Sacramento's Oak Park community starts petition to reopen long-closed library
SACRAMENTO — Sacramento's Oak Park community is on a mission to reopen a long-closed library in their neighborhood.
A group of advocates in the area who have started a petition, and even a nonprofit to push for this library, met Thursday night to let the community and the city know that it's been 30 years too long without a library in Oak Park.
After 60 years, the library that sat across the street from McClatchy Park was shut down in 1993 as the city consolidated, closing smaller libraries in favor of bigger ones.
Many Oak Park neighbors say shutting its doors took away the last easily accessible libraries within one of Sacramento's most historically Black neighborhoods. It's why they're fighting to get it back.
A few dozen neighbors attended Thursday's meeting to hear the proposal. One of the voices in support was a name you'll see on the ballot in November: Dr. Flo Cofer, who is running for Sacramento mayor.
"I'm really excited the community has come together to be able to identify a need," Dr. Cofer said. "That's incredibly important in a city like Sacramento where we have these close-knit neighborhoods."
"We have 3-5,000 school-age kids here in this community and they need access to a public library," said Oak Park resident Michael W. Benjamin. "Oak Park reads, too. We read too in Oak Park."
Organizers say research shows that growing communities need libraries, and those that have them are more successful.
A new site off of Alhambra Boulevard has been flagged as an option and is already owned by the City of Sacramento.
Of course, the hurdle now is funding. You'll remember the City of Sacramento is in a budget deficit of $66 million, but supporters say this is too important not to invest in.