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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”  

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.

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.