Several decades of planning and hard work came to fruition Saturday morning as Scotts Valley’s new library at long-last opened its doors to the public.
Several hundred people were on hand to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony as community members, library staffers and city officials dedicated the 13,150 square foot modernized facility on Kings Village Road.
“This is truly a remarkable time for Scotts Valley,” said Mayor Dene Bustichi to the waiting crowd. “When you come inside and see this library, you’re going to see some real jewels.”
Bustichi said that the facility, located at the site of the former Scotts Valley Roller Rink on Kings Village Road, is the first part of the city’s incubating town center project.
“This is Phase One of the town center,” Bustichi said.
The library building is owned by the city’s redevelopment agency and is being leased to the library system at the rate of $1 per year. As part of the opening ceremonies, Santa Cruz Public Libraries Director Teresa Landers presented City Manager Steve Ando with two new dollar bills to pay for the library’s first two years.
“It was your tax dollars that made this possible,” Bustichi said to the crowd.
The library itself is a sleek design which features a fireside room, study rooms, computer stations as well as dedicated activity areas for children and teens.
As a tribute to the former roller rink which was housed in the building, Landers said, a disco ball is planned for the ceiling in the teen area.
City Councilman Jim Reed who serves as Scotts Valley’s representative on the Library Joint Powers Board said that the library would not have been possible without the support of the people of the city.
“This library is about community,” he said.
Reed said that it was the community backing, particularly from the Scotts Valley Chapter of the Friends of the Library, which allowed such a modern facility to be possible. “This was done on an extremely limited budget,” Reed said.
According to their Web site, the group has raised close to $200,000 to “personalize” and furnish the library. One fundraiser was to sell personalized engraved bricks to the community. The bricks are displayed in the courtyard outside the main entrance.
Elizabeth Walch, president of the Friends of the Library, also lauded the community effort.
“This is really an example of how a city and its citizens can come together,” she said.
