It's not your grandmother's library

Downey Library staff member, Angel Aceves, uses digital equipment in the Studio to take a back-to-school photo of Giovani Villalobos, 4th grade, Rio Hondo Elementary. The public is notified throughout the year of these special, free photoshoots. (Photo by Carol Kearns)

DOWNEY — As the world advances further into the digital age, the Downey City Library is proudly matching it step for step. The remodel and renovation funded by California Measure S in 2019 catalyzed a transformation of the library into a hi-tech community center with an expansion of technology services not possible previously.

Measure S funded only building expenses, but the modernization project prompted staff to dream big about how the library could better serve the community going forward.

Downey City Library Director Ben Dickow recounted that the team tinkered with their operating budget, received help from the Friends of the Library, and explored all financial resources in order to supply the library with the latest digital equipment and capabilities.

There are now 54 laptops available, with no cost or time limit on their use, and 18 portable battery packs that visitors can use anywhere in the library to charge up to four personal devices at a time—laptops, tablets, phones, etc. Homework assignments can be printed for a nominal fee.

Next door to the new Workroom with its 3-D printers, there is now a digital Studio that can be reserved for a variety of audio and visual needs: photo shoots, podcasts, sound editing, and movie filming and editing. Available backgrounds even include a green screen for CGI projects. Use is free for all library members, and those who have questions about the equipment can arrange for a short tutorial.

Library Administrator Dan Martin reflects on the pride felt at being able to offer this expansion of community resources.

“It’s just amazing for me being a librarian,” he affirms. “I’ve always loved it and I love it even more the last several years, because it’s become deeper and richer and broader.”

Last month the library concluded a 4-day course in movie-making using stop-motion animation with LEGOs—for children 8-12 years old! The young participants learned to storyboard, film, edit, and exhibit.

This level of modernization is not always a surprise with so many schools and libraries doing the same thing. What is amazing is the concurrent expansion and popularity of programs that people do not often associate with libraries.

Parents using the Downey Library can learn how to do infant massage, get help with potty training, and learn to teach sign language to their hearing babies. There is a popular monthly sewing class, a Dungeons and Dragons club for those over 18 years of age, and a Movie Night for adults, showing acclaimed films such as “Y tu mama tambien” and “Sinners.”

This is not your grandma’s library anymore.

Martin says that the Measure S remodel begun in 2019 was an opportunity for the staff to consider what they had been hearing from the community and how the library could meet those needs.

“The library is not just a place to borrow books,” declares Martin. “It is a place to meet, to socialize, to build community.”

Libraries in the 21st Century have evolved beyond their historic origin as places to store knowledge and make it available for further study. Today’s libraries are seen as significant community centers that contribute to the social fabric, providing space for people to connect with others around shared interests.

Since its reopening in 2021, after the scheduled remodel was completed and the COVID pandemic ended, the Downey Library is busier than ever in fulfilling this mission of social service in myriad ways.

“We do a lot of collective research,” says Natalie Muniz, Program Coordinator, as she explains how library staff identifies community needs and interests. Traditional surveys, listening groups, and email blasts with the newsletter are part of their process, but a new element has become more prominent.

“A lot of our feedback comes through social media and online as well,” she continues. We’ve established more of a presence as the library in promoting our programs online now, specifically in terms of Instagram or Facebook.”

The Dungeons and Dragons Club grew from community inquiry. The library was finally able to host a club with regular meetings when one person volunteered to be the Dungeon Master.

Muniz recounts that the sewing classes “took off right away. We didn’t even have to promote it.” The staff could see there was a lot of interest, but “it took a lot of support from the Friends of the Library as well,” she added. The next meeting will be September 24 in the Workshop, and participants do not have to register.

Dickow attributes the library’s growing success to the “talented and creative staff” and the implementation of priorities. “It is not just access to materials that is important,” he explains, “it really is looking at the library as a community resource and meeting as many needs as possible.”

The library’s website features an expansive range of programs for all ages and offers a place to ask about activities and/or serve as a volunteer.

Classes for Infants

Coco Pacheco, Children’s Supervising Librarian, says that the popular children’s sign language classes, known as Sign, Sing, and Play, are backed by research from Brown University and met a need that became apparent from the COVID pandemic.

The isolation was affecting children of all ages, and when the library reopened in 2021, Pacheco says, “We knew right away that there was going to be a need to assist the parents with those declines in reaching their [the children’s] milestones.”

The Sign, Sing, and Play classes teach communication skills for preverbal infants. Benefits include less frustration when babies can express their needs, less stress for the family, and enhanced overall language skills.

Pacheco recounts that they have not yet had any families with non-hearing infants, but they have assisted children with other special needs. The classes run for six weeks with a two-week break. There is a wait-list. Classes are posted online and visitors also watch for announcements on the library’s digital bulletin boards.

