LOOK AT THOSE BOOKS: Manhattan Beach residents and visitors attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 1 for the new Manhattan Beach Library, which was built after the old library was demolished in 2013.
By Parnia Mazhar
Staff Writer
After one and a half years of construction, the new Manhattan Beach Library opened to the public on May 1 at its ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The new 21,500 square-foot, two-story building is made up of dual-pane transparent glass and contains a panoramic ocean view which stretches from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Malibu. The project cost over $26 million and was funded by residents’ property taxes.
“The new library is truly gorgeous,” president of Friends of the Manhattan Beach Library Melinda Reiter said. “The panoramic view makes the building look so open and pretty, and I think people will be particularly attracted to it during sunset.”
The city tore down the previous library in 2013. According to Manhattan Beach Mayor Wayne Powell, the new building needed to be built because the previous one was not structurally sound and contained substandard plumbing and electrical features.
“There is really no comparison,” Powell said. “We had a small, antiquated library versus this new one with magnificent architecture.”
According to Powell, the library supports the use of technology as it contains nine computers and the first automatic book-sorting machines in the County of Los Angeles Public Library system. There is also free Wi-Fi throughout the facility.
“The new library is state-of-the-art,” Powell said. “It is able to keep up-to-date with however technology will transform either tomorrow or in the future.”
The library is now open to the public from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday; 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It is closed on Sundays.
“The library will probably become a landmark for Manhattan Beach,” Powell said.
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