Library staff Carolyn Tucey and Christie Hamm with Radio Disney's Janell Dale.

On October 2, the Rancho Cordova Library received a mural for their community room. This was the culmination of a partnership between the library, Radio Disney and Mercedes Benz.  

The mural was painted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney VoluntEars, a community service volunteer initiative by Disney and their employees, and was painted by employees of all three agencies and their families. The Rancho Cordova Library also unveiled their new Read & Feed Demonstration Garden on Oct. 26. That's quite a month!

Librarians Samantha LeBlanc and Lexie Kalbach at Read for the Record.

On October 3, the Southgate Library joined millions across America in celebrating Read for the Record. This was a nationwide effort to create the biggest storytime ever. Organized by JumpStart, a supplemental education company, last year's Read for the Record set a new world record with 2.3 million people reading simultaneously.

Southgate had a great turnout for a reading of Otis by Loren Long. Set on a farm, this story is about the friendship between a calf and a tractor. Children were treated to a farm animal petting zoo, courtesy of Greenich Acres Farms, with piglets, bunnies, ducks, a goat, miniature pony, cow, donkey, alpaca and even baby llamas. The audience included three preschool classes from the nearby Crossroads Gardens Head Start.

Library staff Andria McCune, Sally McGrath and Cheryl Aguirre at Haunted Stacks.

October also marked the One Book programs around The Slender Poe,  Sacramento Public Library's new anthology of works by Edgar Allan Poe. This meshed nicely with the fourth annual Haunted Stacks at the Sacramento Room. The event featured library staff playing the roles of real Sacramentans from about a century ago--each of whom met a grisly death. The ghost of Poe was also there, not to mention that of his lost Lenore.  

Paula Stevens-Pike, 35, is one of Sacramento Public Library's delivery truck drivers.

Tell us about your typical day.

I start at 6 a.m. I load the trucks up with bins for each branch. I come to Central and unload whatever needs to go to separate departments, and I leave at 2:30 p.m. I like that I don't have to deal with traffic.

I stop at nine libraries every day: McKinley, Arden, Rancho Cordova, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Sylvan Oaks, North Highlands, Rio Linda and Del Paso. It's a 60-mile round trip. On Tuesdays and Fridays I go to a book drop at Rite Aid on 48th Street and J Street. We pick up "Friends boxes" of donated books. We pick up and deliver supplies, hours of operation, library cards, chairs, projector screens, Xboxes, Wiis, laptops. There's three drivers total. Jason (Trice) has the longest route. Braulio Cruz does the shortest because he does the mail.

Patrons, taxpayers, they stop and ask about our new trucks and what I do exactly. I explain that if they request a book from Fair Oaks to McKinley, I bring it to them. Someone told me the other day this is a cool service we're providing for them. The new trucks are Peterbilts, 2013. Brand-new, no miles on them, 14-foot bobtails. We just got them last December.

Had you been a professional driver before?

No. I've done customer service, retail and warehouse. It's something I always wanted to do. I applied online in October and got a call in December. I was put on my own truck within two weeks. I love it. My dad was a long-distance truck driver. He used to show me a lot of things about trucks. He taught me how to drive a stick when I was 13 or 14, back in Virginia. I sent him a picture of me standing in front of my truck. He was really excited about it.

What do you do when you're not bringing our books?

I'm very family-oriented with a beautiful partner of 13 years with four children. I'm a people person. Music is my biggest hobby. I used to play the violin. I sang in my church choir. I've been looking for a church. I found one I've been to a few times. I would love to sing again.