Tomorrow is an exciting day in San Ysidro, as the community will celebrate the grand opening of a new library that’s nearly 20 years in the making.
As one of the donors to the project, we share the community’s pride and joy in seeing it come to fruition.
The 15,000-square foot facility located at 4235 Beyer Boulevard is more than three times larger than the old library at 101 W. San Ysidro Boulevard, which was built in 1924 and was only 4,089 square foot. The outdated library, which has not kept up with the needs of the growing San Ysidro community, was one of the smallest and oldest branch libraries in the City of San Diego library system.
The new library features a multi-purpose room that can hold more than 200 people, a computer lab, a maker space, and designated areas for children and teens, as well as an outdoor patio with a movie projection screen. We are honored to have the Great Room in the library named the SDG&E Great Room.
The library is expected to have a collection of more than 50,000 books, a third of which will be in Spanish. Programs in the library will include English and Spanish classes, homework help, and assistance with immigration procedures and passport applications.
Like many of the city’s new libraries, the San Ysidro facility is built to high energy efficiency and sustainability standards. It incorporates design features that will help it achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.
Another major plus is the new library’s central location. It’s within walking distance of schools, homes, apartments, a recreation center and a health center.
Public Art Graces the Library
Visitors to the new library will be wowed not just by the modern design and amenities, they will also be captivated by the interior and exterior artworks created by the Del La Torre brothers – artists who live on both sides of the border.
The interior artwork consists of a gateway – a symbolic and literal entrance to the library – wrapped with colorful and illuminated lenticular prints, drawing on themes related to San Ysidro, architecture and the library as a source of knowledge, according to the City of San Diego. Sitting atop the columns of the arch gateway are a lintel inspired by both Spanish colonial and Mesoamerican architectural motifs.
The exterior artwork consists of two large metal screens perforated with intricate patterns and designs inspired by the Mexican folk art of paper-cutting. At night, the screens will be lit up from behind.
Join in the Celebration
A community celebration for the new library will be held this Saturday, Sept. 7, at the library. The event will include a morning Library Festival with entertainment and refreshments at 9 a.m. and a ribbon cutting at 10 am.
There will be no parking available at the new library the morning of the event. Parking will be available at San Ysidro Middle School, the San Ysidro School District, and the San Ysidro Adult School.
For more information, visit supportmylibrary.com/sy.