The Foothill Dragon Press

New library represents the community’s “front porch”

Attendees+watch+a+live+musical+performance+for+the+grand+opening+of+the+new+library.+Credit%3A+Abigail+Massar+%2F+The+Foothill+Dragon+Press
Back to Article
Back to Article

New library represents the community’s “front porch”

Attendees watch a live musical performance for the grand opening of the new library. Credit: Abigail Massar / The Foothill Dragon Press

Attendees watch a live musical performance for the grand opening of the new library. Credit: Abigail Massar / The Foothill Dragon Press

Attendees watch a live musical performance for the grand opening of the new library. Credit: Abigail Massar / The Foothill Dragon Press

Attendees watch a live musical performance for the grand opening of the new library. Credit: Abigail Massar / The Foothill Dragon Press

Jill Vallance

Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.


Email This Story






With eight years of extensive preparation and exceeding one thousand people in attendance, the grand opening of the Ventura County Library on Hill Road pleasantly suprised those in attendance.

“I knew it was going to be very popular, but it still exceeded my expectations and that really warms my heart,” said Deputy Library Director Nancy Schram, who will be succeeding Jackie Griffin as Library Director on Dec. 15. “It just shows so much how the community is embracing this library.”

 

 

The launch kept the supporters entertained with many activities such as raffling off a Beatles photo book and posters, a ceremonial ribbon cutting, barbecue catering provided by the Ventura Downtown Lions Club, a doll-making activity led by Judee Hauer, a photo booth, live music and multiple speeches.

The publications available in paper at the Hill Road location are just the tip of the iceberg of options, continuing on to online resources where readers will be able to find books obtainable from as far away as New York.

Debbie Giles, chair of the City of Ventura’s Library Advisory Commission, makes it clear that “this is not a place to be shushed, it’s a place to go and have that sense of community and fellowship.”

“This is a community space to be used how the community needs it,” Giles stated.

The exterior of the new library. Credit: Abigail Massar / The Foothill Dragon Press

The exterior of the new library. Credit: Abigail Massar / The Foothill Dragon Press

Many twists and turns have led up to bringing the library to life on the east end of town, where there hasn’t been one present in eight years.

As told by Kathy Thomson, president of the Ventura Friends of the Library, after the Wright Library closed on Nov. 30, 2009, many eyes were opened as to the truth that “libraries need funds, but they also need volunteers.”

The closing left many residents of Ventura without a library on their side of town.

Support from Ventura’s residents was given to bring back a new community library as soon as possible. After eight years, a prospective location was found in an abandoned restaurant.

 

 

“It was working together with your public officials, non-profits and county staff to make it happen,” Thomson said. “It was truly a team effort.”

“Whether you are mom pushing a stroller or a kid on a bike or somebody just walking with your cane, you can get to a library easily,” Giles said in her speech after the library successfully opened.

Branch Manager Antonio Apodaca described the new library as the community’s “front porch” where it can be a center for everyone in Ventura.  

“We need the community to feel like this is a safe place, like […] a home away from home,” Apodaca assured.

 

What do you think?
About the Writer
Jill Vallance, Reporter

I like news writing and living my best life.

Leave a Comment

Comments on articles are screened and those determined by editors to be crude, overly mean-spirited or that serve primarily as personal attacks will not be approved. The Editorial Review Board, made up of 11 student editors and a faculty adviser, make decisions on content.

If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar.




Navigate Left
  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    Latest

    “Midsummer Night Masquerade Prom” unites students through music and dancing

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    Bioscience pushes for an AED, one is installed

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    Air Guitar’s summer bash melts away the stress of school

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    Rain or shine, the chalk festival goes on

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    Erin Prewitt and Trevor Quirk illustrate the dangers of intoxicated driving

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    ASB makes menstruation no obstacle, period

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    News Brief: all-district art show to display art by 27 Foothill students

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    Strawberry-themed Renaissance rally leaves campus on a sweet note

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    News

    News Brief: AVID applications open for the 2019-20 school year

  • New library represents the community’s “front porch”

    Intersections

    District CTE Greg Bayless invited to QSA meeting, hears student concerns

Navigate Right
The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School
New library represents the community’s “front porch”
https://foothilldragonpress.org/261400/news/new-library-represents-the-communitys-front-porch/
foothilldragonpress.org
crawl=CC-MAIN-2019-22
179789
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:B2XIGTBOMHF2CLAPZ4UQQZ22VDQIREVQ
<urn:uuid:5f297503-65fc-4b14-b2ca-4d878f36b891>
2019-05-22T21:08:11Z
104.27.183.96
application/xhtml+xml
sha1:OOOKUGCBHWXV2C3P2B6AR4NGPLSCITL3
<urn:uuid:50b6d36d-a88d-48aa-b9a7-253ec474d7a9>
https://foothilldragonpress.org/261400/news/new-library-represents-the-communitys-front-porch/
response
<urn:uuid:0d6886a6-39d1-4ed5-b51e-792412ca7d06>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2019-22
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for May 2019
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-152-225-239.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.15 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.1-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/