|
Everything is in and the place is practically bursting at its freshly sealed seams. The workers are bursting, too, with excitement and pride. They're also hopeful that this will be the last time all those books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs will be under the same roof, as they want people to come and take some of them off their hands.
"People who come in early will hit the mother lode," said Suzanne Rostamizadeh, head librarian for the new Vineland Branch library on Blossom Hill Road.
The new library officially opens this Jan. 17, and Rostamizadeh said this is probably the only time the branch will have all its materials in at the same time.
"Typically, about 80 percent of our materials are in circulation at any one time," said Ed Koetitz, youth services librarian.
To celebrate the opening and welcome the public, the library is hosting a grand-opening party, beginning at 11 a.m. with a color-guard presentation and pledge of allegiance by Girl Scouts Troop 250 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Ron Gonzales, Vice Mayor Pat Dando, and Councilwoman Judy Chirco.
Refreshments will be served in the Internet cafe beginning at noon, while nearby in the community room, the Castillero Middle School band will perform. Shortly after the conductor strikes up the band, balloons will be transformed into animals in the Family Place from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Teens from The Spot youth center will paint faces from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and tours will be given every half hour between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Stories will be told in the Family Place every hour between 2:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Rostamizadeh, Koetitz, and the other librarians and staff moved to the new branch from the Almaden Branch on Camden Road, which closed its doors on Dec. 13 to make way for a remodeled and enlarged building.
Their new Vineland digs are much larger than those of the old Camden facility, boasting such amenities as an Internet cafe, technology center, children's and youths' reading areas, a cozy living room reading area with a fireplace, group study rooms, and a bigger selection of reading, viewing and listening materials.
|
