> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Council boosts funding - URL: https://www.smdp.com/council-boosts-funding/ - Published: 2005-07-16T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T07:26:26.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Coming soon: 8,000 boxes of stored library materials* The new library has been anything but free, with City Council approving an additional $3.12 million for the city’s main branch still under construction, but elected officials are confidant the investment will pay major dividends for the city shortly. The passing of the city’s budget for next year included with it the additional funding for Santa Monica’s new library, set to open in January. Council recently approved the boost for the city’s new, expanded library, intended to meet anticipated staff and research needs for a facility in which thousands are expected to visit daily, officials said. A month-long grand opening celebration is planned for the first month of 2006\. It will be handled by a consultant at a cost of less than $85,000 and feature a series of events, during which time residents will be able to glean for the first time opportunities the new library will make available to the public, said acting City Librarian Greg Mullen. “We were able to get all of the funding requests we made for next year,” Mullen said. “We will be able to take advantage of having a new building to make people more knowledgeable about what’s available at the new library. “There’s a lot people don’t know about.” The two-story, 104,000-square-foot, environmentally friendly building, to be located along the north side of Santa Monica Boulevard, between Sixth and Seventh streets, was designed by local architects Moore Ruble Yudell. The international firm, based in Santa Monica, has also designed the parking structure for the city’s Public Safety building. The $57.7 million project includes expansion already completed at Santa Monica’s other library branches. The new library will be two-thirds larger than the old one. It is being paid for with $25 million in bond money approved in 1998\. The remaining sum has been accrued for years by City Hall through saving funds. BUDGET IMPROVEMENTS More than 8,000 boxes filled with books and other research materials will be brought out of storage and re-shelved for the opening of the new library. In addition, $462,100 will be allocated from the $3.12 million to purchase new books and materials. > “tremendous asset to the community.” — Councilman Richard Bloom said new library will be a The vast majority of the city’s budget boost for the new library — $1.11 million — is going towards an additional cost of a full year’s worth of funding the new library’s operations, which City Hall anticipates to be ongoing and is prepared to finance, Mullen said. In addition, $709,373 will go towards more staffing to support these operations. This will include 20 full-time positions and one part-time post. Mullen said some of these positions will be re-instated from prior budget setbacks, but many will be used to help adequately staff the expanded library’s needs. Added landscaping costs and maintenance will total $211,000. The 150 new computers the library will be purchasing, which will be Windows-based, will cost $336,272. The net anticipated revenue for the first years of the new parking structure — $282,394 — will go towards paying for it. A QUICK READ ON THE NEW FACILITY There will be an underground, three-level parking garage that offers 500 spaces. In addition, a rear parking structure will offer 30 spaces. To keep within a “green” frame, there will also be several bike racks. The face of the library will be constructed in “see-through” glass to provide a sense of openness, Mullen said. The building will be accessible from three sides, with the main entrance being a ramp on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Sixth Street. Entering the library from the ramp, visitors will come into a hallway that runs north and east, split by a 10,000-square-foot “see-through” courtyard. To the north will be the main reference desk, which is also accessible from the rear and subterranean parking garage by a ramp and elevator. The courtyard will feature trees and tables where visitors can sit, read, write or enjoy a cup of coffee. The courtyard’s centerpiece will be a large “Underwater Canopy,” a circular structure hanging 11 feet above the ground, from which looking up, through a series of colorful glass plates, is intended to give one the effect of “staring up from the bottom of the ocean,” Mullen said. The canopy was designed by Santa Monica artist Carl Cheng, intended to be part of the library’s broader oceanside theme. In addition, there will be a small fountain perimeter that surrounds the canopy and cuts through the courtyard. The water, along with the majority of water used at the facility, will trickle to cisterns below the underground parking garage, recycled, and re-used. The hall leading east on the first floor leads to the library’s newer collections of books and magazines, where authors will also be highlighted. The east side of the first floor will also house fiction. There will be chairs and tables from which visitors can lounge and a children’s area, which will be twice as large as its counterpart at the city’s former main library. There will also be a new dedicated area for young adults. On the north side of the building will be an auditorium for community events that holds 135 people. The second floor of the library, accessible by ramp or elevators toward the front entrance, will be more of a “quiet area” for serious study and research. It will house non-fiction materials and the Santa Monica’s Historical society books and references. This is where the majority of the library’s 150 computers will also be stationed, allowing for a variety of Internet research opportunities, Mullen said. A study area at the southwest corned of the second floor, above the main entrance ramp, will feature views of the ocean. Also, a terrace overlooking the courtyard will align the second floor. To the north side of the second floor will be several community rooms for meetings and functions. Councilman Richard Bloom, who helped oversee the development of the new library over the decades, said during the budget sessions that the library will prove a “tremendous asset to the community.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 16, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/071605.pdf?ref=smdp.com)