The crowd that gathered at the corner of Piper and Center on June 25 kept growing while the official opening ceremony for the remodeled library was conducted. It wasn’t that the ceremony itself was all that unusual—there were the expected library and city officials to give a few words each, a round of mutual thanks and a ribbon cutting.
What really drew the crowd was the library’s scheduled opening to the public at 10am. So it consisted of kids and moms and a few dads, grandparents and friends, many with armfuls of books to return, lining up to get inside for the first time since the downtown branch closed in August, 10 long months ago. Their intent was to drop off a book, to pick up a book on hold, to browse the stacks and breathe the gentle atmosphere of a library.
The modernization of Healdsburg’s library includes new carpet, paint, lighting, windows and of course room for books. Fanciful tree shapes and innovative reading cubbyholes surround the expanded Children’s Area. Adults can investigate extensive new shelving, and the Sonoma County Wine Library has expanded storage…