El Cerrito Mayor Lisa Motoyama issued a proclamation recently declaring the week of April 23 – 29 as National Library Week in our community.

So what does this mean for all of the rest us?

Well, it means that if we haven’t visited our Library recently, we should stop by our tiny and rather antiquated library at 6510 Stockton Ave. (almost under the BART tracks) and reintroduce ourselves to the outstanding services and programs that our Library offers despite a very limiting building. Because of the small facility and very popular programs, many programs are “standing room only.”

It would also be a good time to stop by and thank our hard-working Library Staff for the dedicated, enthusiastic service they provide all year long.

Some of us will probably bring over a tray of brownies, a box of chocolates, or other token of thanks for their efforts to help us be better people and a better community in so many ways!

And, if we really want to celebrate the many things that vital libraries and librarians bring to El Cerrito, we need to rededicate ourselves to the exciting opportunity to have a modern, appropriately sized, 21^st Century library as a part of the BART station project near the El Cerrito Plaza. Your Library Foundation supports this project as the best opportunity to get a new Library built in El Cerrito in our lifetimes!

In the weeks ahead we plan to continue to provide information about community efforts to bring into being a new library for El Cerrito that will make us proud to be citizens of our community.