The Half Moon Bay Library will receive $200,000 for renovations as part of a large federal omnibus bill that was signed into law last week by President Barack Obama.
Library officials and enthusiasts have been eagerly anticipating the federal funding to expand the Coastside’s lone public library since learning about the possibility over the summer. In August, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo added the library funding into the 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, a spending bill that eventually grew to encompass $447 billion in expenses.
 Lisa Fahrbach of El Granada picks up a couple of DVDs for her son and searches the shelves for a Scrabble strategy book for herself during a visit to the Half Moon Bay Library last week. The library has secured federal funding for renovations. |
Anne-Marie Destain, director of library services for the San Mateo County library authority, says that the Half Moon Bay branch should receive some financial support from county agencies.
“Half Moon Bay is one of our highest-need sites in my perspective,” Destain said. “In recent discussions the county has been very supportive.”
Built in 1971, the Half Moon Bay Library is the only public book center serving more than 270 square miles of the coast south of Pacifica. When the branch originally opened, there were also sister libraries in Pescadero and El Granada. But both of those sites closed years ago, leaving only the Half Moon Bay branch to serve the area’s 29,000 scattered residents.
In recent years, library advocates were pinning their hopes to obtaining a state grant that could provide enough funding to completely rebuild the Half Moon Bay branch. They proposed an ambitious $19 million facility that included a second floor, a speaker’s hall and an underground parking garage.
But early this year it became clear that state grants had slipped out of reach, and library officials had to scale back their goals to work with the current building.
Library Branch Manager Annie Malley has said she wants to double the size of the current library — an expansion that would likely carry a price tag in the millions. Getting the federal money in hand was the first step, Malley said.
“It’s a drop in the bucket, but every drop helps,” she said. “$200,000 can be spent really quickly. This is an old building that’s met the needs of the community for decades.”
Library officials have hired a consultant to begin researching more funding opportunities for the project. Malley and other library officials say they believe the new federal money will build momentum for more funding. But by all accounts, requesting money in the near future from the city, county or any government agency will continue to be a difficult proposition given the recent economic turmoil.
“Absolutely we’ll have to do some real scrimping,” said Greta McElroy-White, president of the Friends of the Library. “Probably we’ll use this as seed money to grow the fund and grow interest in the community.”
Next month, library officials and public volunteers will begin plans for improvements. The Friends of the Library will meet at 6 p.m. on Jan. 25 at the Cañada Cove clubhouse to discuss the new library renovations.
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