This SLO County library just moved to a new home after 18 years. Take a look inside
This month, the Oceano Library will be celebrating its 18th birthday in a new home.
On Sept. 12, the library began welcoming visitors to its new location at 1511 19th St.
It’s the first time the public library has operated from a standalone building of its own, branch manager Nancy Sierra told The Tribune.
The library was previously located on the grounds of Oceano Elementary School, where it was less accessible to passersby and experienced several maintenance issues with its water and phone systems.
South County regional library manager Margaret Kensinger-Klopfer said the library’s new location was selected because it is close to local elementary schools, Boys and Girls Club, Oceano Community Center and residential neighborhoods.
“Sometimes people ask what the purpose of the library in the community is, but we really see it as an important community hub where everybody’s welcome, no matter if they’re older, younger, have money or don’t have money,” Kensigner-Klopfer said.
What does new Oceano Library location have to offer?
The Oceano Library left its former location July 31, and spent the next two weeks moving, Thatcher said, which cost a total of $400,000.
Since the library moved, there has been a noticeable increase in foot traffic from families coming from the nearby preschools, Sierra said.
“We have parking, so I feel like we get more patrons,” Sierra said. “We’re more visible to the community.”
In addition to the 3,500-book catalog the Oceano Library had at its previous location, the new library has two computer stations for adults and two child-friendly computer stations, library spokesperson Rebecca Juretic said.
While relatively small, the new 1,400-square foot building has a larger footprint than the library’s previous space, allowing for expanded programming, Sierra said.
Those programs currently include bilingual storytime every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and quarterly craft programs with Altrusa International of San Luis Obispo County, a literacy nonprofit, Sierra said.
Friends of the Oceano Library will host a pumpkin giveaway Oct. 21 between 10 a.m. and noon, she said.
An Oct. 25 craft event will be Halloween-themed, and will be held at 3 p.m., Sierra said, while a workshop on making sugar skulls will be held Nov. 1 at 3:00 p.m.
The library will host a coat drive later this fall for children ages three to 16, Sierra said.
Like the Oceano Library’s previous location, Sierra said the new location will offer diverse book kits — packs of eight books at varying English- and Spanish-language reading levels — and memory kits, which contain music, topics and reading from different decades.
Those memory kits are designed to help users communicate more easily with people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory loss issues by giving them things to talk about, Kensinger-Klopfer told The Tribune.
“There are the different kits that are targeted on when people’s memories tend to be strongest,” Kensinger-Klopfer said. “(The kits) have music, they’ll have movies and also have visual prompts for discussion.”
Grand opening planned
The Oceano Library will host a grand opening at its new location on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to noon, featuring tacos, prizes and, of course, books.
For more information, call 805-474-7478 or visit slolibrary.org.
