Famed Science Fiction Author Ray Bradbury to Highlight the Grand Opening of Monrovia’s New Library
By Monrovia Weekly
Published: Thursday, May 14th, 2009
The ribbon cutting for Monrovia’s new Library will be held this Saturday, May 16 with the festivities beginning at 10 A.M. Perhaps the high point of the day will come at 3:30 P.M. when Ray Bradbury will give the day’s keynote address.
Bradbury will be signing his books after his address. A selection of his books will be available for sale and signing at the Library.
At 10:30 a.m. opening day, the Library’s Community Room will be inaugurated with a spelling bee for local school children. At 1 p.m., Library staff member Annette Simpson will lecture on the history of the Library in the new Storytime Room in the children’s wing of the Library.
After the ribbon cutting, the Library staff will on hand to assist the public in checking out books, tapes, CDs, DVDs and periodicals at the new 28,000 square foot location. Also available for use that day will be an increased number of new public computers. The staff will be on duty and available until the 5 p.m. closing time on the 16th.
The Library was built for just under $16 million and was funded by a voter approved bond issue. The project came in on time and $280,000 under budget. That money will be returned to taxpayers by way of a lower tax bill later this year.
The new library is twice the size of the old library. It is also a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building as an example of an environmentally sensitive and sustainable facility.
The library will have the usual check-out and reference services, as well as providing programs for children and literacy tutoring for children and adults. New programs will be able to make use of expanded technology, a teen advisory council and the new facilities bookstore. There is also a new community room available for meetings as well as the very private historical reference room which will contain the Monrovia collection and those of the Monrovia Historical Preservation Group.
Library Park was also completely remodeled including a new public fountain which will be installed and dedicated later in the summer. There will also be new war memorial. A new children’s play area is also being installed behind the Library. This play area was made available through a grant from the County of Los Angeles with the assistance of Supervisor Mike Antonovich and should be completed by the end of June.
By Susan Motander
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