New library expands as cultural gathering place

When the city of Maricopa set out a couple of years ago to build a bigger library, the focus was more than books.

Sure, there were plans to expand the collection of about 60,000 items in a new facility, but there was a greater goal: build a scalable, signature gathering place to connect the community as part of a future town square.

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The name of the new Maricopa Library & Cultural Center, which opened March 27, reflects that objective. The facility, at 27,000 feet more than three times larger than its predecessor, is about 60% library and 40% meeting space. Patrons will certainly have access to more volumes and digital media, but the real essence of the place is as a town center.

By design, the library was constructed on city-owned land next to City Hall at White and Parker and Bowlin roads, the geographic center of the city. It lies within the footprint of the proposed 140-acre City Center complex that would become a focal point for the city and serve as a destination downtown area of shops and entertainment venues. The current police station, situated between City Hall and the library, is envisioned, in part, as a space for recitals and a music studio after the department moves across town.

With the $10.6 million, state-of-the-art library, the city is taking steps to up its cultural game. An atrium bisecting the building will serve as a space for performances and has gallery-type hardware to feature artwork from the community. It can accommodate about 600 people.

The east side of the building features a 2,000-square-foot, audio-visual-enabled meeting room that can accommodate 250 people. There are separate spaces dedicated for craft, technology and creator/maker labs. Dropdown gates will separate the library from the cultural center so much of the building can be used when the library closes in the evening. A plaza with a raised stage and seating offers an outdoor space for programming.

“It’s meant to be a gathering place to connect people,” said Jennifer Bostian, deputy director of community services. In her role, Bostian oversees the library, the planned veterans/senior center at the old library on Smith-Enke Road, and the planned museum at the former vet center and welcome center in the iconic Silver Horizon railcar on Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway.

“This building will provide the type of space available needed to accomplish those connections,” she said. “Previously, only Copper Sky could offer such space.”

Nathan Ullyot, community services director for the city, said he is excited about the possibilities.

“With the new facility, the opportunity to learn and connect, like the size of the facility, greatly increases,” he said. “The stage on the north side of the facility will be able to host performances in spoken word, dance, theater and music. Artists and community groups will have ample opportunity to access the library to perform and connect with others to plan and perform.”

29,000 CARDHOLDERS AND GROWING

The former library, an 8,000-square-foot building, was built for about $2 million in 2009, when the population of the city was about 41,000. Its shelves were full of 57,000 books, but another 2,000-5,000 items had to be kept in storage. It had two public rooms: a study room for up to four people and a meeting room that could seat about 30 people.

In 2019, the most recent pre-pandemic year, the library recorded more than 200,000 patron visits and 5,000 participants in its summer reading program.

“The current library is not big enough for our population,” Bostian said. “We are busting at the seams.”

Today, the library has 29,000 cardholders as the city continues to add residents every year. Construction on the new X-shaped building began March 2020 and took a year to complete. Phase 1 sits on about 2.2 acres of the 4.75-acre parcel and includes pre-planning to facilitate expansion to the west. The main entry is on the east side, where a 136-space parking lot is accessible from both Civic Center Plaza and Bowlin Road. More than a third of the site is landscaping.

Phase 2 could potentially add another 25,000 square feet to the library.

The book-lending operation takes up the western half of the building, with separate areas for adults and children. On the children’s side, there is a toddler area and storytime room.

With shelving space for 80,000-85,000 volumes — and room to expand as needed — the library will be adding to its collection in the coming months and years. But books have moved out of storage, including a collection of young adult material purchased with a grant awarded in 2020, according to Bostian. And more volumes collected over the past year will supplement the regular supply of new titles in adult fiction and non-fiction.

One major change from the Smith-Enke location is information technology. While Pinal County had been providing technology maintenance, the city has taken over that role.

“While the county has been taking care of a lot of our IT equipment, the nice thing is we can now be a fully city-run library,” Bostian said. “We’ll still be on the county library system, but fully supported from an infrastructure perspective by City Services.

I think it will operate very well. We’ve got everything we’ll need.”

The lending operation will be run by Kevin Drinka, who has been with the library since 2006 and oversaw the move into the Smith-Enke location. He left in 2014 to become a library director in a small Illinois city and returned to Maricopa five years later to become supervising librarian.

But in a sign of the value the city places on programming, the library has another master’s-level supervising librarian, Andrew Gallegos. He is the former children’s librarian.

“They both bring really great experience across the board,” Bostian said.

‘EXPANDING LIKE CRAZY’

Gallegos’s focus is on providing experiences, both for learning and enjoyment in the form of book clubs for all ages, coding and other digital classes for kids, arts classes and a maker lab.

