Expanded Belvedere-Tiburon Library readies for debut
After nearly three years of construction, the expanded Belvedere-Tiburon Library will celebrate its grand reopening Sept. 17, giving patrons their first glimpse at the new teen and children’s libraries, the enlarged Founders Room and a new art gallery and meeting spaces, among other changes.
The festivities will kick off about 10:30 a.m. with speeches and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by an open house running 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. with a slew of family-friendly activities, including a scavenger hunt, a magic show, a petting zoo, a balloon artist, hands-on demonstrations and drop-in storytime.
There will be popcorn and beverages courtesy of the Belvedere-Tiburon Rotary Club, as well as a taco truck and shaved-ice truck. Staff members will be stationed throughout the library to greet patrons and answer questions.
Beginning Sept. 19, the library will expand its current hours to be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It will remain closed Sundays as it works to recruit employees to return to pre-pandemic staff levels, said Director Crystal Duran.
The $18.31-million expansion added 8,617 square feet to the previously existing 10,500-square-foot library, which was completed in 1997, to enhance the children’s, teen and adult libraries and create new administrative areas and a larger community room for meetings and guest lectures.
Used bookstore Corner Books, which benefits the library, has relocated from The Boardwalk Shopping Center to the newly expanded building, which also features a new civic plaza between the library and Tiburon Town Hall, replacing the parking lot that’s been moved to the rear of the library. A planned full-service cafe will instead be a self-service coffee corner after library officials determined revenues likely wouldn’t offset costs.
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