September 22, 2006

New look for an old friend

Long-awaited Evergreen Branch Library opens to an eager crowd on Sept. 16

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

The doors opened to the new Evergreen Branch Library on Sept. 16 and the crowd flooded in as if welcoming an old friend.

District 8 City Councilman (center) Dave Cortese cuts the ribbon, officially opening the new Evergreen Branch Library. Pictured with Cortese are (from the left) Rod Cryer—president of the Library Friends group, District 10 Councilwoman Nancy Pyle, Cortese, Library Director Jane Light and Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez. Photos by Carol Rosen

Evergreen residents, who had been deprived of their library for more than 18 months, couldn’t get into the new building fast enough, and when they did, they were pleasantly surprised at the treasures awaiting them.

Of course, there was a big build up first, with speeches by library officials and District 8 City Council member Dave Cortese, as well as entertainment by the VOVINAM Viet Vo Dao Martial arts and lion dance group and the Mehak Punjab Dee Dancers, and Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez leading the myriad children in the Library Pledge, which, by the way, ends with all the kids pledging to eat their vegetables.

Once the ribbon was cut, the crowd plunged in—nearly 3,000 people in the first hour with more than 6,182 throughout the day—to find themselves in a library totally different than the old, dark one that was torn down.

“This place represents the new model for public library buildings,” said Rod Cryer, President of the Friends of the Evergreen Library. The Evergreen branch has tripled its service spaces and doubled its collection size and improved employee tools at the same time.

The new library, at 21,500 square feet, is three times the size of the old library. It has seats for 123 people, compared with 40 in the old library. Public computers have more than doubled to 30, with WiFi access during library hours, group study areas are available with space for 16 persons, quiet study areas with space for 14 people, a teen room and a community room that seats 100 comfortably.

Within a few minutes of the doors opening to the new Evergreen Branch Library on Sept. 16, the eager crowd made short work of emptying some of the new facility's shelves. Photos by Jeff Frazee

Other amenities include a technology center and an Internet Café. The library currently is talking with potential vendors to offer café fare. Currently, there are vending machines in the area. Parking has also grown from 54 to 87 spaces.

The building combines both artificial and real light with a variety of soothing colors that makes use of colorful book covers and brings people in like a bookstore. Greeting patrons at the front are audio and video CDs, music and
movies as well as new fiction and best sellers. Large windows bring in outside light. The library is landscaped to convey peacefulness and the mountains provide a stunning backdrop throughout the day.

The children’s area is meant to intrigue and entice children of all ages. The main children’s area is filled with colorful picture books, pillows and seats. It has interactive games along with a tunnel to crawl through. There is space for 50 people in the story telling area.

Nearby is an area for young kids that include children’s computers and tables for puzzles and games. Near that area is a section for older children and teens with chapter books and a teen room for homework and computers for study or to play games. The computers in the teen room have headphones so that noise from games or interactive Internet sites doesn’t bother others.

Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez leads the children attending the library opening with the Library Pledge, including a pledge to eat all their vegetables. Photo by Carol Rosen

Adults have a cozy area with a fireplace and a viewing garden—not much different than a meditation garden—where you can look out large windows. Three sculptures—an ear, mouth and eye—dress the garden in white Carrara marble. The artwork is by Larry Kirkland. Called Discoveries, it “suggests the human potential for learning and exploration through our senses,” according to a release. Called the Living Room, it features magazines and newspapers.

The library is filled with books and media matching the audience it services There are a large number of books in seven major languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi and four East Indian dialects. DVD/videos are available in those languages, as well as French, Italian, German and Polish. In fact, tour guides explained the library features over 50 different dialects to meet the mixture of cultures living in Evergreen today.

The Library Foundation helped fund purchases of furniture, fixtures and equipment, said its executive director, Mary McLane. She noted that two families donated $10,000—Ajay and Anuradha Soni and their children for the self-checkout area, and Paul Rafter for the group study room. The Waite Family and the Sikh Gudwara Temple each donated between $5,000 and $9,999. A number of residents, businesses and foundations also donated up to $5,000, including Mary Valcazar, who donated in memory of her son Anthony because “he loved the library so much.”

A large crowd of local residents pours through the doors of the new Evergreen Branch Library on its opening day on Sept. 16.

“This is a huge day for Evergreen,” said Cortese, who cited the patience of the community for waiting so long for the library to be rebuilt. The library has long been the heart of the Evergreen community, according to Cortese.

“The community’s patience has been rewarded,” he said, “with something for each member of the family to enjoy.”

The library is a dream come true, added Ruth Barefoot, the San Jose Way manager. She and her team help build the city’s new libraries and train the staff “to work in 21st century libraries. These libraries have more technology, easier self service, experts to help out patrons and are bright inviting places that marry the best of libraries and book stores.”

The entire day was unbelievable start to the new facility, said Angela McCarren, the new Evergreen Branch Library manager.

“It’s a wonderful turnout and everyone has had such wonderful positive things to say about the collections and that the building is fantastic,” she said.

McCarren has lived in Evergreen since the mid-1980s.

“Evergreen was one of my first assignments,” said McCarren, who has the dubious job of managing both the Santa Teresa and Evergreen branches. “I’ve done stints at every single branch at one time or another, but I’m awfully glad to be here now.”

The Friends of the Evergreen Branch membership fell while the library was being rebuilt and Cryer feared the group wouldn’t be able to get people back. However, the group waved its minimal dues of $10 per year from now until January and the signup table outside the library was nearly overrun. Cryer said he was pleased with the large number of people signing up for the group.

“Our decimated group is rebuilding rapidly,” he said.

The new library is the fourth expanded branch and the seventh completed under San Jose’s Branch Library Bond Measure, passed in November 2000. Total project cost, including the public art is estimated at $10.19 million.

Hagensen Pacific Construction Company, Inc. was the general contractor and Studios Architects designed the building. Among those involved were Project Manager Steve Blum from the Department of Public Works and his team; Richard Desmond, director; Carmencita Valerio, program coordinator; and Lisa Valerio, project coordinator for the branch library development team.