Bad news first: The temporary “Mini Library” at the Healdsburg Community Center will close on Tuesday, June 3. There will be no indoor services for three weeks, which will allow library staff to move in and organize the remodeled library and contractors to finish furniture installation.
The good news is that the Healdsburg Regional Library in downtown Healdsburg will fully reopen its doors on Wednesday, June 25, at 10am, after a top-to-bottom remodel.
“We are ecstatic over how the remodel has turned out,” said Sonoma County Library Director Erika Thibault. “This allows us to improve access and service, and it looks fantastic. The community is going to love it!”
After the June 3 closure, no local services will be offered from June 4-6, although regional libraries in Cloverdale and Windsor will remain open. Beginning Saturday, June 7, the Piper Street library location will open for limited service, curbside holds pickup and returns seven days a week. The BiblioBus will also be available on select afternoons for browsing.
“Library staff are overjoyed to return to the Piper Street Branch,” said Branch Manager Jon Haupt. “Our regular location is ideal—walkable to local schools and services in the heart of Healdsburg.” He added special thanks to the City of Healdsburg for the temporary space provided at the community center.
The modernization of Healdsburg’s library includes new carpet, paint, lighting, windows, shelving and furniture. The expanded children’s area includes fanciful tree shapes and innovative reading cubbyholes. Local teens will have their own area, adults will enjoy extensive new shelving and improved seating, and the Sonoma County Wine Library will have expanded storage for its many books and ephemera.
The remodel includes a refreshed outdoor patio; gender-neutral restrooms; a private “study pod”; a laptop-lending kiosk that expands computer use inside the library; a 24/7 smart locker outside for holds pickup (the BiblioBox); upgrades to heating, cooling and electrical systems; and an automated book-sorting machine that will get returns back on shelves quickly.
Healdsburg has had a public library since 1857, and over the years it moved to several locations. The longest serving building, at 221 Matheson St., was a Carnegie Library built in 1911 and now occupied by the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society.
The current building, at 139 Piper St., opened in 1988 and has undergone minor updates, but nothing as extensive as the project winding up now.
The project is funded primarily by the library sales tax, which voters recently renewed. The Friends of the Healdsburg Library contributed more than $100,000 toward the project, and the City of Healdsburg allocated $240,000 toward exterior access improvements.
Call the Healdsburg Library at 707.433.3772 for more details on its services in June.
