During the October 9 Oakley City Council meeting, the Friends of Oakley Library announced that more than $550k has been raised for the Oakley Library and Community Center.
Liz Fuller shared the Friends of the Oakley Library have been working hard to fund raise for the library and community center.
“Oakley Rotary has been really helpful to us. We are a very small organization and they have been very instrumental in us raising money this year,’ said Fuller.
Fuller said their efforts to date have raised $300k. Meanwhile, Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis previously announced she was donating $250k from the Contra Costa County Livable Communities Trust.
The cost of the library is $28 million and with the $550k raised, the funding efforts are now at more than $10 million.
Burgis also announced she was having a birthday fundraiser, “I am doing a birthday party celebration. I will be turning 59 and all I want is a library in Oakley… every little bit helps.”
New Oakley Library and Community Center
The City has identified $9.5 million to fund a new library that would be roughly 9,000 square feet. They have set a deadline of December 31, 2024 to raise additional funds to build a much larger library and community center that can house the library, a senior center and a veteran’s center.
It should be noted, the more funding, the larger the building and more amenities–at max build out, it could be as large as 28,000 square feet at a cost of $28 million.
For more on the Friends of the Oakley Library, visit them at www.oakleylibrary.org
Oakley Library Timeline per Friends of the Oakley Library:
- November 1913 – In November, The Oakley Women’s Improvement Club, in conjunction with Contra Costa County Library, establishes the Oakley Branch Library. The library is located within the General Store and consists of three shelves.
- 1916 – Library moves to Oakley Woman’s Club.
- September 20, 1966 – Oakley Lions Club and Oakley Woman’s Club contact Supervisor Linscheid to explore the possibility of constructing a library building in Oakley
- 1972 – Friends of the Oakley Library is founded to raise funds for new library materials and to construct a new library building.
- 1975 – Oakley Library moves to a new space in the former Oakley School building on East Ruby Street.
- 1992 – Friends of the Oakley Library revive a decades-long search for funding for a new Oakley Library.
- September 1998 – Governor Pete Wilson signs Omnibus Education Bill that includes $345,000 to establish a joint-use public/school library for Oakley in the new Freedom High School.
- January 1999 – Decision is made between Oakley and Contra Costa County that the Library will share the space at Freedom High School for a period of five years.
- July 17, 1999 – Old Oakley Library on East Ruby Street closes.
- August 3, 1999 – Oakley Public Library is moved to the Vernon C. Noble Library at Freedom High School.
- October 2, 1999 – Grand Opening Celebration to mark the reopening of the Oakley Library at Freedom High School.
- October 1999 – Newly incorporated City of Oakley appoints Committee on Community Center/Library Funding.
- December 2002 – City of Oakley funds additional library hours.
- 2012 – Friends of the Oakley Library form a New Library subcommittee to pursue a new location and funding for a downtown stand-alone library.
- 2015 – The New Oakley Library and Community Learning Center Committee present a new measure to create a new Library and Learning Center in downtown Oakley.
- June 2016 – Ballot Measure K fails to get 66% of votes needed for a new Library and Community Learning Center in downtown Oakley.
- May 31, 2019 – The City of Oakley celebrates 20 years of Cityhood. The Oakley Library is still located in its shared space at Freedom High School.
- November 2019 – City of Oakley looks to convert the sheriff’s substation at East Ruby Street into a library for Oakley.
- May 2022 – The City of Oakley and Contra Costa County agree to share the cost of demolishing the sheriff’s substation. Under the agreement, Oakley and the county would split the estimated $400,000 demolition costs. The city would then have 36 months to secure funding to pay for capital costs and some operational costs for a new library. If successful, the county, which approved the demolition last fall, would then deed the property to the city, McMurray said. If the city fails in securing funding, though, it would be responsible for the entire demolition costs.
Previous Stories:
- Aug 15 – Supervisor Diane Burgis Pledges $250k to New Oakley Library
- Nov 15, 2023 – Oakley Aims to Build $26 Million Library
- July 6, 2023 – Oakley Set to Look at Downtown Library Feasibility