SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Neighborhood advocates in Sacramento's predominantly Black community of Oak Park say it deserves its own library after 30 years without one.
Dorothy Benjamin and the Friends of the Oak Park Library are leading the charge to resurrect Oak Park's library and they gave updates on their efforts at a recent meeting.
They announced a possible location Thursday for a future Oak Park Library and it's the building at 2330 Alhambra Blvd., previously used by Sacramento's Black-owned news publication, The Observer.
"In order to really make this serious, we are getting a nonprofit status so that we can start raising funds. We're going to raise funds through philanthropy, we're going to do fundraisers," said Benjamin.
She says the original Oak Park library closed in 1993 when Sacramento city officials began consolidating smaller libraries.
Oak Park Neighborhood Association President Adrian Rehn told ABC10 community members had questions on where potential funding could come from as Sacramento is in the midst of a $66 million deficit.
"That's the biggest question," he said. "But it's about political will and if enough community members come together and elevate this as a priority — we can make it happen."
Rehn says a library in the neighborhood is necessary because the next closest one at Colonial Heights is almost an hour away by foot.
Friends of the Oak Park Library found support in District 5 Councilmember Caity Maple and her staff. Benjamin describes their work together as a partnership.
The group recently submitted a preliminary application for Community Project Funding through Congresswoman Doris Matsui's Office.
“When I was on the campaign trail nearly two years ago, I was approached by the Friends of the Oak Park Library and educated on the history of its closure," Maple said. "In the decades since, the neighborhood still lacks in essential learning opportunities and community spaces. I believe that now is the time to change that dynamic, which is why I have been working hand-in-hand with community leaders to identify a site and funding to bring a library back to Oak Park. It’s what the community deserves and I will do everything in my power as a City Councilmember to make it a reality again.”
District 5 Director Michael Benjamin II says the library would require more than just start-up costs, but also consistent funding to keep it running day-to-day. He says the 1993 closing took away an easily accessible public library within one of Sacramento's historically Black neighborhoods and it's time to bring it back.
The Friends of the Oak Park Library's next goal is achieving 1,500 online signatures through their petition to the Sacramento Library Authority Board.
"We need to tell the city that Oak Park reads too," said Michael Benjamin II.
