SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.—Within the late morning shadows of the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano, dozens of locals waited behind an orange-colored ribbon to celebrate the reopening of the San Juan Capistrano Public Library March 7 after being closed for nearly two years for updates and repairs.
“Providing beautiful functional space is part of our mission to help our communities succeed, learn and explore,” Orange County Head Librarian Julie Quillman told the crowd. “We are so excited to share this remodeled library and our services with the San Juan Capistrano community.”
Built and designed in 1983 by famed architect Michael Graves with a simplified art-deco exterior, locals can now take advantage of the $2 million in updates including increased access to laptop rentals, dedicated sections to Spanish language materials, and new community spaces for programming and book clubs.
“We are excited to be back here. They have done a wonderful job with the library,” local Lisa Weinhoff told The Epoch Times. “It definitely has brighter [lighting] inside, and I enjoyed seeing the spacing for groups to meet in.”
Like many library users over the past two years, Weinhoff and her husband have been traveling to the neighboring cities of Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, and even San Clemente to check out books.
“My husband is an avid reader and reads up to four books a week,” Weinhoff said. “It’s great to have our local library back.”
Its reopening comes at a critical time for Orange County students whose literacy levels have dropped in recent years.
“If you can read, you can do anything in this life,” Orange County Supervisor Katina Foley told attendees before cutting the ribbon at the reopening ceremony.
Foley excitedly detailed what’s now in store for the library including story times, reading programs, enrichment programs, book collections in multiple languages, and even computer databases for personal, academic, or professional exploration.
“This library has everything,” she said.
After cutting the ribbon, the crowd—from stumbling toddlers to senior citizens—poured inside, filling its book-filled aisles.
“This is a great opportunity to enhance our community and improve the literacy of our community,” Foley said.
