On Saturday, September 21, the Long Beach Public Library Foundation will join tennis legend and activist Billie Jean King, Mayor Robert Garcia, and thousands of visitors in celebrating the grand opening of the Billie Jean King Main Library. During the celebration the Library Foundation will present a check for more than $2 million in support of technology, programs, and resources at the new central hub of the Long Beach Public Library system, thanks to over 400 Founding Donors to the New Main Campaign.
Festivities commence at 9:30 a.m.
Speaking program begins at 10:15 a.m.
200 W. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802
The Library Foundation is proud to count Billie Jean King and her longtime partner and fellow tennis player, Ilana Kloss, among the hundreds of donors who have given in support of the Foundation’s fundraising campaign for the new Billie Jean King Main Library. “Ilana and I are proud to join the hundreds of Founding Donors who have given to the Long Beach Public Library Foundation’s New Main Campaign,” said Billie Jean King. “These champions of literacy and education are helping Long Beach residents transform their lives through equal access to educational programs and services offered for free though the Long Beach Public Library.”
Visitors will have access to many enhancements to the new 92,500 square foot library made possible by donations to the Library Foundation including:
- a Laptops Anytime automated checkout kiosk with 12 laptops available to library card holders;
- a Chromebook charging cart with 35 Dell Latitude chromebooks for use in the TeenSpace;
- educational nautical décor throughout the KidSpace and Story Theater;
- selfCheck kiosks and Tech Logic automated materials handling system for efficient check out and drop off of library materials;
- tools for those with disabilities in the Center for Adaptive Technology;
- Epson LightScene accent lighting laser projectors, a laser cutter, 3D scanners, and more innovative technology in the makerspace Studio;
- the restored murals entitled, “Scenes from English Literature,” painted for the Library in 1937 by Suzanne Miller as part of the Work Project Administration Federal Art Project;
- and more resources for families, students, job-seekers, older individuals, veterans, and those with disabilities to enjoy.
“We are grateful to the hundreds of Founding Donors from across the city who have made donations of all sizes, from $25 to $575,000, to support technology, programs, and enhancements in the new Billie Jean King Main Library,” said Barbara Schwerin, president of the Long Beach Public Library Foundation Board of Directors.
The Long Beach Public Library Foundation’s New Main Campaign will continue through the end of the new Library’s inaugural year giving more people a chance to become Founding Donors and support programs and resources that will benefit those who depend on the Library for many years to come. Those who give $25 or more will be recognized as Founding Donors.
