Library board OKs new West End branch

Facility to offer more programs and services than previous location

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The Long Beach Public Library’s Board of Trustees approved a measure on Oct. 29 to open a new West End branch at 901 W. Beech St.

The decision came after two years of discussion, and three trustees — library board President Carol Arnone, and trustees Diane Parr and Kathleen Dwyer — voted to approve the measure, Arnone said. Trustees Warren Vegh and Alan Greenberg were not present, according to Arnone.

The three-year lease, Arnone said, was signed last week, and will occupy 1,350 square feet of space — a portion of the former CrossFit King of the Beach space — at $2,400 per month.

“The grand opening has not yet been determined, but hopefully before the end of the year,” Arnone said.

The new facility will include books, DVDs, computers, and copy and fax machines. It is also expected to hold book clubs and computer classes, as well as story-time events for children, activities for seniors, movie nights for teens, and other activities and events.

“It will be a new concept,” Arnone said, “and we welcome input and participation from the community to make it a success.”

Hurricane Sandy flooded the previous West End branch, at 810 W. Beech St., destroying many of the books and materials it housed. After the storm, some trustees proposed closing the facility, saying that circulation had been declining steadily before the storm, and there didn’t seem to be a need for it.

Although residents protested, claiming that inconvenient hours and outdated technology contributed to the lack of use, in February the board voted not to renew the lease on the facility, essentially closing it.

But a number of residents — and the three trustees who voted in favor — called for its reopening, and a petition was signed by more than 1,000 residents in September urging the library to restore services in the West End.

Arnone said that the previous branch was not successful because it “didn’t offer much.”

“We’re changing what it is,” she said. “It’s a whole new concept and we’re bringing in a lot of things that the old one didn’t have.”