For Immediate Release:
Winter 2008
Residents Encouraged to Check out Items before November 16 Closing, Books Will Be Due in January, 2009
SAN JOSE, CALIF.— The Milpitas Library will be open through Sunday, November 16, when it will close for six to seven weeks to move to its new location at 160 N. Main Street, Milpitas. Patrons are encouraged to take advantage of the extended due dates on all materials checked out now. Books, DVD’s, videos, magazines and all other items checked out now will not be due until January 2009.
“Books are great companions, and as we approach a school break and the end of the year holidays, Milpitas Library users will be able to check out and enjoy books and DVDs for a longer than usual period of time, without risking any penalties,” advised County of Santa Clara Supervisor Pete McHugh, District 3. “We encourage Milpitas residents to take advantage of this opportunity at no cost to them and their families. They will need to return all items to the new library early in January of next year.”
Even though the library will be closed, those who have placed books on hold will still have access to them during the following weeks.
“If someone has placed a book on hold, they will have the opportunity to pick it up at the old library,” said Linda Arbaugh, Milpitas Community Librarian. “Starting November 18 library users will be able to pick up holds in the community room, from Tuesday through Saturday, from 2:00 p.m. to-6:00 p.m.”
As one of the libraries administered by the Santa Clara County Library system, Milpitas Library circulates over 175,000 items each month.
The new Milpitas Library will have a "soft" opening at the new location early in January, 2009. The grand opening will be on January 10, 2009, starting with a 9:45 a.m. Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony that will take place on the steps of the historic Milpitas Grammar School. The school, which has been integrated into the design of the library, dates to 1916, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours, author and history talks, art displays, and activities for children are being planned for the day.
About the Milpitas Library
With over 2,000 visitors a day, the Milpitas Library is the most heavily used public building in the city of Milpitas. The current library opened for business March 1st, 1983 with a collection of 80,000 books. The collection, which now numbers 240,000, has long since outgrown the present space.
The new Milpitas Library at 160 North Main Street will be 60,000 square feet, bigger than a football field and three times the space of the current library. It will have enough space to grow the collection up to 300,000 items. With space for 289 vehicles, the new parking structure adjacent to the library is four times the size of the old library’s parking lot. The old library will be remodeled and transformed into the city's senior center.
