Mission College Celebrates Opening of Library

Former Assemblyman Richard Katz cut the ceremonial red ribbon Thursday as local politicians and community supporters joined Mission College officials to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the Sylmar school’s new $12-million Library and Learning Resources Center.

“What you see behind me is our doorway to the future,” Mission President William Norlund told about 200 people at the opening. “This facility is at the cutting edge of technology. It puts the northeast San Fernando Valley population ahead of the city and ahead of the state.”

The 20,575-square-foot building is three times the size of the school’s current library, officials said. When it opens to students next month, it will house more than 300 Internet-linked computers as well as a teleconferencing room and audiovisual studio. The three-story stucco and steel structure was built in a modern style, featuring a two-story atrium entrance that provides natural lighting throughout the interior.

Construction began in 1994 and was financed with funds from Proposition 153, a $900-million higher education bond measure passed in 1992.

Thursday’s event took on a festive mood as several speakers praised the new building, holding it up as symbol of Mission’s progress since it was founded in 1975, when classes were taught in a collection of scattered storefronts.

“To see this now is almost incomprehensible,” Katz said. “I had to personally drive the chancellor and college trustees around in my car to show them that Valley and Pierce [colleges] were not real solutions for people living in San Fernando or Sylmar,” said Katz, who was praised by Norlund for his efforts on behalf of the school.