New Library Opens in a Festive Style

The beauty and forward thinking features of the new 13,000-square-foot Scotts Valley library were on full display at its grand opening on Saturday.

More than 100 people assembled in the parking lot of the new facility at 251 Kings Village Road for the ribbon cutting, which capped off a two-year transformation from the former home of the Scotts Valley Roller Rink into the 21st century information center on display this past weekend.

Throughout the process many, including Mayor Dean Bustichi, wondered whether an $8 million, technology saturated library was the best investment in these difficult economic times. However, Bustichi said Saturday that he is convinced the finished product will serve the area extremely well for years to come.

"It's your tax dollars and it's because of you that we have this library," Bustichi told those waiting to get their first look inside the new library.

Throughout the day, many of those in attendance thanked the Friends of the Library for raising more than $200,000 for the library. This bankroll made many extras possible, including 24 laptops, which will soon be available for checkout so visitors can roam the facility with the world at their fingertips.

The "flexible space" also made the list of favorites for many, boasting a giant high-definition display screen, courtesy of Seagate.

A TED-X event will be streamed on the nine conjoined monitors in the room on July 13th, and the library plans to show films there in the future.

These events are unlikely to disturb people reading nearby since everything from the bookshelves down the center of the room to the acoustic panels bordering the towering ceiling in the “flexible space” room are designed to prevent echoes and noise pollution.

Residents also seemed to be delighted with the library’s new gaming center for the draw it will have for Scotts Valley teenagers.

"It will make a lot more kids and teens want to come to the library and actually hangout here, instead of just hanging out anywhere," said 15-year-old Wyatt Brave of Scotts Valley.

The Brave family was out in force for the grand opening, and spanned all the age groups that the library is aimed at. Wyatt’s mother, Meg Brave, was very happy with what she saw.

“If you don't have a computer at home, like we don't, and he [came down to the old library] and he had homework, there were usually like 10 kids in line,” Meg Brave said. “I'm really excited this is back open for summer because there is like nothing to do around here that doesn't cost money.”

Wyatt is in charge of watching his younger brother often during this time of year while his mother works. Meg said she was happy that there is a children’s section as well as an area suited for the not yet adult kids because otherwise they would have very little structure in the summertime. The children's section features a playground-like setup that Councilman Jim Reed said is scientifically proven to help early childhood literacy, along with a computer station of its own and of course a ton of books.

When the building for the new library was chosen two years ago, many weren’t too enthused with the choice. However, on the day of the grand opening, a member of The Friends of the Library summed the feelings of the new library up best, “This [building] was a frozen turkey, but has become the swan we all wanted it to be.”

Check back on Scotts Valley Patch later in the week for a more in depth look at all of the resources that the new library has to offer.