May | 2023 | El Cerrito Library Foundation

Right To Read Day, April 24, 2023. Protect Your Freedom to Read.

Last month, the American Library Association designated April 24 as “Right to Read Day.”

They did this in order to emphasize that, despite political pressure, it is important for all of us to advocate for everyone’s freedom to read widely.

We are fortunate that here in El Cerrito we are not facing this kind of pressure from narrow-minded individuals and groups who are afraid of diverse viewpoints.

Truly, in El Cerrito, the Bay Area, and in most of California the impulse to such censorship is rare.

In El Cerrito our greatest problem regarding availability of diverse materials is not banned books. It is the small size of our El Cerrito library that limits what folks can encounter while browsing the shelves for materials that might interest them.

Fortunately our City Council, the Friends of the El Cerrito Library, our Library Foundation and many enthusiastic Library supporters are working to change this situation by advocating for a new 21^st century library of adequate size to serve the growing El Cerrito community.

We will keep you up to date on developments regarding a new library with occasional news reports from the Foundation. If you know of others who might be interested in keeping track of this project, direct them to our Foundation web site at: https://eclibraryfoundation.org where they can sign up for breaking news as our BART Plaza Station Library project gathers momentum.

The City of El Cerrito, BART, and Holliday Development, the private investor planning the mixed-use project at the Plaza BART station, have now decided on a great location for the new El Cerrito Library that will be a part of that project.

The Library, which had been considered for several locations in the project, is now proposed to be at the northeast corner of Liberty and Fairmount streets, directly across the street from the Starbucks coffee shop at El Cerrito Plaza.

This location promises to be a very good one for the Library as it will be at street level on a busy corner between the Plaza shops and the BART station itself.

The site plan below shows where the new Library will be.

At this prominent location, anyone walking between the BART station and the Plaza stores will pass directly by the new Library. The Library will be at street level and, with generous windows to display the activities going on in the Library, will be inviting and easily accessible.

The El Cerrito Library Foundation will have large-scale plans for all to see at the City of El Cerrito & worldOne 4th of July Festival and more news about progress on the new Library.

We will keep you up to date on developments with occasional news reports from the Foundation. If you know of others who might be interested in keeping track of this project, direct them to our Foundation web site, look for the heading “SIGN UP TO RECEIVE UPDATES FROM ECLF,” to sign up for breaking news as our Library project gathers momentum.