Completed Projects/Issues - Other Projects

Pictured from left to right are Irwin and Joan Jacobs, Bob Boone, Mayor Dick Murphy, Harle Montgomery, Councilman Peters, and Bobby Foushee.

La Jolla Library Reopens to Rave Reviews!

On March 27, 2004 families crowded around Draper Street in La Jolla and waited in anticipation to be the first to enter the newly expanded Florence Riford Library Center. They had every reason to celebrate!

The Florence Riford Library Renovation and the new Joan and Irwin Jacobs Library Annex re-opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony, presented by San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy and Councilman Scott Peters. Murphy and Peters were accompanied by the library’s major donors, Harle Montgomery and Irwin and Joan Jacobs at the ribbon cutting ceremony.The $4.7 million expansion project includes the new Irwin and Joan Jacobs Library Annex, doubling the size of the library.

The keys to the new library were handed over to City Librarian Anna Tatar, following the tradition of public-private partnership that started 100 years ago. The La Jolla Reading Room became the first library in the City system, almost 100 years before the opening of this expansion. "The true heroes of this library and its’ expansion are the La Jolla residents who contributed funding and worked closely on this project from its’ inception," said Councilman Peters. "The La Jolla - Riford Branch Library will enrich thecommunity and families for many generations to come."

Generous donations of $3.5 million from Irwin and Joan Jacobs and $1 million from Harle Montgomery helped make the library expansion project become a reality. Montgomery has been a supporter of the library for many years and made her contribution to the Garth Reading Level, in the name of her parents and brother, with whom she first came to La Jolla in the 1920's. "(The donation) was a perfect way to make a statement of gratitude to my parents for bringing me to such a beautiful place to grow up," she said.

The Jacobs’, longtime San Diego philanthropists, cited the library’s importance to the community as their motivation for their contribution. "It’s an important place for the young, the old, and everyone in between," said Jacobs.

The Library’s new Youth Services department offers recreational activities for kids including story time, summer reading programs, and a wide range of resources providing support to help students develop critical skills.

Other amenities include a reading area, a new community room, state of the art audio-video equipment, a glass-enclosed computer lab with 16 computers, new seminar rooms and an enriching new room dedicated to the history of La Jolla.

Donations of any size are accepted; for donors who can make contributions of $1000 or more, there are still spaces available on the donor wall for you or your loved ones. To make a difference in your community, contact Bob Boone, Friends of the La Jolla Library at 858-344-7418 for more information.