The Morgan Hill Library is hopping. True to its nature, it’s
quiet as a mouse within the walls of the $19-million facility.
The Morgan Hill Library is hopping. True to its nature, it’s quiet as a mouse within the walls of the $19-million facility. But the 28,000-square-foot structure is no tomb of tomes: business is booming in the cavernous building, with smiling faces lit by computer screens in the 50-strong computer section; children bound through the Young Adult section; knitters commingle and gossip certain nights of the week while other nights boast scrapbooking.
For Larry Jones, the library’s services are some consolation to being laid off.
“It’s a place to come for education and entertainment,” he said.
When Jones isn’t catching up on his topical reading in the nonfiction section, he’s borrowing classic TV shows like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” or personal favorites like “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
“It’s new, modern and diverse for a suburban community,” Jones said.
Business has surpassed expectations since it opened. In 2008, 717,727 items were checked out by 301,680 visitors, and 2,588 new library cards were issued.
For January 2009, circulation was up 13.9 percent and visits were up 12.8 percent, according to a March 10 report to the Morgan Hill Library, Culture and Arts Commission.
Patrons mill about, flipping through book, CD and DVD stacks. Men and women sit in the plush chairs engrossed in novels and magazines. The computers are full.
After school, students crowd the teen section.
Bianca Trujillo and Christine Sanchez, both 16, and Maribel Hernandez, 17, perused the section’s dramatic novels. They said the staff is friendly, and has helped them find a book for a school report before.
Betsy Lira, 10, who’s studying John Adams in school, said she likes the library’s robust nonfiction section.
“It feels warm and inviting,” said Lira, as she walked out on a recent Monday afternoon with her mother, Laura Gonzalez, who clutched a stack of books and DVDs.
Joan Trujillo, unrelated to Bianca, is thinking about bringing her daughter to the knitting club Tuesday nights.
“It’s a lot bigger, and a lot nicer,” Trujillo said. “(The old) one was really small. This one is beautiful.”
Jack Young said he appreciates the technological advancements at the library, like using the online book queue for reserving the latest arrivals.
“That makes a difference,” he said. “It’s always really good here.”
The library opened in July 2007 after a bitter battle between the city and its residents over where the library should be located. Some people, notably councilmembers, thought it should be on East Third Street, at the Sunsweet property. Many residents, though, thought it should be built where it is now as part of the civic center. Marby Lee, now a councilwoman, was a member of the latter group.
“It was government in action,” she said of the packed city council meetings, the petitions, phone calls and e-mails from residents voicing their opposition to a downtown library, citing concerns over the site’s size, noise levels and more. “It seemed like, in the poll (the city) did, people wanted the library to stay at the civic center, but as much as people wanted their voices heard, (the city) wouldn’t listen to it. To me, it was like, ‘Why aren’t the people we elected listening to the citizens?'”
Lee said she has a different perspective now, being on both sides of local government. In the end, the council voted to keep the library in the civic center.
“The location is great, because of the view of El Toro. I still can’t see it downtown, I can’t see it on that site. Where it is is great, you can’t beat it for the natural beauty. All in all, it worked out really well.”
Lee ran for city council in 2006 at the urging of other active citizens, and won. So the library boasts a plaque with her name on it, alongside the other three councilmen, Mayor Steve Tate and city staff.
The new library replaced the old, 14,000-square-foot one, which was located at Peak and Main avenues. That building was renovated and reopened in January as the Development Services Center, a one-stop permitting shop for businesses and residents.
The Morgan Hill Library is the pride of the community, the crown jewel of the redevelopment agency-fueled group of community centers that sprouted from 2002 to 2007, which included the Outdoor Sports Center, the Community and Cultural Center and the Centennial Recreation Center.
For Friends of the Library President Carol O’Hare, the Morgan Hill Library’s aesthetic qualities set it apart.
“The mural, the painting, the children’s mural – I see these things and they make me smile,” O’Hare said. “Another thing, about the building itself, is its big windows with the view of El Toro. The building was designed with that view because people wanted that.”
O’Hare said she was pleased that more and more people are going to the library for its programs.
“Things beyond the typical take out a book, DVDs or CDs,” O’Hare said. Some of the library’s programs include storytime, scrapbooking, a teen graphic novel discussion group, movie madness and an adult book discussion group.
Other library features include a dividable meeting room with audio/visual equipment, adult reading areas, tables with plugs for laptop computers, four automatic checkout machines and wireless Internet service.
In an alcove off the library lobby is the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library bookstore. Book sales here raise money for programs and activities at the library, including family reading programs, the best seller book collection, summer reading clubs, story time entertainment and speakers forums.
Library hours are 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
