The Grover Beach library is getting a fresh facelift — and Wi-Fi access

Grover Beach Community Library is taking a page out of an interior design book this month as it freshens up the inside of the library with some much-needed renovations.

“It was kind of dated,” library board President Nan Fowler said. “With all of the paneling, it was dark. So we did kind of think of how we could make it more appealing.”

The library, at 240 N. 9th St., is closed as it undergoes a small facelift inside. Though the outside will remain the same, the interior will feature a refreshing minty green paint job with crisp white trim, replacing the old wooden paneling that once dominated the building. Fresh carpeting, new furniture and some minor repairs will also help update the building.

The new look will hopefully go a long way toward attracting some younger readers to hang out at the library, Fowler said.

“We also want to try and get the teens to come in more to read and take up books and so forth,” she said. “So we’re trying to make it more appealing and more updated. We now have Wi-Fi. So we are really a functioning, total library. It’s just that we are small.”

Workers have been diligently laboring away in the little library in the midst of the historically slow holiday season, Fowler said. They expect to reopen after the new year, about Jan. 9.

The library renovation will cost about $8,000. It will be paid by a San Luis Obispo County grant initiated by 3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill, Fowler said.

“We are so grateful for that,” she said. “We are all proud of this little library. We are meeting the needs of the community.”

Once the library reopens, it will resume its weekly reading hours for children and monthly senior book break. The library is always looking for new volunteers, Fowler emphasized.

“We have such a wonderful volunteer base at this library,” she said. “It’s just amazing — our librarians and people and workers who get enthusiastic about having a little local library that is run very much like libraries when we were kids.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 7:38 PM with the headline "The Grover Beach library is getting a fresh facelift — and Wi-Fi access."