Lennox Library Now Open
The much-anticipated Lennox Library and Constituent Service Center recently re-opened with a celebration. Nearly one thousand residents came out to take their first peak of the newly renovated library, including 13-year-old Lennox resident Aja Clark.
“When I first walked in, I thought to myself, wow, this is beautiful,” Aja said. “I see very happy faces and a lot of young students coming out to support the community.”
Residents enjoy one of nine new public access computers at the new Lennox Library.
Originally built in 1949, the Lennox Library was the oldest and most outdated library within the County’s Public Library System. The new library is more than double the size of the old facility. There is a children’s section and teen study room, as well as a community meeting room and of course, an adult reading area. There are nine new public access computers and a community meeting room with seating for 75 people. Staff from Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ office and representatives from Community and Senior Services, Consumer Affairs, Regional Planning and the Sheriff’s Department also will be on site to provide services to local residents.
The $8.4 million-library renovation is only the latest project in Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’s longstanding effort to fuel community engagement by providing attractive and useful public spaces for constituents. Since taking office in 2008, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas has invested more than $13 million to create true Constituent Service Centers throughout the Second District. Others are located at Exposition Park and in Florence-Firestone.
Hundreds enjoyed the Lennox Library on opening day.
The Constituent Service Centers provide venues for public meetings on important issues, as well as space for ongoing educational programs for residents. In some locations, county agencies such as the Department of Community and Senior Services are on-site to directly serve residents, and members of the Second District staff are also present.
“We need to meet our constituents in their communities,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “The policy work we do at the Hall of Administration is only part of our mission. By attracting residents to our constituent centers we also create opportunities for members of the community to access government right where they live and receive the services they need.”
The Exposition Park Constituent Services Center, located adjacent to several popular museums and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, currently features the largest public meeting space of the centers, which has made it possible to host numerous well-attended events there since its 2011 completion including:
- A Town Hall meeting with Max Huntsman, the County’s new Inspector General overseeing the Sheriff’s Dept.
- Round table discussions on stormwater pollution control.
- LAX rail connection options.
- Discussion on citizen’s oversight of the Sheriff’s Department.
- A forum on financing clean energy projects.
“I enjoy seeing the smiles on our resident’s faces when they walk into the new Lennox Library and Center,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “They, like all of the other constituents in Los Angeles County, deserve nothing but the best in services and facilities.”
“I’ll definitely come back just as soon as I finish this book,” Aja said.
