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New
and renovated library openings around the state
MacArthur
Park Branch Library
MacArthur
Park Branch Library Ribbon Cutting (left to right)
Roberto Uranga, President, Long Beach City College
Board of Trustees; Mark Twain (Master of
Ceremonies); Suja Lowenthal, Councilmember 2nd
District; Dee Andrews, Councilmember 6th District;
behind him is Susan Hildreth, State Librarian;
Beverly O'Neill, former Mayor; Tonya
Reyes-O'Donnell, Councilmember 4th District;
Thomas Fields, Redevelopment Agency Board Chair;
Eleanore Schmidt, Director of Library Services;
Gerald Miller, former City Manager; Eunice Sato,
former Mayor; flanked by characters from the
Wizard of Oz.
[Photo courtesy City of Long Beach]
MacArthur
Park Library (Mark Twain Library), a branch
of the Long Beach Public Library, opened on
Saturday, August 11. In addition to being
the first neighborhood library to be built in the
city in over 35 years, it is also the first LEED
Certified (green) public building in the city.
The new library is 16,155 square feet and is over
7 1/2 times larger than the old library.
The
MacArthur Park Library is a state of the art
community center for information, education,
recreation, and technology. Situated in the
largest existing Cambodian Community outside of
Cambodia, the library has 43 public computers, 16
Family Learning Center computers, 24 wireless
laptop computers, a group study room, a tutoring
room, and a community room with seating for 75
people. The library also offers storytelling
and class visit space for 25 children, and much,
much more.
For
complete details about the MacArthur
Park Branch Library construction project, please
visit their page
on the California State Library website.
County
of Los Angeles Public Library Ground Breaking for
Lawndale Public Library
Yvonne
B. Burke, County Supervisor of 2nd District (left)
and Margaret Donnellan Todd, County Librarian,
enjoy the festivities at ground breaking
celebration.
[Photo courtesy of County of Los Angeles Public
Library]
Breaking
ground for the new Lawndale Public Library (left
to right) Don Wolfe,
Director of Public Works; Jim Ramsey, Lawndale
City Council; Harold Hoffman, Mayor of Lawndale;
Larry Rudolph, Lawndale City Council; Virginia
Rhodes, Lawndale City Council; Supervisor Yvonne
B. Burke, Margaret Donnellan Todd, County
Librarian; Bessie Condos, California State
Library; Jerome Horton; Robert Pullin-Mills,
Lawndale City Council;
Paula Hartwill, Lawndale City Clerk; Angie
English.
[Photo courtesy of County of Los Angeles Public
Library]
The
County of Los
Angeles Public Library held a ground breaking
ceremony for the new Lawndale Public Library on
Monday, August 6. The new library, a
recipient of a Bond Act of 2000 grant, will be
17,360 square feet and will be adjacent to the
Lawndale Civic Center. As such, it will
provide essential civic, cultural, and educational
opportunities for the residents of Lawndale.
The library will open on Thursday, November 20,
2008.
For
complete details about the Lawndale
Public Library construction project, please
visit their page
on the California State Library website.
Mendota
Branch Library
Susan
Hildreth, California State Librarian, addresses
the crowd at the
opening of the Mendota Branch Library.
[Photo courtesy Roberta Barton, Fresno County
Library]
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Opening
day crowds waiting to see their
new community library in Mendota.
[Photo courtesy Roberta Barton,
Fresno County Library] |
Friday,
September 28, 2007, was a special day in Mendota
because of the official opening of the new Mendota
Library, a branch of the Fresno
County Library. The new building in this
agricultural community is 12,635 square feet and
is approximately 13 times the size of the old
library. The population in Mendota is 93%
Hispanic so the newly expanded Spanish Language
Collection will be well used. Other new
services at the library include: 18 computer
workstations, 3 study carrels, 4 tables and 16
chairs, 8 lounge seats, 10 seats in tutoring and
conference areas, community meeting room with
seating for 60 people that will be equipped to
accommodate videoconferencing and multimedia
presentations, a Computer Center with 11
computers, and a Family Literacy Center. The
library also includes a separate children's area
and career center, study areas, an outdoor plaza,
and a young adult area with cafe seating.
There are few resources that support recreational,
educational and life long learning for students
and their families--the new Mendota library will
now provide that role in the community.
For
complete details about the Mendota
Branch Library construction project, please
visit their page
on the California State Library website.
Locally
funded library openings
Some
California
libraries have locally raised funds for
constructing or renovating library facilities in
their communities. If you know of a library
construction or renovation project in your area,
please email
CSL Connection Editor Sarah Dalton and we will
include a profile of your library in an upcoming
issue of CSL Connection.
