ALL DONE! SIERRA MADRE CELEBRATES 
VOLUME 20 NO. 24VOLUME 20 NO. 24SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2026 VOLUME 20 NO. 24VOLUME 20 NO. 24SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2026 
LIBRARY REOPENING AFTER 2 YEARS OF 
RENOVATION 

Story and Photos By Mandy Tzoc Rodriguez 

The Sierra Madre Public Library celebrated its 
grand reopening and red ribbon cutting ceremony 
after two years of renovation and expansion on 
Saturday morning, June 6, bringing residents and 
guests together through festivities, community and 
speakers commemorating the milestone project. 

The ceremony featured various community and state 
speakers recognizing the library and its dedication 
to continuously providing a space to learn, connect, 
and discover. Such speakers were former AssemblyMember Chris Holden, Los Angeles CountySupervisor of the 5th District Kathryn Barger, Sierra 
Madre Librarian and Community Services Director 
Leila Arciero, Friends of the Library President 
Jeanne Martin and many more. 

As the red ribbon ceremony concluded, the Lion 
Dance performed by the San Gabriel Valley Chinese 
Cultural Association began and a walkthrough of 
the renovated library was available for all attendees 
to witness and participate. The Community Partyfollowed with various activities from chalk drawing, music, and photobooths for all to celebrate. 


“The fact that this community embraces one another, no matter what and this library is going to continue to really teach how important 
it is, in a time of a lot of interesting things going on, to embrace one another”, shared Barger. “This library really is, to me, going to be an 
important part of teaching that history.” 

In 1887, the Sierra Madre Public Library began and was built alongside Central Avenue, otherwise known as Sierra Madre Boulevard. The 
library is the fourth-oldest city library within Los Angeles and the tenth-oldest in Southern California. Looking similar to a house, the 
library transitioned to a mid-century modern building in 1955 with the hopes that in 25 years a new renovation would occur. However, 
this did not happen and took eight attempts to then successfully remodel in 2024. 

A need to remodel was apparent as the library was somewhat bordering shutdown, similarly to Pasadena Public Library, due to being 
out of seismic building code. The flooring was not rated for the weight needed and the building needed either a seismic retrofit or a new 
building entirely. Additionally, the building was not ADA compliant alongside needing a revamping of the shelving and furniture. 

“The original shelving was also from the 1955 [building], and the running joke with staff was, ‘You haven't truly worked here until you 
got a splinter of shelving’,” says Sierra Madre Librarian and Community Services Director Arciero.
Plans to remodel became obtainable in 2022 when the library secured funding and grants through former Assembly Member Holden’s 
office, the California State Library, American Rescue Plan Act Funds and the City of Sierra Madre. The funding totaled to around $11 
million allowing for renovations to begin and break ground in September 2024. Initially, the remodel brought mixed opinions from the 
public who sought to maintain the mid-century feel many knew but also understood the need to adhere to safety regulations. During 
remodeling, the library moved to a temporary space to continue to offer its services to the public. 

“I am extremely happy that nobody quit on me. I say that as a joke, but it was extremely stressful, not only relocating to a temporary, [but] 
getting us up and running there,” says Arciero. 

With new renovations and an additional 5,000 square foot expansion, the library continued to maintain its mid-century design while 
incorporating modern architecture. Amongst the remodeling some notable furnishings are: new furniture fundraised by the Friends of 
the Sierra Madre Library and Sierra Madre Library Foundation, the Mary Tumilty Community Room, the Robert A. Day Reading Room 
with a fireplace, Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society Archival Room, the Friends of the Sierra Madre Library Bookstore, an 
elevator, a marker’s space, an outside reading balcony, a new teen room and more. 

“We really just want it to be a community hub. We want it to be a place that people want to come to and look forward to coming to. And 
the previous building was that as well. But now, there’s room to stretch out. There’s areas for kids to be loud, areas for teens to be teens and 
areas where you can research your home and have it be a different space for everyone,” concludes Arciero. 


Judy Webb-Martin 
626.688.2273 

DRE #00541631 


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