London Gets a Library
It’s been a long time coming, but the time has come…London is officially getting a community Library this year. The grand opening is set to take place on Saturday, October 15th beginning at 11:00am. We are looking forward to the big day and are pleased to have California State Librarian Greg Lucas join us for the monumental event.
Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, we have organized a special resource fair for residents in the community to learn and take advantage of county resource programs ranging from energy cost savings to no cost flu shots.
Many Tulare County agencies and community outreach organizations will be on hand with informational resources about their service programs including Tulare County Public Health, Pacific Gas & Electric, Proteus, Alcohol and Other Drug Services, Southern California Gas Company, Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, County Probation Department, the WIC Program, Tulare County Fire Department, and many more.
We envision this library to serve as a local community center for London. It is my hope that this facility becomes a place for community gatherings and celebrations for all both young and old.
Looking at London, our goal is to re-establish a County presence that has long since been missing in the community. Unfortunately, the County Fire Station once located in London was closed down many years ago and the only school is a country school belonging to the Kings River School District.
There is however a community service district that serves the area, but in the form of governmental services on location in London - that’s pretty much it.
The absence of governmental entities can be noticeable in small communities especially in ones similar to London with a population of about 1,800 residents. So bringing in a public library is significant to this community, and highly needed.
I give thanks to Robert Isquierdo and members of the London community for initiating this process. The London Library serves as an example of how the County listened and responded to the community’s voice.
A place of learning, knowledge and growth; this library will provide access to an array of books, computers and many resources to the people of London for which they have been without for a quite some time.
If you happen to be in the north county area on October 15th, stop by and join us to celebrate this momentous occasion! The new Library is located at 5711 Ave 378 in London, and the facility will be open from 10:00am to 3:00pm that day.
Steve Worthley,
Tulare County Board of Supervisors, District Four