The Goleta Valley Public Library will be closing for up to two years starting in April, leaving the city with some hard decisions to make regarding how and where to deliver services. 

The library will close to undergo accessibility improvements on the building.

“Really, to me, it really boiled down to a safety project. It was a lot of safety improvements that are so needed. Access to another exit on another side, things that just make sense that we’d want to do,” Mayor Paula Perotte said. “There’s a lot of improvements that are so needed.”

Upgrades to the library will include creating accessible paths, restroom upgrades, modernizing and replacing the HVAC system, new lighting and security, new doors and windows, and new exterior paint. 

On Tuesday, the Goleta City Council considered where they would temporarily house library services while the building is under construction.

The library has 13,000 visitors a month during the school year and 16,000 to 17,000 visitors a month during the summer, city librarian Elizabeth Saucedo said.

No official decisions were made, but the City Council is considering having limited library services at the Goleta Valley Community Center or lease a space in the community.

The temporary space would have limited distribution of materials for adults, teens and kids, pick-up requested materials from the shared Black Gold collection, limited computer workstations for the public, and staff workstations, and staff is exploring the potential of adding self-checkout machines.

Materials also would be rotated and stored on the second floor of Goleta City Hall. 

Construction Plans

Last October, the city received a $4.2 million grant from the California State Library to make the accessibility improvements.

A stipulation of the grant is that construction has to be completed by June 2027. City staff determined that in order to make the deadline, they need to fully close the library during construction. 

Construction is expected to begin in June 2025, but the library will likely close by April to allow for materials and equipment to be relocated.

City staff is recommending that the city use three classrooms in the northwest corridor of the community center to temporarily house materials and services. 

Moving services to the classrooms would cost an estimated $280,000 to $400,800 and delay the community center’s own accessibility improvement project, city staff said. Costs would include prepping the space, IT infrastructure and temporary ADA improvements.  

Councilwoman Luz Reyes-Martín said one benefit of this is having library services in Old Town. 

“Many of us have expressed a desire to have library services in Old Town, so that’s a silver lining — to have better accessibility to the library in Old Town,” Reyes-Martín said.

Councilman James Kyriaco asked about how they can ensure a cool environment for staff and visitors since the community center doesn’t have air conditioning. 

“I’ve expressed on more than one occasion the need for the Goleta Community Center to get to a place where it can function as a cooling center,” Kyriaco said. “How will this nearly 100-year-old building function as a library?”

Matthew Fore, general services director, said they plan to get fans for the classrooms and a hydration system, but that there are some electrical challenges with the building. 

“The tricky part of the Goleta Community Center has always been the electrical system. The electrical system is the limiting factor at the moment for a lot of things at the community center,” he said. 

Fore said they do have plans to get an electrical engineer to assess the building and see what it will take to have an HVAC system in the building.

Another option for the city is to buy new portable modular classrooms that would sit in the community center parking lot to provide library services. 

There are currently portable classrooms on the site used by the Rainbow School, Fore said. Those classrooms are deteriorating and need to be replaced. Replacing the classrooms is on the city’s list of capital improvements, but the project is unfunded. The total cost to design, install and manufacture the classroom would be $800,000.

That option also would leave a gap in services while the city designs and installs the classrooms. 

Fore said having services inside the community center is the best way to ensure that services are ready when construction starts.

“It’s its own capital project. It may not be on the same scale as a library project, but it is its own capital project,” Fore said of the new classroom option. “It’s a heavier lift.” 

Councilman Kyle Richards said he was leaning toward having services inside the community center rather than purchasing new modular classrooms. 

“There’s a lot of upfront cost. It may be a better value if we’re going to replace the modular in the long run than it would be a better value, but it’s also about the cash flow and timing,” Richards said. 

He did note that it might be worth exploring leasing commercial space from companies that have most or all of their employees working from their homes. 

Kyriaco asked about the options to lease a new space to house materials and services, noting that while he has wanted a satellite library in Old Town for a long time, he was worried how the lack of cooling would impact staff and the community. 

“I appreciate the concern about continuity of service. I’m also really concerned about the user experience and the staff experience,” Kyriaco said. 

The council directed staff to bring back options for purchasing the portable classrooms, using more space at the community center for service than just the three classrooms, and to lease a space in the community.  

City staff will likely return to the council on Nov. 19 to further discuss those options.

Library Patrons Await Changes

Library-goers still have a few months to enjoy the library. On Wednesday afternoon, a few patrons were filing in and out to pick up and drop off books. Inside, people were working on computers and reading newspapers.

Visitor Mary Moore said she goes to the library every week, and while she’s excited about the improvements, it will mean she’ll have to find somewhere else to go. 

“We would just have to go somewhere else, but I understand it’s really old and it’ll be exciting to have an updated library,” Moore said. 

She told Noozhawk that she would like to see services remain in the same area but would be willing to go to Old Town, if the traffic wasn’t too bad. 

“If they finished the turn-around construction, because I heard that the traffic is bad, but that’s probably a good place,” Moore said. “Might be good for that neighborhood, too, to have the library there.”