoples' Day, while its online library stays open. According to the Saratoga branch report, Saratoga patrons have checked out 68,531 e-books and 49,741 e-audiobooks through OverDrive.
Public art plans
Subcommittees will report on the commission's art projects: a gateway sculpture program, murals, street banners, Saratoga Rocks and the city's 70th anniversary.
The commission's 2026-27 work plan, presented to the City Council in March, asked for $42,000 from the city's art fund. It proposed $8,000 to display five loaned sculptures for a year, $10,000 toward possibly buying one sculpture, $4,000 for a banner project and $20,000 for two small or medium murals, with a larger $30,000 mural planned for the following year.
The art fund held $96,498 at the time, the plan said.