The new South Park Branch of The Seattle Public Library will open to the public with a festive community celebration beginning at noon Saturday, Sept. 9.
The 5,000-square-foot branch at 8604 Eighth Ave. S. at the corner of South Cloverdale Street is the 20th project completed under the 1998 "Libraries for All" voter-approved building program.
The architect was Johnston Architects. Cope Construction Co. was the contractor. Seattle artist Franklin Joyce created artwork for the new building.
The dedication ceremony will begin at noon with City Librarian Deborah L. Jacobs, Mayor Greg Nickels, Library Board Trustee Linda Larson, City Councilman Nick Licata, Senior Vice President of Sea Mar Community Health Centers Carolina Lucero, the Library book fairy “Lulu” and mariachi band Mariachi Grullense.
The rest of the schedule is as follows:
Children can make “Lulu” hats in a craft program inside the branch. Starbucks Coffee Company will provide free coffee and snacks. The branch will remain open until 6 p.m.
The South Park Branch opening celebration is made possible by premier sponsor Starbucks Coffee, signature sponsor Safeco Insurance and The Seattle Public Library Foundation.
About the building
The new branch will have a collection capacity of 18,700 books and materials,
a special area for children, modern computer work stations and instructional
spaces, and parking. Approximately one-third of the collection will be Spanish-language,
including bilingual children's materials, and Spanish-language fiction and non-fiction.
The overall project budget is $2,944,617, which includes the Library Board-approved
addition in September 2005 of $203,480 to pay for additional construction costs.
Libraries for All
In 1998, Seattle voters approved a $196.4 million bond measure to fund improvements
to all 22 existing branches, build new branches in underserved areas and construct
a new Central Library. The measure included a $6 million Opportunity Fund to
be used for new or unanticipated neighborhood library capital needs for underserved
areas of Seattle.
A community group called the South Park Library Steering Committee proposed using a portion of the Opportunity Fund to build a full-service library in South Park. The Library's Citizen Implementation Review Panel (CIRP) recommended that the Library Board reserve $2.5 million of the $6 million total to build a library in South Park, and the Library Board agreed.
Many other branch projects are currently in the active design or construction phase. For more information about the building program or branch opening, visit www.spl.org, or call (206) 386-4636.
(For more information, call Andra Addison, communications director, at 206-386-4103.)
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Content modified: 23 August 2006
08/29/2006
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