So true. From the community room to the reading room, there are nooks and crannies for virtually every taste, every age. A long line formed at the main entrance to apply for cards and take out books. The line stretched as far as the enchanting art display of local scenes from local artists.

That artwork is the first thing to gladden the heart as one steps through into the library itself, that room-length display of the charms of Saratoga in art form. The emphasis here is on Saratoga's agrarian past—blossoms, fruit trees, un-bulldozed hills. Kay Duffy and Felicia Pollock's work, in particular, knocked me out.

In the entry hall are two paintings by Mary Ann Henderson, depicting the old library and the new. The money for these was donated by the Givens family and purchased by Friends of the Libraries to honor the memory of Jim and Mary Givens' daughter, Mary Givens Slane.

Since the success of the new library can be laid at the feet of the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries, members of that group are duly commemorated by plaques in the form of book spines, which at first glance look like real books on a shelf.

Instead of titles and authors, these books name those responsible for the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries heritage. Presidents of the group are each represented by a book spine, including the late Betty Hall, founder of the Friends.

Others instrumental in earlier days who showed up in person include Martha Beverett, the first manager of the Book-Go-Round, the used bookstore arm of the Friends. Beverett now lives in the Villages.

Another stalwart from bygone days was Mary Beth Gandrud, who was Friends' president when the Book-Go-Round started. Gandrud, now of Pleasanton, had breezed into Saratoga on another mission but was delighted to find herself swept up in the library opening outpouring.

Peggy Corr, a loyal Friend, was on the city council when the first library at the Saratoga Avenue site opened, so she was reveling in her second opening at the site.

The new library, replacing a structure that cost $2 million to build in the '70s, is more than twice as large and seven times as costly as the old library.

Members of the Saratoga Historical Foundation were positioned in the reading room to answer questions. Don Armstrong put together a slide show of historic Saratoga scenes that ran continuously.

Bob Louden quipped that the reason the Eastern side of the United States is gradually slipping underwater and the Western side isn't is because Easterners save all their National Geographic issues and Westerners don't.

The Pecks were out in nearly full force, Willys selling his book, A History of Saratoga Libraries as a library fundraiser and Betty dressed in vintage costume as Grace Richards, the woman who headed up the committee to build the first Saratoga Library—on Oak Street early in the last century.

Peck daughter Anna Rainville gave a puppet show of Mother Goose rhymes, and Peck granddaughters Merina and Sara Rainville were two of the musicians led by Lea Anne Welch.

Other entertainers: Skillet Lickers, Taiko drummers, puppeteer Nick Barone, the Saratoga Drama Group, the Shady Shakespeare Company, the Indian Cultural Awareness Club of Saratoga High, and Edward Caudill, who demonstrated the visual enhancement machine donated by the Lions Club.

Even though you may not find all the National Geographic editions you seek, you're sure to be amazed at what you do find at the new, wonderful Saratoga Library. To show how impressed I was: This is the first and only time I've ever used an exclamation point in a newspaper article.

TEEN DANCER ALERT: Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley is looking for a few teenage dancers who want to strut their stuff using all the latest moves—break dancing, hip-hop, salsa. Auditions are July 11 at 2 p.m. in the ballet studios at 40 N. First St. in San Jose.

Audition pieces should be no longer than three minutes. Dancers should bring their own music on tape or CD. The contact number is 408.288.2820, ext. 210.

PHOTOGENIC: Grandparents of the two local youngsters in the Travel and Leisure Magazine article about beach sites are Vic and Jeanine Molinaro and Reiko Iwanaga and the late Dr. Gordon Iwanaga, orthodontist, of Saratoga. The youngsters are Brian Jake Molinaro, 7, of Santa Cruz, and Keats Iwanaga, 6, of Los Gatos, photographed at the beach at Capitola.

Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.