Manon von Kaenel

The College Terrace Library is currently under renovation and is scheduled to reopen in the Fall.

The Mitchell Park Library closed June 5 for renovations and is scheduled to reopen by the summer of 2012. During the renovations, the Cubberly Community Center Auditorium will be turned into a temporary library, opening June 28. On Saturday, June 12, the city will host a groundbreaking event for the Mitchell Park Library renovations from 1-3 p.m.

The city of Palo Alto is raising $60 million by selling library bonds to pay for library renovations at the Downtown and Mitchell Park libraries. In June of 2008, voters approved the library renovations, according to Palo Alto Online.

Assistant Director Cornelia van Aken is excited for the new library facilities. “It’s wonderful to be building modern, innovative, green, up-to-date libraries designed to accommodate technology and changing customer needs,” van Aken says in an E-mail. “We’ll have program rooms and the ability to offer programs as never before, technology centers, study rooms, and so forth.”

The City Council recently voted in favor to open the College Terrace Library this coming Fall, instead of keeping it close to save money.

The City of Palo Alto Web site says the complete price for all of the city's library projects totals to $76 million. The Downtown Library is expected to be completed by the Spring of 2011, and the Main Library by 2013.

Hourly Librarian Roger Bonilla, who works at the Main Library, claims that he has noticed some changes in the demographics of customers at the library. "I'm seeing more downtown customers," Bonilla says. "A lot of materials came over here too." According to Bonilla, part of the Downtown Library's collection has been moved into the Main Library's basement for storage during the renovations.