Downtown’s Main Library opening this weekend

The much anticipated grand opening ceremony for Riverside’s new Main Library is this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m at its new location on 3900 Mission Inn Avenue.

The two-story, more than 42,000-square-foot facility will offer a range of modern amenities, including rooms for study and storytime, laptop kiosks and wireless printing and self-checkout machines. The library contains 60,000 materials in the circulating collection and it also offers 60 laptops for public use and 30 iPads for checkout.

“We are thrilled that this day is here after many years in the making,” Erin Christmas, Riverside public library director said.

She continued that the third floor of the state-of-the-art space even contains rentable terrace areas for events or meetings.

“There are many spaces throughout that people can enjoy … Every section of the entire area is designed with residents in mind and we think it will be a special place for everyone,” Christmas said.

The grand opening comes years after the city first decided to find a new site for the Main Library in 2016, moving it from its first location which was located next to the historic Mission Inn.

Members of the Riverside City Council as well as Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson will be present to celebrate the new Main Library.

“The timing could not be better, as our community comes out of the pandemic we’ll all be able to immediately enjoy what the new Main Library has to offer,” Lock Dawson said in a press release earlier this week. “We are the city of arts and innovation, and you will find exactly that in this beautiful facility.”

Attendance this Saturday is free and refreshments will be served.

Here is the city’s list of events for the grand opening:

10:00 a.m. – Opening ceremony

11:00 a.m. – Library doors officially open

11:30 a.m. – Preschool story time with Ms. Abby in the Children’s Room

12:00 p.m. – Tech tour on the 3rd floor Marketplace

12:30 p.m. – Story time with Mr. Brian in the Children’s Room

1:00 p.m. – Art tour on the 3rd floor Marketplace

1:15 p.m. – Bilingual story time with Ms. Yesenia in the Children’s Room

2:00 p.m. – Library doors close

Also Note: 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Library cards will be issued and the family literacy booth will be handing out free books on the ground floor Arcade / Breezeway

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Demonstrations of the virtual reality station and 3-D printer will take place on the 3rd floor Innovation Center, along with a Cricut demonstration with adult craft-to-go