Bibliophiles in Buellton have a new cozy home for their addiction.

After years of planning and months of construction, the Buellton Library has reopened in the former Willemsen Dairy house at 202 Dairyland Road.

“I think the library is going to be such a point of pride for our community,” Mayor David Silva said. “This is such a more inviting and cozy space.”

The library had been housed in old barracks from Camp Cooke (today’s Vandenberg Space Force Base).

“Isn’t it crazy? And the library had been there for 40 years, so this is just kind of a dream come true,” said Holly Sierra, former mayor, Friends of the Buellton Library member and a big champion for getting the library a new home.

After special preview events Friday with local supporters and elected officials, the library reopened to the public Saturday.

The house has been gutted to accommodate various sections of the library, including children’s, teen and adult areas plus computer stations. The home’s fireplace remained albeit with a screen in front for safety reasons with chairs sitting in a circle in front. Huge beams on the ceiling hover above modern circulate lights.

Large windows provide a peek across the sprawling lawn to the Santa Ynez River and areas nearby. Beyond the book shelves, the facility boasts a meeting room that the city will manage. A wall of what appears to be windows actually opens to the patio.

While the number of materials remain at 12,000, the new facility has wider aisles to make it accessible to people with disabilities.

The result is a library they’ve described as “modern meets warm and cozy.”

“It was someone’s home before, and it still feels like home here,” said JoAnne Plummer, Goleta’s Neighborhood Services director. 

Buellton’s library and its sibling sites in Solvang, Los Olivos and Santa Ynez are branches of the Goleta Valley Library.

Thanks to donations, the Friends of the Buellton Library provided the leather chairs, coffee tables and other furniture. There also are two outdoor picnic tables on the grounds. 

Sierra said she wanted the new library to provide a place for people to grab a book, sit down and read in a serene environment.

A plaque sits on the wall near the door listing the various council members who have played a role in creating the library’s new home.

In addition to prepping the new facility, library leaders plotted out a plan for getting the books into their new home across town with the help of library consultant Diane Satchwell, who crafted the moving plan, and Goleta’s city librarian, Elizabeth Saucedo. 

“We kept things very orderly. It was a very methodical, color-coded approach, so the packing process was very methodical and the unpacking process was very methodical,” Saucedo said. 

Packing, starting in mid-August with the old library’s closure, and unpacking took three weeks each, the chore helped by the fact that the local library’s staff members were familiar with the collection. 

Volunteers also conducted “shelf reading” to ensure books and other items were in the proper place so patrons can find items.

“I think that all these pieces came together to really bring about a successful outcome for that monumental undertaking of relocating an entire collection,” Saucedo said. 

While the library remained temporarily homeless, staff, led by Buellton branch manager Hilary Johnson, conducted programs such as children’s story time at a park and other activities to provide some services for patrons. 

Now, they’re planning an expansion of programs and other services for the community, eyeing the lawn and patio for outdoor activities, and assessing the meeting room for other events.

Upon seeing the library in its new facility, Johnson said she was excited. 

“It felt like a new beginning, a way to start new in place that is home,” Johnson said. 

“It is a fresh start,” Plummer added, “and it’s a fresh opportunity to bring our Buellton residents home to their library.”

The Buellton Library is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The library is closed on Thursdays and Sundays.