GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION OF NEW CROWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY IN SAN MARINO ON JANUARY 26
Steve Koblik, Keynote Speaker
On Saturday, January 26, when the San Marino community celebrates the long anticipated grand opening of its new public library, the Crowell Public Library – christened in honor of former San Marino mayor Suzanne Crowell and her family for their generous support of the 29,000 square foot, $16 million state-of-the-art facility – the words of Benjamin Franklin will come vividly to life. “He that can have patience can have what he will,” wrote the founder of the first public library.
“It’s been a long journey and, I am grateful for the community support and collaboration,” exclaims City Librarian Carolyn Crain of the community’s quest to make the Crowell Public Library a reality. “Planning for the new library began in earnest in 1999 when the library initiated the Community Needs Assessment and The San Marino Public Library Foundation engaged a fund development consultant. We are proud of the public private partnership that has brought us to this moments where we can finally open our door to the public.”
Without a doubt, the wait has been more than worth it, Crain asserts. “Our new library is going to offer so many opportunities for programming and new services that I don’t know where to start!” she says with a smile. “I can’t wait to see people’s faces as they experience first hand all the amenities our new facility now enables us to provide – everything from wireless access throughout the building to a Homework Center where students can study after school.”
Throughout Opening Day, from 9:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., members of the community will have a chance to view the Homework Center for themselves. Other key areas visitors won’t want to miss include the Computer Training Lab, the Children’s Library, Reference and Technology Area, and the Chinese Collection as well as such meeting spaces as the Barth Community Room, Thornton Conference Room, and Schow Patio Garden, which will regularly offer coffee cart services.
However, the opening day festivities will include far more than a tour of the new facility. Students from the San Marino Chinese School will kick off the day’s festivities at 9:15 a.m. with a Lion Dance. At 10 a.m., San Marino Mayor Dr. Matthew Lin will then step up to the podium to accept proclamations – and congratulations – from various federal, state and civic leaders.
The formal community Grand Opening Ceremony – featuring Steven Koblik, President of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens as Keynote Speaker and Larry Mantle, host of KPCC radio’s popular weekly program Air Talk, as Master of Ceremonies – will follow at 11 a.m. Lee Mothershead, President of the Library Board of Trustees, and Bob Sievers, President of the Library Foundation, and Carolyn Crain, City Librarian will make remarks as well.
The highlight of the ceremony will take place when we introduce Major Donor Suzanne Crowell and her family,” predicts City Manager Matt Ballantyne. “The Crowell family has provided the community with a gift that will benefit the city of San Marino for generations to come.
Adds Bob Sievers, “The Crowell family’s generosity was the spark that ignited the unfailing support that so many members of our community showed, time and time again, for the new library. I hope as many contributors as possible will attend the Grand Opening, so that members of the Library Foundation, City Council and Library Board of Trustees can thank them personally.”
After the ceremony, several renowned local children’s authors will be on hand to sign their books and chat with their readers. Author Tony Johnston, who grew up in San Marino and has been a resident since 1985, will appear at 1 p.m.; Eve Bunting, winner of the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, will follow at 2 p.m.; while TOKYOPOP/graphic novel authors Rikki and Tavisha Simons and Tricia Riley Hale will meet with Young Adult readers at 3 p.m.
Two very special guests will also visit the Crowell Library that afternoon. Benjamin Franklin – as re-enacted by Paul Sharaba, resident educator and host for the Western Replica of Independence Hall at Knotts Berry Farm – will share his thoughts on the role public libraries have played throughout U.S. history from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., In addition, Curious George, hero of the popular children’s series by Hans Augusto Rey, will greet fans from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“It will be a wonderful day,” promises Carolyn Crain. “It will be a celebration of the Crowell Public Library’s opening, yes. But it will also be an illustration of what we plan to offer the community for years to come – authors, speakers, artists, musicians and all manner of cultural programs.”
The Grand Opening Committee has already engaged the following guests for Opening Week: Ann Brazil, creator of TimeOut Tots teaching toys will appear on Monday morning, January 28, as will portrait and figurative painter Joyce Leddy later that day; Lisa See, author of the international bestseller, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love, will visit the Crowell Public Library on January 29 at 7:30 p.m.; an ensemble of young musicians from San Marino High School will perform on January 30 at 7 p.m.; children’s author Lisa Yee, winner of the Sid Fleischman Humor Award and Chinese American Best Book of the Year Award, will meet with young readers on January 31, at 3:15 p.m. while Russ Parsons, food and wine columnist for the Los Angeles Times and author of How to Read a French Fry and How to Pick a Peach, will appear that evening at 7:30 p.m. Rounding out the week on February 2, at 2 p.m. is Shirley Kerins, author of A Celebration of Herbs: Recipes from the Huntington Herb Garden.
The Crowell Public Library is located at 1890 Huntington Drive in San Marino. For more information about the Grand Opening Celebration, call 626.300.0777 or visit www.sanmarinopl.org.
