Gilroy’s library may only have been closed for a little more
than two months, but local Librarian Lani Yoshimura said many
people told her that was too long.
Gilroy’s library may only have been closed for a little more than two months, but local Librarian Lani Yoshimura said many people told her that was too long.
“A lot of patrons could hardly wait,” she said last week. “Some of them were literally crying, saying ‘I wanna come home.'”
Today, they got their wish, when the new interim 9,500-square-foot library building opened downtown at 7652 Monterey St.
Residents lined up to enter the new library building when it opened at 1 p.m., and about 500 patrons came within the first two hours. Patrons said they were happy to see the building.
“It’s good,” Gilroy resident and regular library patron Abbey Zandjany said. “Good layout. Good design. Good paint.”
Gilroy High School sophomore Jennifer Huicochea said she had been eagerly awaiting today’s opening, noting that she regularly attended the old library to use its computers. She found out about the opening by checking online, she said.
The new building, owned by Gary and June Walton and leased by the City of Gilroy, will house the library for the next two years or so, as the city awaits a new two-story facility that will replace the old building at 7387 Rosanna St. Demolition on the old library building may take place as soon as April, with construction possibly starting this summer, Yoshimura said.
The City Council authorized a $336,874 lease payment in November to the Waltons to use the building.
Library staffers transported almost 120,000 items to the new building, although some of the books will have to remain in storage, Yoshimura said. She said it was helpful that library patrons were able to check out so many items, adding that the due date for items checked out before the library’s Dec. 2 closing has been extended to March 2.
The new structure is much smaller than the 12,500-square-foot building that formerly stood on Rosanna Street. Yoshimura noted that the new building will not have a meeting room and does not have space for storage, and she said there is no space for Friends of the Library book sales.
Still, she appeared ecstatic about the downtown structure.
“This is the nicest temporary facility I have ever seen in this area,” she said.
Construction workers were completing last-minute details today, including touching up the parking lot, which may be opened on Wednesday.
Yoshimura gave kudos to Gary Walton and to construction crews.
“They are the dream team as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
Walton said last week that the building, which formerly housed Gilroy’s Garlic City Auction gallery and the Fairway and Safeway markets, was completely rebuilt within the past three to four months. He said in January that it had taken time to bring portions of the building up to code. However, the new library still opened before March, which had been the anticipated opening date in early January.
Walton described the golden hue of the building’s exterior as a “happy color” and the light green and salmon shades inside the building as “calming colors.”
Walton, who owns several downtown properties and has been a major advocate for downtown Gilroy, was happy with the new location. He noted that most civic uses traditionally were in the downtown area in the past.
“This brings foot traffic downtown, which is good,” he said.
Yoshimura also was pleased with the location, noting that people will be able to walk from the library to coffee houses and eating areas.
“It’s wonderful to be a part of the revival of the downtown,” Yoshimura said. “It’s an honor to be part of it.”
About 1,300 Gilroy residents had patronized the Morgan Hill Library during the past couple of months, she said.
She wondered at first if some of the people who lived in the area surrounding the Rosanna Street library building would regularly patronize the new library, but she had seen many of them scoping out the building while it was under construction.
Now, the new location may attract a new crowd of patrons.
Gilroy resident Jesus Becerra, who happened to notice the library was open today while driving by, noticed that it was close to east Gilroy and was in walking distance for children who live there.
“I live in this neighborhood, so it’s nice,” he said.
In addition, downtown merchants may benefit, too. That includes the new Garlic City Books, which opened at Monterey and Fifth streets on Friday. The store, which specializes in used books, eventually plans to serve coffee and ice cream to customers.
Brad Jones, owner of Garlic City Books, said some children have even mistaken the book store for the new library. He plans to contact schools to ask them if they would want to take children on field trips to both the bookstore and the library to explain the differences.
“There’s a reading renaissance right now,” he said.
