During a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning, Nevada County officials welcomed the community and opened the doors to the new Bear River Library location at 11010 Combie Road.
The new 2,500-square-foot space is a short walk from Bear River High School, where the library has shared a building with the high school library for the past two decades. Funding for the new location comes from Nevada County taxpayers and the 2016 passage of Measure A. “I can’t tell you how happy my heart is to see everyone here,” said Mandy Kelsey, Branch Manager of the Bear River Library, during an opening ceremony and ribbon cutting. “This is such a supportive community. I can’t wait to show everyone the beautiful new space.”
The new stand-alone facility will offer expanded hours of operation for the community; a browsable collection of DVDs, magazines, fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels; weekly programs for children and teens and volunteer opportunities. Library members can access two public computers, a self-checkout station, and reserve a state-of-the-art meeting room.
“I’m excited to expand our programming. Weekly storytime and monthly art workshops are just the beginning of what we’ll be able to offer in the new space,” said Kelsey.
Kicking off a month of programming to highlight the new facility is the Bear River Library Grand Opening Celebration at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 17. Activities for all ages include face painting with Donya Miguel-Lovan, refreshments and a “Build a Bear” craft. Stop by every Friday in the month of February for Coffee Talk with library staff at 10 a.m. A local favorite Izzi Tooinsky, the King of Hotdogastan, performs on Saturday, March 2, at 10:30, a free show for the entire family. Discover more programs and events using the Bear River Library location filter on the Library’s event calendar.
Measure A is a 15-year library bond that provides a quarter of a cent of all sales tax to the Nevada County Library. With Measure A funding, the Library has promised to commit to service priorities for the public, including the expansion of physical library spaces and increasing open public hours.
“This is so exciting. The access for the community is so wonderful,” said Nevada County District 2 Supervisor Ed Scofield. “We can’t say enough about Measure A - a quarter of a cent sales tax is why we are able to do this with our library systems.”
Building on the success at Nevada County Library’s Penn Valley location, the Bear River Library will offer Open+ Access, allowing library patrons to use their library card to access the library after open hours. Patrons will be able to scan library cards at the front door and have access to computers, WiFi, and the children’s play area, as well as check out materials from the collection. Library cardholders can use Open+ Access on Sundays, Mondays and weekday evenings. Complete an Open+ orientation to utilize this unique after-hours service.
The new library will be open and staffed five days a week, Tuesday and Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, visit the Bear River Library location page at nevadacountyca.gov or call 530-265-7052.
