Sunnyvale opened its first full-service branch library on Saturday, Oct. 31, a $29.3 million facility built as a partnership with the city's school districts.
The Lakewood Branch Library and Learning Center occupies 20,000 square feet on a single story and is an all-electric building featuring an induction cooktop, a heat pump water heater, and rooftop heat pump HVAC units. Silicon Valley Clean Energy provided a $500,000 grant to support the building's full electrification.
The facility is a shared-use location built through a partnership with the Sunnyvale School District and Fremont Union High School District. The school districts each contributed $3 million toward construction costs and each agreed to contribute $80,667 for an operable partition wall between their program rooms. Operating expenses will be shared as well, with Fremont Union High School District contributing 15 percent and Sunnyvale School District contributing 10 percent.
The library includes a Maker Lab offering tools and supplies for visitors, including a 3D printer, laser cutter, sewing machines, large-format printer, vinyl cutters, jewelry-making supplies, and arts-and-crafts materials.
The library is open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is closed Sundays.