(This post has been updated.)

Today marks 25 years since the Benicia Public Library opened its doors to its state-of-the-art new building to the public. The facility got a head start on the festivities Saturday with a birthday celebration featuring cake, history and speeches by local dignitaries as well as those who helped make the new library possible.

Those wanting to catch themselves up on 108 years of the library’s history had all the resources they needed on display in the Marilyn Citron O’Rourke Gallery, through an exhibit by Kathryn Weller Renfrow and Hedi Desuyo which showcased everything from the library’s beginnings in the State Capitol Building to its temporary relocation to a now-demolished building at 813 First St. to its 37-year stay at 144 East G St. to its current location at 150 East L St. The five-year process to build a new library was documented on the gallery’s walls through newspaper articles, construction blueprints and rows upon rows of color photographs depicting everything from Eunice Jensen Park before the library was built to the opening day. Photos of the opening day and East G Street location were also emblazoned on cakes that were consumed by visitors at the conclusion of the event.

While the gallery was a celebration of the past, the Dona Benicia Room next door was a celebration of the past, present and future as several notable figures shared stories of the library. The first to speak was Library Director David Dodd, who had also been the reference librarian when the facility opened. He highlighted some of the previous head librarians who had returned that afternoon, including Susan Hildreth, Carol Starr and Monique le Conge.

“I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to have worked alongside all three of them in various capacities over the years and I’m very honored to be their successor here,” he said.

The next to speak was Poet Laureate Johanna Ely, who is wrapping up her term. Prior to delivering a poem she had written titled “Build a Library,” Ely noted how the library has come a long way since it opened.

“I remember when the library was built and how proud I was to be a Benician,” she said. “25 years later, it’s only gotten better.”

Following the presentation of a plaque by Assemblymember Tim Grayson and proclamations by Dana Dean of the Solano County Board of Education and Stephen Hallett from Supervisor Monica Brown’s office, the history portion of the program began. Longtime resident and historian Bonnie Silveria talked about Eunice Jensen, the namesake of the park the library sits on.
Jensen was born in Vallejo in 1892 and began working in the Arsenal as a messenger at the age of 20. Later, she was a charter member of the Chamber of Commerce and served on the Park & Cemetery Commission for 16 years. In 1971, a park was built on a patch of land that served as a parking lot for a construction company whose office was in the current Benicia Senior Center. The park was named after Jensen, who called the honor “the most rewarding and unexpected thing that ever happened to me,” according to Silveria.

“I’m sure she would be very proud of the City Council’s decision to place the library in the Eunice Jensen Park,” Silveria said. “What she would be even more proud of is what a contribution this library has made to our community.”

The next speaker was Hildreth, the head librarian from 1984 to 1988 who helped initiate the library’s construction and later served in various roles including as director of the San Francisco Public Library, California State Librarian and director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a post she was appointed to in 2011 by then-President Barack Obama. Hildreth shared a few stories from her time at the East G Street library, including complaints of when the library started issuing cards and the first Friends of the Benicia Library book sale done in coordination with the Peddlers’ Fair one year. The sale was done outside the building as well as a spot on First Street, where they received a donation of tons of Playboy magazines. The magazines sold out within 10 minutes, Hildreth said.

“It started all the funding for this very building,” she joked.

Following Hildreth was Starr, the library director from 1988 to 1998.

“Building the Benicia Library was the best thing I did in my entire career,” she said.

However, she said, the work was difficult. There were disagreements over how tall the library should be. It was determined three stories would be excessive, so staff settled on one floor with a large basement. Another challenge was where the library would be located. Possible sites included near the First Street Pier, the parking lot outside where First Street Cafe currently is and the part of City Park where the Fire Department is currently located. When staff moved into the library in early June 1993, Starr said, it rained. Starr began going on vacation and put Dodd in charge, telling him to only call her “if the roof caves in.” She returned home with a message from Dodd on her answering machine saying the ceiling had fallen down. The ceiling was fixed but not without leaving dust on the new books and computers.

Throughout all the hardships, Starr said it was fun to return to the library and see how well it has been maintained.

Franz Alberts, the library’s architect, thanked all who continue to support the library.

“I consider this building to be my architectural omega,” he said.

Marilyn O’Rourke, Benicia’s mayor from 1984 to 1992 who applied for a statewide grant for the library, also spoke.

“Every time, I walk into this library I stand there and smile,” she said. “It was just a thrill to see this.”

O’Rourke echoed Starr’s statements about how the city had to cross a lot of hurdles to make the new building a reality but was grateful for the funding contributions of Barry Keene, a state senator and Benicia resident at the time. She also said the library was what she envisioned it would be.

“(It’s) every hope and dream that we’ve had,” she said.

O’Rourke was not the only Benicia mayor to speak, as current Mayor Elizabeth Patterson gave her remarks next.

“Today is a day that belongs to all of those who dreamed and believed in this library,” she said.

Patterson read three poems by poet and educator Nikki Giovanni, including the poem “Yes We Can! Yes We Can! Yes We Can!” which included the lines “Some folks said ‘Wait’/
Some said ‘Not now’” and “The time is now/for us to stand/because we all know/yes we can/yes we can/yes we can.”

“That, to me is the embodiment of all of you who dreamed and envisioned and got this building built,” she said.

The final speaker was California State Librarian Greg Lucas, who highlighted what makes libraries continue to be important in the 21st century.

“Libraries are more important now than they’ve ever been before,” he said.

Although search engines provide users with a wide array of information, Lucas quoted author Neil Gaiman: “Google will give you all kinds of answers, but a librarian will give you the right answer.”

Lucas also said the world’s economy has changed to one centered around information and innovation.

“All the skills that allow people to succeed in this new kind of economy, they’re right here in the library,” he said.