Sunnyvale welcomed community members on Oct. 31 to the opening of its first branch library.
The Sunnyvale Lakewood Branch Library and Learning Center hosted hundreds of guests for a Halloween-themed grand opening. Children dressed up as characters like Ash Ketchum from “Pokémon” and Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen.” Some members of the Sunnyvale City Council also wore costumes. Council Member Charlsie Chang wore a bee outfit, and Council Member Eileen Le cosplayed Ms. Frizzle from “The Magic School Bus.”
Sporting a purple Willy Wonka coat and gray wig, Mayor Larry Klein told attendees, “Think of your library card as your very own golden ticket to endless learning and imagination.”
The Lakewood library serves a part of Sunnyvale with the lowest percentage of resident library-card holders. Prior to the library’s opening, some community members would travel up to four miles to the main library near city hall — one of the farthest distances to a library of any Silicon Valley city.
Dozens of attendees registered for library cards at the building’s grand opening. Some also told the Voice they walked to the Lakewood library; others said their time spent driving was cut down in half.
Council Member Le, who lives in the Lakewood neighborhood, has frequented libraries in San José, Milpitas and Los Altos— easier locations to get to than Sunnyvale’s main library.
“This is bikeable for my oldest son,” Le said of the new library. “This is walkable for me, if I’m feeling ambitious. It’s super close.”
Lakewood’s library offers more than 27,000 books for checkout, and anyone with a card can request transfers from the main library’s larger collection. The library had double copies of several children’s books and adult novels like Barbara Kingsolver’s “Partita,” which came out in September. Librarians stock books based on what they think will be popular, and they can purchase more if there’s public interest.
The library also offers visitors a creative space called the Maker Lab. The lab offers machines such as laser cutters and 3D printers to use for creative projects. Those machines made keychains for guests at the grand opening to assemble and take home.
The lab is currently available during designated lab hours on a first-come, first-served basis. The library, starting next year, will allow visitors to reserve time in the Maker Lab.
“We’re really excited to be an incubator of creativity for Sunnyvale,” said Jess Koshi-Lum, the manager for the Lakewood branch.
Lakewood library’s grand opening is the product of more than a decade of planning between Sunnyvale leadership and local school districts. Both Sunnyvale School District and Fremont-Union High School District partnered with the city in 2019. Sunnyvale School District is leasing the library’s land to the city, and they co-manage Lakewood Park.
Lakewood Park is in the midst of its first major renovation since it opened in 1964. The park’s playground opened in July. The city projects other amenities, such as a water play area and dog park, to open next summer.
“The space is blooming and blossoming,” said Lakewood resident Freddie Carrero. “We can see it, and we’re really excited. We can’t wait until everything is open together.”
Chris Ramirez is a California Local News Fellow.