New Robidoux Library and Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros

On Saturday, April 17, over 4,000 people attended the opening of the new Louis Robidoux Library. I can’t prove it, but I am very certain that this represents the largest one-day attendance at a single site in the 100-year history of the Riverside County Library System.  
 
It was a day to remember. Even before the speeches by Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione and Friends of the Library President Cathy Barnes had concluded, the public had begun to stream upstairs to press into the new library. Following a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, the doors were open. Supervisor Tavaglione graciously stood by the front door welcoming community members their new library. In his comments, the Supervisor mentioned how long it took to build this library. I know what he is talking about. I worked on the building program for this library in 2002 and, along with many EDA and RCLS staff, attended dozens of planning meetings over the years to make it a reality. Thanks to the hard work of many people including RCLS facilities manager Barbara Howison, the Robidoux Library staff led by Branch Manager Laura Mae Leach, the EDA staff and project manager Delia Flores, and the RCLS automation team led in this project by Aaron Hodge, this library opened flawlessly. It was particularly gratifying to see the public so thrilled with their new library.
 
Also this month, we are celebrating our seventh annual Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros, Day of the Child/Day of the Book, promoting the joy of books and reading to all children and their parents, with an emphasis on bi-lingual and multicultural families. I am particularly excited to report that this year for the first time, all 33 libraries of the Riverside County Library System will participate in presenting Día programming this April. This week we are featuring our good friend author and 2010 Guggenheim Fellow Juan Felipe Herrera at programs at the Grace Mellman, Sun City and Robidoux Libraries on Tuesday (April 27) and at the Mecca Child Resource Center on Wednesday (April 28)—check the online Events Calendar on our home page for more information. Taking your children to one of these programs is a great way to (in the words of our good friend Pat Mora) “Share Book Joy.”
 
(Photo courtesy of David Barnes and the “Riverside County Record.”)