Phoenix's Ocotillo Library to celebrate reopening

by Connie Cone Sexton - Jun. 8, 2012 09:04 AM The Republic | azcentral.com

A study room, training lab and Workforce Literacy Center are some of the new additions to the remodeled Ocotillo Library.

The Phoenix branch, which was closed for about nine months, reopened in April but its official grand opening is set for 9 a.m. Saturday at the location, 102 W. Southern Ave.

The $1.65 million renovation was funded in part by a one-time 2008-09 Community Development Block Grant stimulus award given to the city as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Other changes at the branch include a "First Five Years" space for children and more computer stations.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, Councilman Michael Nowakowski and City Librarian Rita Hamilton will oversee Saturday's celebration. The 9 a.m. ribbon cutting will be followed by music and family activities, including a story time at 9:30 a.m. with the mayor and his wife.

Ocotillo librarian Maria Dominguez said the Workforce Literacy Center will assist job seekers with workforce needs by serving as an "ACCESS Point" in partnership with the city-run Phoenix Workforce Connection, which offers help for job seekers. The center helps people with resume writing, interviewing skills and computer use to English as a second language.

Having the center will help meet the needs of the community, Dominguez said. "A lot of their needs were employment necessities," she said. Many people told her they had never filled out a resume before, never knew how to look for a job, never knew how to interview for a job.

Dominguez is excited about the grand reopening, especially because she doesn't think everyone in the neighborhood realizes the library is running again.

"It's been a slow start but now, it's word of mouth, people are talking to people" about being open again.

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Phoenix's Ocotillo Library to celebrate reopening