Big crowd attends Grand Opening at new Menifee Library

City and County officials celebrate the opening of the Menifee Library with a ribbon cutting. (Staff photos)

Hundreds of Menifee residents, young and old, joined dozens of Riverside County and City of Menifee officials Saturday for the Grand Opening of the new County library in Menifee.

The Menifee Library, located across from Wheatfield Park at Menifee Road and La Piedra Road, is a 20,000-square-foot facility equipped not only with thousands of books and dozens of internet terminals, but study rooms, a kids' activity area, a technology room for student learning, and a large community meeting room.

The library not only provides a state-of-the-art library for residents east of the 215 Freeway, but adds to the learning opportunities for all of Menifee. Across town from County's Sun City Library, which was recently renovated, Menifee Library offers a modern gathering place for both individuals and groups.

Distinguished guests included County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt; State Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto; county librarian Barbara Howison; County Economic Director Suzanne Holland, and four Menifee City Council members.

"I would like to give most of the credit for this to my predecessor, Supervisor [Marion] Ashley," said County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt. "Anything this large and this ambitious takes a team. And that is not only the county ... but also a City Council that has been so easy to work with. They had a vision of what they wanted to see in Menifee. 

"It's so important right now, after a year and a half of being locked down, when we couldn't get together. Not only adults and seniors, but children can come in here now and have a safe place to get together and have a sense of community. This also brings in innovative, high-tech rooms where we can hook up to the latest devices."

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, families walked through the book stacks, parents worked with their children at kids' activity tables, guests checked out the glass-enclosed study rooms, and children tried out the gadgets in the high-tech art room, including a 3D printer. Soon, there was a line at the registration desk, with guests signing up for library cards and checking out books.

"We've heard about how fast this city is growing," Mayor Bill Zimmerman said. "It's because we're a safe community, a family community with great schools and lots of fun activities. As we grow that quickly, we also want to make sure our infrastructure is growing commensurate with that growth.

"There's a term my wife likes to use, which is social infrastructure. Those are things like libraries. This is exactly the definition of social infrastructure."

First-day activities included Preshool Storytime at 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. The library is closed on Sundays. Normal hours are:

Monday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Phone: 951-679-2527