The Escondido Public Library has finished more than $10 million in renovations and is packing up and moving more than 130,000 books and materials from the temporary location at the North County Mall that was used during construction to its downtown home.
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The renovated main building on Kalmia Street is slated to reopen to the public Aug. 3. But in the meantime, while books are being moved back, the Pioneer Room next door at 247 S. Kalmia St., will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays through July 31. The city will host public tours and a community ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 1.
The newly refurbished building, which has been under construction since April of last year, includes nine new study pods in a community workspace, a new café and bookstore area, a quiet space for reading and study, maker’s spaces and private study rooms for groups or individuals along with teen and tween spaces.
The main renovation work was done to update the 45,000-square-foot library that was built in 1980. Work included updating the heating and ventilation systems, repairing the roof, installing new windows, adding more natural lighting and building ADA-accessible restrooms. The book shelves were lowered to improve visibility throughout the library.
The community will benefit from the addition of roughly 2,250 square feet of repurposed staff space for public use.
The parking lot now has solar panel canopies and there is a new mural on the building honoring the creation story of the Kumeyaay Nation. The mural was funded largely by a donation from the Escondido Community Foundation and Escondido Public Art Commission.
The library’s original student tiles and children’s murals have been preserved and will continue to be part of the library design.
A $10 million grant from the California State Library through the Building Forward Library Infrastructure Program funded most of the renovation project.
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The Library Board of Trustees approved a $311,445 of trust funds for the purchase of furniture, fixtures, equipment, landscaping and parking not covered by the state grant. The Escondido City Council approved an additional $815,000 to cover the replacement of all the library’s windows, not just the first floor as originally stipulated by the grant. The City Council also approved $828,000 for the temporary operation of the library at the North County Mall.
The new study pods, which cost a total of $105,847, were funded largely by The Friends of the Escondido Public Library and Escondido Public Library Friends of Literacy Services along with literacy service grants and library operations funds. The Escondido Library Foundation donated $107,000 to buy furniture and equipment for the children’s library.
The original plan and budget was to focus on renovating the first floor of the library and just do the building wide infrastructure, such as HVAC and restroom upgrades on the second floor. But with careful construction planning, city officials were able to get both floors renovated.
“The pivot to a full renovation allowed the library to be modernized to better support its role as a community hub and serve its mission to provide equal access to information and educational experiences that inspire learning and foster participation in a thoughtful, diverse society,” said Rino Landa, Escondido Public Library director.
The library welcomes about 21,000 visitors each month. Over the year, the library expects to have more than 265,000 visitors. There are more than 100,000 registered cardholders with 25,000 active borrowers checking out around 40,000 books and other material each month. There were more than 450,000 checkouts this past year, according to Landa.
The main library building, 239 S Kalmia St. officially reopens at 9 a.m. Aug. 3 and will resume a full seven-days-a-week schedule, including Sundays.
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Visit https://escondido.gov/162/Library/
