The Rock Island Public Library and the Two Rivers YMCA invite the public to “meet the new neighbors” at a combined grand opening and open house for the library’s new Watts-Midtown Branch and the Rock Island YMCA on Saturday, March 11.
The new library branch and the Rock Island YMCA will offer tours, programming, and information about their respective services from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the newly repurposed facility at 2715 30th St.
The library also will offer refreshments, giveaways and special activities during regular hours. From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., kids can enjoy close-up magic and balloon animals by Rick Eugene, and face painting by Laura Anderson of Clown Around. All ages can visit with the reading therapy dogs from the QC Canine Assistance Network (QC CAN) from 10 a.m. through noon, as well as drop in for live music by singer/songwriter Lewis Knudsen in the Community Room from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Admission is free for the open house and grand opening.
Extra library staff and Rock Island Public Library Foundation volunteers also will be on hand to help guests check the status of their library card, offer quick tours, provide information about new events and the foundation’s volunteer group, and more. To allow all library staff to be on hand to help out, the library’s main building in downtown and the Southwest Branch will be closed on Saturday.
“We’ve been eagerly awaiting this day since the official kickoff of the capital campaign in June 2021,” said Angela Campbell, library director. “Watts-Midtown will join our Downtown and Southwest locations, online services, and Library2Go mobile outreach vehicle to provide the most comprehensive access to literacy and library services possible to our patrons. By adding this new location, we are bringing all Rock Islanders within three miles of a public library, fostering success within the community. We’re excited to announce this branch expansion, and look forward to serving our current and new neighbors.”
The library has been operating on a “soft opening” basis since Feb. 8, adding services along the way. Located within the former Tri-Jewish Center, the remodeled facility is one of only a handful of YMCA/library facility partnerships in North America. The Rock Island YMCA and the Rock Island Public Library are sharing occupancy of the repurposed building to provide additional services to their existing operations.
For more information about hours and services at any library branches, and a Library2Go mobile outreach schedule, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org, call (309) 732-READ, or follow the library’s social media pages.
For more information about the Rock Island YMCA, visit TwoRiversYMCA.org.