Over past year, there has been almost no in-person programming due to health concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, though virtual programming was expanded to help meet the demand.

Now, the library is poised to offer the somewhat-cloistered community many more opportunities to get out of the house and do something.

“The city has been needing more meeting space, more spaces for programming,” Bostian said. “The programming is just expanding like crazy.”

Moreover, a growing number of nonprofits are getting in touch to request space for their own programming. Residents and groups can reserve a meeting room on the city website.

“We’re working with more community groups than we’ve ever been able to,” Bostian said.

“I’m really excited,” said Jamila Miqbel, who chairs the board of directors of the Friends of the Library, a non-profit organization dedicated to support and enhance the library. “We need as much space as we can get to provide programming to meet the needs of everyone.”

She pointed to potential all-ages programs like Parenting 101 and intergenerational activities to bring together seniors and young adults. “We can probably offer a lot more tutoring and educational classes,” she added.

There are big plans for reading programs in the city, according to Miqbel. While the Summer Reading Program was forced to meet virtually in 2020 due to the pandemic, “this year we are bringing it back full force, and we’re working on a reading program for the winter,” she said. “We’re trying to expand literacy in the community.”

In part to handle the increased programming, the staff has grown to nine full-time and 15 part-time employees, with some of those part-timers hired in recent months to prepare for the move to the new facility.

“The library has been raising cultural awareness through its programming for years,” Ullyot said. “The programming team led by Andrew Gallegos, Ashley Jackson and Stephannie Interrante have found innovative ways for youth and adults to learn about and experience different cultures through materials and programs at the current library.”

FUNDS FOR THE FUTURE

The desire for a new municipal library goes back at least 15 years. In 2006, a $15 million, 60,000-square-foot facility was planned. That dream collapsed with the Great Recession, and an 8,000-square-foot building was constructed, even though it was clear from the start it would be too small for the population. (The industry standard for libraries is one square foot per resident. The area population is estimated to have grown to more than 60,000 today.)

The library was built with $6.28 million of capital improvement funds (from the General Fund), $3.3 million of development impact fees and $1.1 million in Highway User Revenue Funds. No debt was incurred and no taxes were increased, Bostian noted.

But filling the shelves at the new library will be expensive. Adding 20,000-30,000 volumes at an average cost of $20 per title will cost $400,000 to $600,000. Typically, the library receives $40,000-$60,000 annually from city and county funding sources, depending on the vagaries of budgets.

So, the library has launched a community fundraising effort with a $250,000 goal to provide a long-term, alternative funding source to support programming and lending material expenses, Bostian said. The library is partnering with the Maricopa Community Foundation to administer the Designated Fund, which will provide a way to accept tax-deductible donations.

In early March, just about two weeks into the campaign, $40,000 had been raised, with key early donations by Global Water ($10,000 to kick off the fund), the Friends of the Library ($5,000), library builder Haydon Construction ($5,000) and Courtny Tyler State Farm ($1,000).

Several individuals have already committed contributions to the fund, Bostian said.
The library wanted to memorialize financial supporters, so the Friends of the Library developed a concept to provide recognition. Donors who give $250 or more are added to the Donor Wall in the northern part of the atrium, which features a little girl looking through a telescope to a night sky dotted with donor stars. The bigger the donation, the bigger the star. There are limited spaces at each giving level.

“The Maricopa Public Library has been a place for our community to gather for decades,” Ullyot said. “Whether through volunteerism or financial gifts, community support has always been part of the success of the facility. With this beautiful new building and the added element of the cultural center, we are looking to continue to expand and provide even greater opportunities for discovery and engagement.

“The donor wall will help make that possible,” he added, “and will allow us to celebrate those who support everything the MLCC will stand for.”

Bostian believes that if the past is any indication, Maricopans will embrace their new library, opening hearts, minds and wallets.

“This is a generous community.”

520-568-2926
Library web page
18160 N. Maya Angelou Drive

Hours
Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sundays, closed

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FEATURES AND SERVICES
• Adult and children’s libraries
• Desktop computers
• Laptop computers (for checkout within building)
• Conference rooms (available for private parties)
• Notary services
• Print/copy room
• Reference resources
• Library of things (future)
• Chairs and tables throughout building

HOW TO VOLUNTEER
Dependable volunteers are always needed. The minimum age is 15. Applications can be completed and returned to the circulation desk and a volunteer coordinator will reach out within two weeks. The library currently has openings to assist with:
• Shelving
• Assisting in library programs (all age groups)
• Star Reader program
• Special events
• Special projects
• Homebound delivery driver

BECOME A FRIEND
The Friends of the Library are looking for members.