Local News

Laytonville gets a library

Mendocino County Public Broadcasting | By Sarah Reith

Published March 27, 2023 at 11:53 AM PDT

A smiling woman in a long brown coat holds a giant pair of scissors as a woman with a white ponytail smiles and claps. — Jayma Shields Spence and Shawn Haven, of the Friends of the Long Valley Laytonville Public Library, laugh after cutting the ribbon across the door of the new branch.

The Friends of the Long Valley Laytonville Public Library have raised about $40,000 since 2015, partly from the sale of an old Bookmobile. In June of last year, the county got over $60,000 from a USDA Rural Development Grant to purchase a book collection, furniture, and other materials for the library. And voter-approved library taxes, which started fourteen years ago, contributed millions to the county library system.

Nobody was shushing anybody at the newest branch of the county library on Saturday afternoon. It looked like most of Laytonville gathered for the grand opening of the Long Valley Library, in the Foster’s Market shopping center in the middle of town.

A woman with a white ponytail stands in a room decorated with balloons, next to a mural depicting redwood trees, elk, a red fox, and an open meadow. — Shawn Haven shows off a mural of Laytonville's wildlife, painted by Juvenile Hall residents under the guidance of artist Danza Davis.

The Long Valley library will be open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Alison Wild, the new staff librarian, was hard at work during the grand opening festivities, issuing library cards and handing out books. Meanwhile, patrons listened to music, talked and laughed, and enjoyed beverages and snacks. Even a dog joined the party. It was not a typical day at the library....