Just days before the Goleta Valley Library closes for two years to undergo renovations, patrons visited to check out items, use the computers and wish the staff good luck with moving.
It will be two months before Goleta residents can visit the temporary library at 6500 Hollister Ave. Until then, the library will be leaving the confines of its walls and meeting the residents in parks, schools and the community center.
“It’s definitely bittersweet,” city librarian Elizabeth Saucedo said. “We’re very, very excited about the positive changes that this renovation will bring to life for the community, and we’re looking forward to the library being safer, more accessible, and being able to support all of our visions and dreams for the future of the library.”
Sunday will be the last day to visit the Goleta Valley Library at 500 N. Fairview Ave. before it closes for the renovations. The construction will include new accessible paths, restroom upgrades, modernizing and replacing the HVAC system, new lighting and security, new doors and windows, and new exterior paint.
Goleta received a $4.2 million grant from the California State Library to make the 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 needed to fully close the library during construction.
Bessie Condos, a Goleta resident who visits the library a couple of times a month, said she thinks the planned improvements will be good for the library and guests.
“Yes, there’ll be a disruption, but you know, that’s to be expected,” Condos said. “Focus on the improvements that are going to be made, because this building, I think, was done in 1972, and things have really changed since then. It’s a good thing for the staff as well as the patrons.”
Condos said she’d like to see more parking and better accessibility and that she plans to visit the temporary location on Hollister Avenue once it’s open.
Clara van Meeuwen, who said she goes to the library every two weeks and used to bring her grandkids to some of the programs, said she’s looking forward to the renovated library.
“It’s kind of necessary,” van Meeuwen said. “It’s old, the bathrooms need updating and all that. I’m good with it.”
Van Meeuwen said she plans to visit the book van when it’s across the street at the school district, and she’ll visit the temporary location once it opens.
“I hope they change the outdoor coloring a little bit because it’s very grim. Make it happier, a little bit more colorful, new bathrooms,” van Meeuwen said.
Starting Monday, library staff will begin packing materials into boxes. A moving company will be moving shelving, boxes and supplies to the temporary site. Saucedo said the goal is to open the temporary location in early June, in time for the summer reading program.
City staff got a bit of a trial run last fall when the Buellton Library permanently moved from 140 W. Highway 246 to the historic Willemsen property at 202 Dairyland Road.
The City of Buellton oversees the library facility, but services are provided by the City of Goleta.
“Having been involved with the Buellton move was really helpful for that logistic part of it because there is a packing plan, everything is coded, there’s color coding, checklists and worksheets to really make sure we stay on track for packing and unpacking, to make sure that everything stays in order,” Saucedo said.
Seeing the Buellton Library open up in a newly renovated home also gave staff something to look forward to.
“Just as we were finishing that project and reopening, we were diving into this one, but we got to really see firsthand how exciting it is to open in a brand-new, beautiful facility,” Saucedo said.
Programs and Picking Up Materials During the Closure
While the library won’t have a physical space for the next two months, residents still will be able to check out materials and attend events and programs.
Materials and holds can be picked up at the book van, which makes several stops throughout Isla Vista and Goleta during the week. A new stop has been added at the Goleta Union School District office parking lot at 401 N. Fairview Ave. from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
The book van schedule can be seen here.
Programs such as story times, senior craft hour, and book clubs will be held throughout Goleta at the community center, Evergreen Park, Stow Grove Park and Santa Barbara Shores Park. Staff will be bringing the book van along to all off-site programs.
The full programming schedule can be seen here.
Once doors close on Sunday, items can be placed on hold through the digital catalog and picked up at the book van or materials can be accessed through the e-library.
Due dates for physical materials will be extended until the temporary location opens, but items can be returned to the book van or book drops.
When the temporary location opens in June, patrons can look forward to a smaller version of the library they know and love, equipped with computers, printers, DVDs and books.
“We’re trying to really bring different elements of the library into that space, and it may just be a modified or adjusted version of that,” Saucedo said. “It will be a smaller library, but as I’ve shared before, tiny libraries are mighty, and so I’m really excited for us to see how we can meet patron needs at the temporary site.”
The temporary site doesn’t have room for programs, so those will continue at parks and the community center.
Yardi Systems recently donated $20,000 for the city to purchase 12 to 14 work stations for the temporary library location.
The work stations will be for staff to use at the temporary location and will be moved to the branch library after renovations are done. Remaining funds will be used for new fixtures and furnishings.
“We just want to reassure our community that we’re still here for them,” Saucedo said. “It may not be the same street address, but we’re definitely still here to serve them and to connect them with all of the things the library has to offer.”