Dear Council Members,
Just want to express my concern about rebuilding our town Library.
With an increasing number of families moving to Menlo Park I think it’s important to bring our libraries into the next generation. This means more online access for children doing homework, providing more digital resources for teens and adults, and more skill building classes for seniors.
Many libraries on the Peninsula have rebuilt libraries along with computer labs for this reason. Having a digital computer lab would be helpful so that programs can be offered to teach people skills necessary to function as literate citizens.
Menlo Park is a community that supports educational enrichment. If other communities are able to rebuild aging facilities, why not Menlo Park — a community of families with high academic goals.
Libraries are at the core of building community and making information accessible to everyone. After attending a couple of Library Commission presentations by architects, I understand our library is not a structurally sound building. In addition, a large meeting room to conduct council business would be a great addition. I also believe adding small meeting rooms for doing group work would be a great asset to teens working on school projects.
I see this project not as a project to build affordable housing in Menlo Park, but rather a project to build a new, safe facility providing enhanced digital access and expanded programming to match the intellectual pursuits of our community.
regards,
MaryAnn Miotto
