Las Vegas-Clark County Library District opens new Mesquite Library
By Betsy Ward
The grand opening of the new Mesquite Library Campus at 160 W. First North St. was held May 31 at 10 a.m. The Mesquite Library Campus connects the community to the latest learning resources and technologies including the following:
—An extensive collection of books in all formats (print, large print, eBooks, audiobooks) as well as digital resources of all kinds.
—Free access to public computers and Wi-Fi.
—Expansive online homework help and courses.
—Learning experiences that connect locals to new resources and technologies.
—One-on-one expertise for job-seekers and entrepreneurs.
—A cafe with a drive-up window.
—Beautiful new civic spaces to meet up, exchange ideas, celebrate, and perform.
The Mesquite Library Campus has two buildings that will support the next generation of free public library services and partnerships in the community.
The new Mesquite Library building is 13,313 square feet and is located on a 1.6-acre parcel. Patrons will find expanded collections, new technology, and spaces for children and teens plus ample room for everyone to read and enjoy project-based learning experiences. There is also a spacious community room for performances, celebrations, and meetings and a cafe, the very first in the entire library district.
The new learning center is located just across the street from the new library building at 121 W. First North St. This 5,464-square-foot building served as the former library and houses a public computer lab with expanded space for increased access, classrooms, and a one-stop career center providing employment and education services for adults, run by Workforce Connections.
This campus is one of 25 branch library facilities located throughout Clark County. Managed by the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, these branches serve 1.6 million people in the 8,000 square mile Clark County region.
The Mesquite Library Campus rolls out a new kind of library that is part living room, part learning lab. Today’s libraries enable their customers to build competencies not just in language but in the technology and job skills that are needed to thrive in a changing world. This new library was built on a foundation of new ideas, imaginative use of space, and free access to public technologies including Wi-Fi and computers.
The Mesquite Library Campus is designed to be a catalyst for individual development. The learning center will be a hub of technology and training with public computers, laptops, and Wi-Fi in a community that has limited broadband access. The learning center’s computer lab, classrooms, and one-stop career center will connect local residents to job experiences, training, certifications, and family support services, all focused on building residents’ careers and increasing their wages and quality of life.
With the rapid changes taking place in the type of skills needed for today’s well-paying jobs, the library district has formed a partnership with the Workforce Connections One-Stop Career Centers in library locations across the county. This new national model for regional workforce development aims to reduce the barriers that job seekers often face by bringing critically needed access to technology, job training, and career exploration services to these convenient, well-staffed library locations.
The new Mesquite Learning Center’s One-Stop Career Center provides a gateway to these resources along with a broad array of services for businesses and job seekers. Since opening in the spring of 2017, the Mesquite One-Stop Career Center has already placed dozens of adult dislocated workers into employment and youth into post-secondary education or employment.
The Mesquite Library Campus is also a catalyst for community activity. From club rooms to children’s inside and outside play areas and dedicated teen spaces where local residents can meet friends and engage in interactive learning, there is plenty of room for everyone to pursue their interests. The new library building was designed in response to the community’s desire to have a flexible place to host a wide variety of community gatherings.
Another exciting development is the new cafe, a first for the library district, that will be run by the Nevada Department of Training and Rehabilitation and benefiting the Nevada School of the Blind. The cafe will also feature a drive-up window, which will be used for the restaurant and to return books to the library — the ultimate convenience!
Located 82 miles from Las Vegas, Mesquite is in Clark County, Nevada and home to 17,000 residents. Mesquite serves as a regional center for retirees who make the town their home part of the year along with long-time residents and young families who have settled here.
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