Walnut Creek Library Foundation
P.O. Box 4979
Walnut Creek, CA 94596 925.935.5395 info@wclibrary.org

Opening Spring 2010 in Civic Park

Every great community needs a great library, and building a new library is an investment that a community like Walnut Creek undertakes perhaps once in a generation.

From toddlers attending story hour to seniors learning to use the Internet, our new Walnut Creek Library will serve people of all ages, interests and backgrounds. The library is an investment in our shared future and will be built with a flexible, sustainable design and integrated with Civic Park.

More than any other institution, the public library connects us with our past, enriches our present, and prepares us for a better tomorrow. Our new downtown library will serve as our community’s cultural and intellectual focus – as a cornerstone of Walnut Creek’s vision for the 21st century.

The Walnut Creek Library Foundation is leading the campaign to raise private funds for the new library – to make the difference between an adequate library and a library that truly meets the needs of the community for today and for generations to come.

Campaign News

A Day of Celebration

Join the Walnut Creek Library Foundation on Sunday, September 14, 2008, 1 – 5 p.m.as it kicks off its community campaign with LibraryFest – A Day of Discovery. Authors, artists and performers will mix it up with community organizations, civic leaders and celebrities in a full schedule of activities for all ages. This event represents the dynamic range of services that will be available at the new downtown Walnut Creek Library, set to open in 2010.

LibraryFest will feature celebrity readings, multi-cultural performances, Shakespearean sword fights, gardening demonstrations, and workshops in going green, tracing genealogy, and living healthy, to name a few. The event is in Civic Park and is free to the public.

See the list of programs and activities . . .

Hundreds "Dig In!" at Walnut Creek Library Groundbreaking

Community members young, old and in-between came to break ground for our new downtown Walnut Creek Library on May 19. Mayor Gwen Regalia welcomed the crowd and thanked the Foundation for its fundraising to date. County Librarian Anne Cain and Foundation board member Tom Donahoe also spoke about the exciting new library that will be a welcome addition to downtown Walnut Creek.

View photos from the groundbreaking | Watch progress on the web cam

Foundation Announces $4.2 Million Raised to Date
City Awards Bid for Project

Walnut Creek Library Foundation President Ed Del Beccaro announced at the April 15 City Council meeting that the Foundation has raised $4.2 million toward the capital construction of our new Walnut Creek Library. Del Beccaro told the council the Foundation will meet the $5 million goal promised to the city. "We have strong prospects for an additional $1.5 million in foundation grants and anticipate raising up to $7.5 million for the capital campaign." He added that the outpouring of donations so far is testimony to the community's support of a library that will meet the community's needs.

The City Council awarded the bid for construction of the new library to West Bay Builders whose bid came in under-budget at $25,759,000. This reduced the project budget to $42 million. Groundbreaking will be in early May . . . stay tuned for details.