The Diamond Bar Friends of the Library is a non-profit, all-volunteer community service group dedicated to supporting the Diamond Bar Library, improving literacy and encouraging the love of reading. The Friends are a California registered non-profit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

We have events and activities all year long, so please contact us to participate!

President’s Message

                                              

Dear Friends,

Welcome 2026 and Happy New Year!  The Friends of the Library are excited about this new year and for all that is being planned.

The Wine Soiree Planning Committee are already at work planning for the 32^nd Annual Wine Soiree. It will be held at the Diamond Bar Center on Sunday, June 7^th – Save the date!  Co-chairs Dennis Giardina, Lee Mao and I are thrilled about this year’s theme:  Sippin’ on the Ritz. We plan to make this fundraiser for the library the best party of the year, and are welcoming new volunteers to help us.

Our community reading program, Read Together Diamond Bar, is planned for April 2026. The goal is for everyone in our city to read one book and participate in fun activities related to that book.  Chair Julia Gomez reports on many of the fun activities in this newsletter.

If you haven’t met our Community Librarian Manager Cynthia Yu in person yet, you can meet her in our newsletter this month. Cynthia loves books and people and is very dedicated to our library. Thank you, Cynthia!

And a special Thank You to Bookstore Manager Rosette Clippinger and her team of volunteers at the Friends of the Library Bookstore.  They received, cleaned, categorized, organized, shelved, and sold thousands of books in 2025. They welcomed community visitors and shoppers to our store, helped customers find interesting books, and supported our library all year long. Thank you to all our bookstore volunteers.

Please join our efforts to support our Diamond Bar Library. Our membership chair Lee Mao is eager to share information with you!

Sincerely,

Susan Pantages
Diamond Bar Friends of the Library President

Meet our Librarian – Cynthia Yu

When you visit the Diamond Bar Library, you will notice that librarians are stationed at their workstations, that staff are busy helping customers check out items or shelving books and CDs, that the library is neat and well stocked, and that everyone there is using and enjoying the library.  What you see is the work of our Community Library Manager – Cynthia Yu.

Soft-spoken and understated, Cynthia Yu has served as our Library Manager since 2023.  But her work in Diamond Bar started in 2015 when she was a teen and adult librarian.  In 2019, she accepted a promotion as Children’s Librarian Manager at the Rowland Heights Library.  But happily, she returned to Diamond Bar in 2022 and was promoted to Community Library Manager in 2023.

Ms. Yu grew up loving books. Maybe it was because her mother was a teacher in Taiwan.  Cynthia graduated with a B.A. in Library Science from National Taiwan University and later earned an M.S. degree from San Jose State in Library and Information Science. She enjoys being a librarian because she can connect people with the resources that they need.  Her reward for a job well done is the smile on the face of the patron she has helped.

Cynthia says that the library is more than just a place to house books.  The library is dedicated to serving the community as an information hub, with digital resources, to help them meet their needs. When asked about the difference in getting answers from a librarian compared to getting answers from the internet, Cynthia smiles, and says that answers and information from a librarian have been vetted.

Under Ms. Yu’s leadership, the Diamond Bar Library had the most customer visits and most items checked out in the entire County of Los Angeles in 2025.  Cynthia manages 19 staff members at the DB Library and a volunteer program for teens who are over 14 years old.  She and her staff create special programs for babies, children, teens, and adults every month, changing the themes with the seasons and with holidays and cultural celebrations.  Summer is the busiest time of the year at the library, with summer reading programs and internships.

Even though thousands of customers visit the Diamond Bar Library every month, the library is a place where you can visit and relax, find and read a book (paper or digital), read a magazine or newspaper, learn a skill, use the Wi-Fi, discover a new hobby, or make a new friend. All these things make our librarian Cynthia Yu smile.

 

December Snapshots from the Library

Winter Holiday Family Sing Along

 

Hug in A Mug

Noon Year Countdown

January Events and Programs at the Diamond Bar Library

Our library celebrates the New Year with programs that connect babies, children, artists, and our library’s digital collection. The Friends of the Library are pleased to bring these special programs and exciting classes to the Diamond Bar Library during January 2026.  Join us!

Smarty Pants Story Time is back!  On Wednesdays, January 7^th,14^th and 21^st and 28^th from 10:15–10:45 AM, let’s get ready for school.  Enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun. This program is especially for ages 2 – 5 with their parent or caregiver.

Fiber Arts Meetup crafts again! On Thursdays January 9^th from 1-2:30 PM, come and get crafty with us. Whether you crochet, knit, embroider, or otherwise work with fiber, bring your project and work with other fiber artists.  And make a new friend or two as well.  This program is for adults.

Smart Start, Baby Band makes music! Come play with us on Friday, January 9^th from 10:15-10:45 AM!  Did you know that music helps your baby’s brain make more learning connections, build fine and gross motor skills, and teach social skills? Play time is music time!

Learn new ways to get around our digital library.  Digital Drop-In: Libby & Hoopla are here to help. Come in on Tuesday January 12^th at 1 PM and have a librarian lead you through the process of downloading free eBooks, audiobooks, and music. For Adults.

Cozy up at Pajama Storytime on Thursday, January 15^th from 6:45-7:15 PM.  Bring your jammies and blanket and join us for a mellow evening of stories, songs, and rhymes.  Don’t forget your favorite stuffy!

 

Read Together Diamond Bar 2026

Go here for more information on the Four Seasons Book Group and Read Together programs.

 

Save the Date – Sunday, June 7^th, 2026

Mark your calendar for the best party of the year, the Annual Wine Soiree on Sunday, June 7, 2026 from 3-7 PM. Join us as we will be Sipping on the Ritz at the Diamond Bar Center.

Be a “Friend” by becoming a Member!

Be a “Friend” of the Diamond Bar Library! Your contribution will support programs, materials, and improvements for the Diamond Bar Library.

Membership Dues:

$10 -Individual (Yearly)
$15 -Family (Yearly)
$250 -Lifetime
$350 -Lifetime Family

Go here for more information on how to make a membership contribution.

Go here for bookstore news and book donation guidelines