Palmdale Dedicates Library for Youth

In a step toward quenching the thirsty minds of this desert community’s more than 40,000 young people, the new Palmdale Youth Library will open today for its first full week of operation.

The 10,000-square-foot facility was built in response to residents’ pleas for additional library space for youngsters and it will complement the city’s recently opened Hammack Activity Center and several new parks. About 40% of the city’s 117,000 residents are under age 15.

“We’ve got a fast-growing community made up of a lot of young families,” Mayor Jim Ledford said Saturday at a dedication and ribbon cutting.

As a result, Ledford said, “We’re trying to create a family environment and ensure a high quality of life.”

Some visitors predict the new library will enhance their children’s reading and computer skills. Karol Konrad, a 20-year resident of Palmdale, said the extensive children’s collection and public computers will be a great educational asset to her five children.

“Since we don’t have one at home, we can use the computers here to e-mail Grandmom in Oregon,” she said as her son, Jason, 17, typed a brief electronic message. “And when it comes time to do their reports, we’ll definitely head to this library.”

Palmdale resident Priscilla Barboza added that she has always emphasized the joys and importance of reading to her two sons, Sean, 9, and Trenton, 5.

“They started at an early age picking up books because we did a lot of traveling to Canada and throughout the East Coast,” said Barboza, who has lived in Palmdale for two years. “I want them to know about a lot of different things.”

Sean, who loves to read about science and airplanes, said, “This library has everything.”

The $2.9-million library has about 50,000 books and 83 magazines, all on bookshelves accessible to children. The library includes a study and homework center, a 22-station computer lab, a 1,500-square-foot meeting room, a lounge and preschool read-aloud area.

And as patrons enter the building, they can look skyward at tiny stars that dot the entryway’s vaulted-ceiling. The interior is decorated in a motif of red, blue, yellow and green confetti.

“It’s just like my little brother said to me, ‘The old library is brown and yuck. But this new library is bright and fun,’ ” said Benjamin Bird, 10, of Palmdale.

City Librarian Linda Storsteen said she hopes all Palmdale children will be enthusiastic about learning.

“The children are our future,” Storsteen said. “If they don’t have the access to information, if they don’t read in this technologically advanced age . . . they are not going to succeed.”

Noting that about 20% of Antelope Valley residents are functionally illiterate, Storsteen said she hopes the youth library will complement the local school libraries.

“The school libraries aren’t funded as much as they should be,” Storsteen said. “They close after school. We’re here to fill that need.”

The more than 200 parents and children who attended the dedication ceremony spent the day registering for library cards and perusing the stacks of books and magazines. They also enjoyed an array of activities, including listening to a storyteller, playing with balloon sculptures and hugging a life-size version of Dr. Seuss’ the Cat in the Hat.