Maricopa’s new public library opens Saturday morning

Maricopa’s first municipal building, the Maricopa Public Library, opens Saturday, June 13, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. The new library is located at the intersection of Desert Greens Drive and Smith-Enke Road just west of Porter Road.

Library manager Cara Cameron, as well as staff members Kevin Drinka, Heather Kennedy and Stephannie Spencer will be available to assist residents interested in signing up for library cards or checking out books until 3 p.m. Computers will not be available during the opening day activities.

Friends of the Maricopa Public Library will be on hand to serve as tour guides. They will be donating specially designed, reusable book bags to the first 500 families in attendance.

Children will be able to make special bookmarks, commemorating the library’s opening. In addition, children, teens and adults will be able to enjoy special readings and reminiscences by Mayor Anthony Smith, City Manager Kevin Evans, Public Safety Director Patrick Melvin, City Council member Marquisha Griffin, local resident and actor Jerry Allen, MUSD Governng Board member Tracy Davis, Friends of the Library president Lee Pierce, early resident Marjorie Deal Smith and longtime residents Mary Lou Smith and Hermina Anderson, among others.

The new library offers children, teens and adult’s sections, 20 computers, a community meeting room, a periodical reading area and a collection of approximately 32,000 items, including 14,000 purchased for the new library. The adult collection alone will consist of 20,000 items.

Historical influence is present in the rotunda with its many photos from early Maricopa and in the timeline fencing, which separates the children’s section from the foyer.

The history committee of the Friends of the Maricopa Public Library has created displays featuring the first schools in Maricopa and focusing on the railroad’s early influence on the town. Historical items and photos from early Maricopa will be part of the displays created especially for the new library and housed in custom cabinets and shelving built by Troy Anderson.

If you go:

What: Maricopa Public Library’s Grand Opening
When: Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m.
Where: Maricopa Public Library, 41600 West Smith-Enke Road
Cost: Free (tours and activities provided)

Photos by Joyce Hollis