Folsom
opens new public library
The
new Folsom Public Library includes an exterior
Veteran's Court of Honor Memorial.
[Photo courtesy of City of Folsom]
The
new Folsom
Public Library opened on Saturday, February
24, 2007. Located in a park in the Folsom
Civic Center Complex, the library is connected by
a series of pathways to other civic center
services such as the zoo, community center, city
hall, police station, senior and arts center.
Also
referred to as the “Georgia Murray Building,”
the 24,000 square foot state-of-the art facility
was named after a local resident who led the
effort to build a new library in Folsom.
It’s only fitting that the library opened two
days before the Ms. Murray’s 94th birthday.
The cost of the new library was $8 million the
majority of which was provided by the City of
Folsom but Friends
of the Folsom Library provided $80,000 for
self check out machines, and local corporations
also provided additional funding. Other fundraising
activities include the selling of donor
recognition plaques ($3,000-$5,000), and the
selling of beautiful book spines--$300 for a
wooden one for the adult area display; $150 for a
colourful ceramic one for the children’s area
display.
A
Veteran’s Court of Honor Memorial is located
outside the building and includes a flag court and
sculptures of a soldier and his scout dog (a
reference to Marshall Farley, a Folsom native
killed in service during the Vietnam War), a
female form representing the woman the soldier
left behind when he went to war, and an oversized
eagle clutching an American flag by artist Philip
Sciortino. Also included in the area is a
bronze plaque bearing the names of Folsom
veterans.
The
new library includes separate areas for children
and teens, 28 computer workstations, 2 group study
rooms, a community meeting room, a reading room
complete with fireplace that houses the magazine
and newspaper collections as well as the Folsom
and California History Collections. There
are also new services offered including
collections of DVD’s, computer classes, first
Friday of the month programs for seniors, book
discussion groups, film programs for various ages,
programs for teens, after school programs that
include homework time and fun, and an expanded
story time schedule of 6 weekly sessions for
toddlers, pre-schoolers, and children under the
age of 3.
The
community has been extremely supportive of the new
library which is open 61 hours per week -7days per
week and usage has increased dramatically.
One staff member says, “Operating in the new
facility has enabled us, literally, to think
outside the physical constraints of the old box.
The fresh perspective has already resulted in
service changes that have increased efficiency and
rendered the overall library experience more
seamless for a growing and diverse patron
population.”
Marina
Branch Library opens in San Francisco
Opening
day crowd at Marina Branch Library.
[Photo courtesy San Francisco Public
Library]
State
Librarian Susan Hildreth joined San Francisco’s
Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier,
and City Librarian Luis Herrera at the gala
opening of the newly renovated
Marina Branch Library on August 4. Lion
dancers, musicians and children’s entertainers
enlivened the celebration at this fourth San
Francisco Public Library branch renovation
made possible through a $105.9 million bond
measure San Francisco voters approved in 2000.
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San
Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaks at
Marina Branch Library opening.
[Photo courtesy San Francisco Public
Library]
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Young
customer uses self-check equipment at Marina
Branch Library opening.
[Photo courtesy San Francisco Public
Library]
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The
Marina Branch was closed since September 2005 for
the major renovation whose costs totaled $3.9
million. Now visitors to this sleek modernist
building next to the bay will enjoy an enclosed
glass reading area that brings in abundant light,
giving library visitors a comfortable place to
read and study. The reading area’s stacks are on
wheels, allowing more space for author readings,
book club meetings and other library programs and
events. The Marina Branch features a
revamped children’s room, and a designated teen
area. It is also now seismically safe, fully
accessible and technologically updated with new
computers and free WiFi access to the Internet.
Susan
Hildreth says, “At the opening I heard San Francisco residents, including
Mayor Newsom, share childhood memories of the Marina Branch. I am sure
the city’s newest library customers will create their own fond memories as
they benefit from the accessible technologies at this wonderful facility. The
Marina Branch is proof that public libraries play a key role in the history,
and future, of California communities.”
Over the past two years, Friends of the
San Francisco Public Library have been working in partnership with
neighborhood residents and communities to raise funds, awareness and support
for the branch improvements. Friends of the San Francisco Public Library
have contributed $500,000 towards the Marina Branch Library renovations that
paid for furnishings, fixtures and equipment—expenses not covered by the bond. $160,168 was raised by the Marina Library Campaign Committee.
For more information about the Marina Branch Library’s opening celebration,
please call (415) 557-4277, or visit www.sfpl.org.
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