The Murrieta Public Library has been awarded more than $1.5 million from the Building Forward Grant Program offered by the California State Library. This grant will fund a remodel and construct an expansion to the Children’s Library area.
The expansion will extend outwards into the 15,000 available square feet from the current garden area – extending library capacity by almost 20 percent and creating an additional 660 square feet of shelving and an additional 1,455 square feet for innovative, flexible seating, and equipment.
Even with the Building Forward Grant, the future library expansion would not be possible without two essential groups: The Friends of the Murrieta Library and the Murrieta Library Foundation. Since the founding of the Friends of the Murrieta Library in 1996, the group has been dedicated to supporting the library by fundraising, promoting services, and volunteering – in the library and throughout the community.
Friends of the Murrieta Library operates two used bookstores: Town Square Bookstore and Corner Bookstore. The Friends have raised over $1,100,000 to support the library, providing the resources for additional programming, equipment, support for children’s summer reading, and special events throughout the year.
In addition to the Building Forward Grant, the library was recently awarded three other grants supporting unique library programs. The Murrieta Public Library is one of twenty California library systems selected to receive first-ever funding from the California State Library to support projects focused on sustainability and climate resilience.
“We’re excited to move forward with plans to create a demonstration garden with California native plants. California native gardens are sustainable, save water, and provide habitat for birds, butterflies, and other important pollinators,” Project Coordinator Kathryn Miller said.
“We’ll also provide more programming and resources focused on sustainability topics, including our annual Earth Day Celebration event, and look forward to working in partnership with the Western Municipal Water District for the garden project.”
The library was awarded $30,000 to create a pollinator demonstration garden with native California plants. This garden will educate library patrons on sustainability, mitigate the growing threats to diminishing pollinator populations, and create an equitable opportunity for all community members to better understand their environment and the impact of pollinators.
The project will also include a community-wide Earth Day event, creating awareness about sustainability and climate resilience while allowing the community to connect and collaborate. Public library programming and workshop series will accompany the Earth Day event to educate the community on the demonstration garden and sustainable living.
This project is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
Another grant will help expand the city’s unique seed library with improvements and enhancements, including furniture, new display units, additional seeds, and a sign-up kiosk.
Finally, the library has again been awarded a Zip Books Grant, allowing library patrons to request books not found in the library’s collection by purchasing them on Amazon and having them shipped directly to the patron. When returned, these books are added to the library’s collection.
For more information about the Murrieta Public Library, visit www.murrietaca.gov/library.
