New library in Las Vegas’ southwest to open Saturday

The time has finally come.

The long-awaited Windmill Library and Service Center, 7060 W. Windmill Lane, is scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Saturday. The grand opening is open to the public.

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District broke ground on the 29,000-square-foot facility in June 2009, although planning began in 2002. This is the first library to open in the valley since the opening of the Centennial Hills Library in 2009.

The library is connected to an adjacent service center that houses district executive, human resources and administrative offices that were scattered at various properties throughout the valley before the building’s construction.

The facility includes a collection of more than 130,000 books, wireless Internet access, a 22-seat computer lab for adults, a 24-seat computer lab for teens, a youth library, a children’s story room complete with balloon-themed lighting, study rooms, meeting rooms, an art gallery, an auditorium and a used bookstore and vending area.

Marketing and Community Relations Director Patricia Marvel said the library would allow people to check out laptop computers — which must stay in the building — for the first time.

“We actually have a specific area where people can go and sit with the laptops,” she said. The $49 million project includes a 7,000-square-foot area designed for future expansion.

“All we will have to do is knock down a few walls and we can grow into the space,” Branch Manager Arthur Cabrales said. “It (the building) was designed with the idea of possible future expansion in mind.”

Cabrales said the facility was also designed with families in mind, specifically young children and teens.

“We want this to be a place for everyone but especially those groups,” he said. “We want this to be a welcoming place where kids can come and hang out and learn and feel peace.”

In a time when many people feel the Internet supersedes a need for public libraries, Executive Director Jeanne Goodrich said libraries are more necessary than ever.

“When you search for something on the Web, there are about a million reference sites that pop up, and those can be hard to sort through,” she said. “The purpose of a library isn’t just the materials we can provide but the direction you can get from people who are familiar with a variety of topics you may be seeking information on. Aside from that, we also offer a place for quiet computer access and training. Libraries are a place where everything sort of comes together.”

Jamie Chan has lived in the southwest part of the valley with her family for the past three years and is ecstatic about the opening of the library.

“Finally, someplace close by I can go and hang out that isn’t a fast-food place,” she said.

Dwayne Harris has lived near Mountain’s Edge for more than a year and said he was often frustrated with having to drive so far to get to a library or a bookstore.

“There has been nothing out here before this,” he said. “I’m really happy to see the library finally opening.”

The facility will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

For more information, visit www.lvccld.org.

Contact Southwest and Spring Valley View reporter Amanda Donnelly at adonnelly@viewnews.com or 380-4535.