Richmond, yes!

The Richmond Public Library has served us well over the decades. But as the city grows, as technology evolves, as peoples' desire for positive community experience intensifies, our Library becomes less able to fulfill its mission.

The Library is too small. To meet national standards for our city's population, it must double in size. Reliable projections for the growth of the Bay Area predict that the space shortage will only become more critical.

The Library is also disconnected from other important civic functions. In countless cities, the library, museum and city hall, all surrounding a central square, define a commons, the place where a community's identity takes root and expresses itself. There is no such place in Richmond today. The Richmond Museum of History, City Hall, and the Library now stand miles from one another.

We've got a plan

City leaders are shaping a plan to re-establish the commons in Civic Center Plaza, uniting City Hall, the Library and the Richmond Museum.

• A key component: construction of a new library at the Civic Center. At twice the space of the current library, this new home will reflect the emerging role of libraries today as hubs of community, learning and technology.
• The Richmond Museum will relocate to the existing library builidng, enjoying three times the amount of space it occupies in its cramped Nevin Street location.
• Crowning the development, City Hall will move back into a remodeled and retrofitted building on Barrett Avenue. The heart of Richmond, restored to Civic Center Plaza.

How can you help?

• Are you enthused about this plan? Then let others know. Describe it to friends and neighbors.
• Get involved. Voice your support at City Council meetings. Write letters to local newspapers.
• Make a tax-deductible contribution to the Richmond, yes! campaign. Your money will help us promote the plan, get out the vote, and lay the groundwork for Richmond's new Civic Center Library.