The April 26 morning drizzle didn't dampen the spirits of council members or county library officials when they met outside of what will be the library's main entrance for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

A small yet supportive group of library employees and members of the library commission huddled under umbrellas and listened to Mayor Nick Streit and County Librarian Melinda Cervantes speak about the library's progress.

"Today we are here to celebrate a major milestone in the transformation of tons of concrete, steel, lumber and glass into the magnificent new Saratoga Library," said Streit in his opening speech. "Today we start the transformation from hard hats, tool bags, color schemes and charts to books, computers, study sessions and storytimes."

With the major construction completed, workers and volunteers have been busy rolling up their sleeves and flexing their muscles, putting the finishing touches on the building.

Last Thursday, community members came out to help carry books into the new room and to arrange them on the shelves, which will soon be filled with approximately 180,000 books for children and adults.

"I'm excited to move into the new library," said Dolly Barnes, who is the community library supervisor in Saratoga. "It's going to be fabulous. We'll be able to provide full library service."

The building, which is 30,000 feet larger than the former library, will feature a variety of new and improved facilities. It will have a children's area with a separate storytelling room, an area where adults can read quietly, a technology training room where visitors can get experience using computers, and a small cafe in the lobby. It will also have study rooms where groups can talk without distracting others and a larger community room that will accommodate 120 people.

According to City Clerk Lori Tinfow—who has monitored the construction process from the beginning in August 2001 and has worked diligently to have the library open as soon as possible—the opening date was put on hold several times due to rain delays in the winter months and to problems with PG&E.

The Saratoga Library has two owners: the city, which takes care of all the exterior aspects, including parking and landscaping, and the county, which provides all of the library services.

According to Cervantes, the Saratoga Library, which was originally built in 1978, will be the largest of nine that the county has jurisdiction over. Currently the county provides services for libraries that were established between 1963 and 1983, including ones in Campbell, Cupertino and Los Altos.

Cervantes said there are many benefits to having the county serve city libraries.

"It's cost- and time-efficient," she said.

She explained that rather than having each library order and pay for supplies and materials separately, it would be cheaper to order a bulk amount because most companies offer special discounts with larger purchases. In addition, headquarters in Santa Clara would be responsible for processing and delivering all orders.

Cervantes said the county is expecting to receive approximately $25.7 million in funds from the state and the cities involved, of which 10 percent will be retained at headquarters and the rest distributed among all nine libraries based on population. She said that in the previous year, the county spent $385,000 on books and related materials, such as CDs and DVDs for Saratoga.


Student essays

While staff will be working hard to prepare for the opening day, the library committee is hoping students will also. The committee is inviting students to participate in an essay contest that is open to those in grades four to seven. In 150 words or less, students should explain why they love the Saratoga Library. Participants can either submit essays to their teachers by May 15 or send them individually to: The Saratoga News, P.O. Box 65, Los Gatos, 95031. All entries must be postmarked by May 22.

The winning essays will be published in the newspaper. First-place winners will be invited to read their essays at the grand opening celebration.