Press Room

Beyond Books
When Anne Cain was growing up in the suburbs of Boston, her local library refused to carry Nancy Drew mysteries. Cain had to borrow the beloved books from a neighbor, and the memory of that would one day spur her ambition to transform Contra Costa County's library system into one of the most inclusive and innovative in the United States.

With Expanding Library's Promise, Concern About Its Purpose
Last week, when the New York Public Library announced a $1 billion expansion, including a transformation of its flagship building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street using a $100 million donation by the Wall Street financier Stephen A. Schwarzman, it signaled both a great opportunity and a great temptation.

Who Say Libraries Are Dead? Steve Falk, Lafayette City Manager, says "...perhaps like no other civic institution, public libraries bring together people of all ages, backgrounds, colors, creeds and interests who - despite their diversity and differences - arrive unified with a singular purpose: they want to improve their lives."

Show and Tell at the Library! "We started this five years ago and we're really excited about the project." Barbara Flammang, principal architect from Flammang and Killefer said about the over 30,000 square foot, three story Lafayette Library and Learning Center. "Your city is the most architecturally aware on the planet. It's easier for us when the client knows exactly what they want and make their expectations very clear." said Wade Killefer, her partner.

Diablo Magazine awarded the new Lafayette Library and Learning Center it's Editor's Pick for Best of the East Bay award in July 2007, writing that it's the "Library We Can't Wait to See Open in 2009."

After years of planning and fundraising and advocacy, the new Lafayette Library and Learning Center is breaking ground for its new home. A community celebration is scheduled for April 20, 2007 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the site of this new facility at the corner of First Street and Golden Gate Way in Lafayette. Lafayette's Mayor, Carol Federighi, will be the Mistress of Ceremony and will introduce the new Library's construction contractor, C. Overaa & Company, and the new Library's architects, Wade Killefer and Barbara Flammang of Killefer Flammang Architects. Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony will include Mayor Carol Federighi, Supervisor Gayle Uilkema, County Library Anne Cain and Lafayette Community Foundation Chair Anne Grodin.

Lafayette Community Foundation has proposed to help fund Lafayette Library and Learning Center Operations when the new library opens in Spring 2009. Read Operations Funding Plan: Questions and Answers to find out more.

Meanwhile, the construction bids are in, and the low/winning bid came from C. Overaa & Co based in Richmond, CA, at $29,490,000, within 6% of the City Staff's estimated building costs. Groundbreaking is scheduled for this spring. Stay tuned for more news as the construction story unfolds.

According to School Library Journal, library planners expect our new library to "serve as a national model" for libraries of the future because of its "first-ever" program collaboration among 12 high-profile arts, education, and cultural organizations. Even though the building is still a few years away, the concept of "lifelong learning" is up and running, with programs offered locally by some of our Glenn Seaborg Learning Consortium partners. See Event Calendar for details.

If you are a journalist looking for information about the Lafayette Library and Learning Center and/or the Glenn Seaborg Consortium, please contact:

Gwenn Lennox, Campaign Director
Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation
P.O. Box 1472
Lafayette, CA 94549
Phone: (925) 283-6513
Fax: (925) 283-8137
director@lafayettelib.com

If you are looking for information about the current Lafayette Library, please contact:
Susan Weaver, Senior Community Library Manager
Lafayette Library
952 Moraga Road
Lafayette, CA 94549
Phone: (925) 283-3872