The top-to-bottom modernization of the Healdsburg Regional Library will begin in September and last through spring 2025, the county’s library system has confirmed. But the library at 139 Piper St. will close to the public a week earlier, on Aug. 25, a week before the temporary ‘mini-library’ opens on Sept. 3.
A temporary “mini library” at the Healdsburg Community Center that will attend to the community’s needs won’t open until Sept. 3, so one of the system’s BiblioBuses stationed on-site for several days will take care of library essentials, like books on hold and limited browsing.
But inside the library building the whole place will be turned upside down.
“From carpet to ceiling, almost every aspect of the library’s interior will be modernized and improved. The project scope includes an improved entryway, a new teen area, a reimagined children’s area, and new carpet, furniture, shelving and paint. Updated restrooms are in the plan as well as upgrades to the heating and cooling systems,” according to a news release from Sonoma County Library.
For the most part, the books currently on the shelves at the library “will be in deep storage during the closure; we will largely be relying on other branches to supply our requested material,” said Branch Manager Jon Haupt.
“The Wine Library is a little bit different, because many of those materials are unique or very rare—some of that will be somewhat accessible through requests at Central Library,” Haupt said.
‘Wear and Tear’
The Healdsburg branch opened at the Piper Street location in 1988, moving from the aging Carnegie Library on Matheson Street when it outgrew the space. That building has since been renovated and expanded by the Healdsburg Museum.
The library serves almost 2,000 patrons a week, and after 36 years in the same space it’s “showing wear and tear,” said Sonoma County Library Director Erika Thibault. “The library has not had a significant upgrade since it opened in 1988. We are bringing more natural light into the interior, while modernizing everything that the community sees and touches.”
Sonoma County Library is investing $2.1 million from its sales tax funds, and the City of Healdsburg, which owns the building, is investing in its critical infrastructure needs. The Friends of the Healdsburg Library, in addition to ongoing annual grants and support, has pledged $101,600 for the modernization, funds raised from selling donated books.
At the same time, Sonoma Library is engaged in another modernization effort, this one in Petaluma. That project started at the end of June and is expected to continue for at least a year, with re-opening estimated as “mid-2025.” That branch opened in 1976, and more modernization and upgrades are needed.
Total budget for the Petaluma modernization is posted as $7.4 million, more than double what is anticipated for the Healdsburg project.
Mini Library
While the remodeling is in process, the Healdsburg Mini Library will be open seven days a week at the Community Center, 1557 Healdsburg Ave. It will be located in the Community Meeting Room, which is by coincidence the old library from Foss Creek Elementary School. The room is about 1,100 square feet. It will be open during the same hours as the downtown library is currently.
The Mini Library will offer a collection of books and other materials, plus holds for pickup, public computers and printing. Additional library events will take place elsewhere in the community.
For the interim week, however, between the Piper Street location closing to the public on Aug. 25 and the Mini Library opening on Aug. 3, BiblioBus service will be available from Monday, Aug. 26, through Saturday, Aug. 31, from 10am to 4pm, except for Tuesday, Aug. 27. On that date there will be no in-person service, though holds will be available for pickup by calling (707) 433-3772.
The book drop at Piper Street will remain accessible and operational through Sept. 3, when it, too, will be closed and services transferred to the Mini Library at the Community Center.
Other nearby regional libraries include those in Windsor (9291 Old Redwood Hwy) and Cloverdale (401 N. Cloverdale Blvd.) which will remain open during their regular hours. The 24/7 online library is always open at sonomalibrary.org.
Updated news about the modernization projects can be found at sonomalibrary.org/visit/librarymodernization.