The infant massage classes, started in the spring of 2024, grew from conversations with people using the library.

“I was noticing that we were having an increase in our population of newborns and mothers who were expecting,” explains Pacheco, “so it was just talking with people who were coming in and asking, would you be interested in this.”

Pacheco is a certified infant massage instructor and the target age group includes children who do not yet crawl or walk. The classes give parents an opportunity to talk and share difficulties, as well as further the bond with their children.

Technology Events

STEM classes held at the library are offered through a partnership with Cal State Long Beach. There is a mix of drop-in classes, such as STEM Crafts, and there are the more structured STEM Tinkering events (grades 6-8) which requires a sign-up.

Muniz describes a close partnership with CSULB and says the library looks to providing more activities of interest for older teens.

In contrast to the STEM classes guided by CSULB, the recent 4-day movie-making class using stop-motion animation with LEGOs was designed and spearheaded in-house by library employee Maul Nunez, a former Downey student and CSULB graduate.

The series was held in the Cormack Room for two hours each day, with participation limited to 12 students working in teams of three. Stadium seating allowed for spectators and family members to watch.

Muniz says that the multi-day series for small-group collaboration is “a format that is fairly new to what we do, even for our Children’s Services. It very much emulates what they’re used to in school.” Muniz speaks with pride of this successful program and says she is hoping the library can hold more of such activities.

City of Downey photo

To promote community awareness of the library’s hi-tech resources, the staff schedules free digital photos celebrating special days or seasons. On August 13, the first day of school this year, staff member Angel Aceves took free photos in the Studio as families waited their turn outside. Parents watch for such the postings on the website and check the digital bulletin boards in the building.

In response to community interest shown on social media as well as the library web page, Muniz says the library will continue scheduling e-game tournaments. The most recent one was Mario Kart, using the Ninentendo Switch 2. A staff member also spearheaded this program, which Muniz says serves the older teenage public.

Along with the popularity of modern video games, Muniz reports, with some bemusement, the continued use of the library’s DVD and Blu-Ray collections. She chuckles over the seeming irony, given the prevalence of streaming movies at home.

“I constantly see patrons coming in to check out films for their families on Fridays,” she reports. “It’s like Blockbuster left, and people are asking: where can I access this physical media?” Muniz affirms that the library will continue providing this resource as long as it remains important to the community.

Catalyst for Change

It was the remodel, Martin recounts, that was the catalyst for today’s broader and increased programming services. Parameters were set by the physical limitations of the building.

“We couldn’t make the building any bigger,” he says, so the staff, with the aid of architects, looked for more creative usage of limited space.

To that end, the physical redesign created what Martin refers to as the “social side.” This is on the north side of the building and includes the “lounge” area where people now chat quietly and move tables around to meet their needs. The Cormack Room was relocated here and now has stadium seating and glass walls that can be opened to the lounge area for bigger events.

The Children’s section was also relocated to the social side and dramatically expanded with custom-made shelving that is low and moveable. When a big event is scheduled, Martin says, “the whole team will swarm into this area and we’ll move the furniture someplace else.” There is also a slightly raised stage for performers along the east wall.

The glass-walled Workshop and the digital Studio are also situated in this social side of the library. The comings and goings of users will not disturb patrons who are studying or reading in the more traditional “quiet” side (the south side) of the library. A series of glass-walled rooms on the south side can be reserved for group study or an extra quiet space.

While the physical redesign of the building has been a huge success towards “building community,” the expanded, relevant programming did not just happen by accident. Martin attributes the collaborative way in which the staff works as the determining factor in the library’s success.

“I want to underline,” Martin affirms, “that the increase in the programming, in its quantity and its quality, is a direct result of this new structure we have with the staff where we’re soliciting and involving ideas and help from every level of the staff.”

While there are still designated levels of responsibility—administrator, librarian, assistant librarian, etc.—the staff meets weekly as a team to discuss “everything we do to run the library, how we advertise the library, what we’re programming, how we reach out to the community and get new partners to come and teach them.”

The inspiration for this collaborative work environment came from a staff development book club started by the other library administrator, Andrew Dupres, during the time the building was closed. The first book they read, Martin recalls, was “Everybody Matters,” by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia.

“When everybody has a voice,” explains Martin, “even if their voice is not the one that gets chosen to be acted on, they feel like they’re invested, they feel like they matter.”

With its new physical capabilities and the team spirit guiding its staff, the Downey City Library is solidly positioned to remain a modern and relevant community center for years to come.

But even though today’s library is much different from the one experienced by your grandmother or great-grandmother, the Downey Library continues creating warm memories in the minds of today’s young visitors.

Mothers and fathers still bring their children to pick out an armload of books to take home and explore; children are still encouraged to sit on the floor if that is where they enjoy reading a favorite book; and children of all ages still relish the joy of meeting friends in this uniquely social place. Some things about libraries will never change.