If the residents and visitors of Santa Monica haven’t been to the new Main Library yet, they should check it out.

They need to see what $73 million gets you in the latest and greatest in public assets and technology. The new facility is an awesome community resource for sure, and it had better be for that price tag.

The library has been open for little more than a week, with a grand opening that brought hundreds of people to the facility last Saturday. It was a true community event — neighbors and colleagues mingled in the outside courtyard catching up with each other, children playing in the recreational areas, people signing up for library cards and lining up to check out books. Actresses Jaime Lee Curtis and Rhea Perlman were on hand to read their children’s books to a packed house in the Martin Luther King Auditorium.

Even the Beaver — actor Jerry Mathers — was spotted in the library’s lobby.

We acknowledge that many citizens are upset at the cost of such a facility, believing that taxpayers’ money could have gone to better use and that the old library was adequate. But it appears those residents are in the minority, judging from the turnout at the grand opening and the excitement felt in the community about the library finally opening its doors after several years of planning and construction.

The majority of Santa Monica residents envisioned a new library eight years ago when they approved a $25 million bond. The rest of the money was accrued through the years by City Hall’s saving funds during good financial years.

And while there has been some criticism over the design of the building, which some say looks like a “prison” or resembles a “suburban shopping mall,” once inside one realizes just how comfortable and intimate of a setting it really is.

The facility was designed by local architects Moore Rubel Yudell, recipients of the American Institute of Architect’s 2006 Architecture Firm of the Year Award. They did an amazing job working with city officials in bringing to life a vision that has been years in the making.

Hats off to city councilmembers who have seen the project through from the beginning, as well as those on the library board, city staff and community members who have volunteered their time to make it a reality.

We are fortunate to live in a city that values community resources and has the financial footing to create public facilities that make living, working and playing here so pleasurable.

Everyone who had a hand in this project should feel proud of themselves for making the library happen. And everyone who spends time in Santa Monica should consider themselves lucky that they have access to such an inspiring resource.

Of course, there is a caveat to all of this and a warning to public officials. The biggest complaint from citizens with the old library was that it was overrun with vagrants. While they do enjoy the same rights as the rest of us under the U.S. Constitution and therefore have a right to be in any public space, they shouldn’t be able to dominate a community resource.

City officials must be vigilant in enforcing rules that are designed to prevent making visiting the new library a bad experience for the taxpaying citizens. A new rule that limits the number of bags people carry in to the library is a good start. Security guards also will stationed at the library, who hopefully will use good judgment in ensuring that we all get to enjoy our newest public asset.