Long Beach 9th District Councilmember Rex Richardson will ask his city council colleagues on Tuesday, Dec. 22, to consider naming north Long Beach’s new library after First Lady Michelle Obama, according to Richardson’s office.
Slated to open in the summer of 2016, the proposed “Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library” will be the largest neighborhood branch library in the city and serve as state-of-the-art focal point for north Long Beach, according to the councilmember’s office.
The 25,000-square-foot facility will offer educational opportunities, such as an expanded children’s library, a story time theater space and community center with spaces for large and small gatherings.
“Our state-of-the-art library will be a source of pride and a major focal point of our Uptown Renaissance,” Richardson said. “But, we miss the mark if we don’t connect with and inspire our youth to reach higher towards their goals through literacy and enrichment.”
Students from Jordan High School originally approached the 9th District council office to consider naming the library after the First Lady. In addition, the naming of the library after Obama has support from 10 neighborhood association presidents and numerous community leaders, including former 9th District Councilmember Steven Neal and Long Beach Unified School District Board Member Megan Kerr, according to Richardson’s office.
“I’m thrilled at the idea of naming the north library after First Lady Michelle Obama, a product of public schools, who studied hard and earned degrees at Princeton and Harvard Law School,” Richardson said.
Richardson is also asking the Library Services Department and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine to conduct further outreach.
“The First Lady is a figure who shares many similarities with the youth of north Long Beach and is a shining example of who they can become with hard work and a dedication to their education,” Richardson said. “But the first step is to initiate a fair, consensus-building process with our youth, library patrons, and community in the weeks to come.”
The library would be a historic first for Long Beach as the only one in the city named after a person of color, according to the 9th District office. Richardson said he will extend an invitation to the First Lady to be a part of the library’s opening if his name request is granted.
