Michelle Benjamin, now 47, told CapRadio that the neighborhood she grew up in, a traditionally Black neighborhood that has undergone significant gentrification<\/a>, deserves a free, in-person space for children to learn outside of school.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aIt’s critical and crucial because of the benefits,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cJust the value and importance of reading \u2026 and then the sense of community that comes from having a place like a library, especially a beautiful one.\u201d<\/p>\n Why Did The Library Close?<\/p>\n The city of Sacramento consolidated the Oak Park, Mabel Gillis and Fruitridge Libraries in the late 1980s. According to Sacramento Bee reporting from 1988, the city wanted to concentrate sources and believed people would travel out of their neighborhoods for better quality services.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The city sold the library building \u2014 located in the heart of Oak Park on 5th Avenue \u2014 to The University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law. The old library is now the law school\u2019s IT Help Desk building, which is not accessible to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n To make up for the lack of a library in South Sacramento, the city constructed the Colonial Heights Library on 4799 Stockton Blvd, which is about a 50 minute walk from the old location.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stockton Boulevard is listed as one of Sacramento\u2019s top streets in the city\u2019s high injury network<\/a>, which are the streets responsible for the most accidents and fatalities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Peter Coyl, library director and CEO of the Sacramento Public Libraries, said they are aware of the need this presents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognize the challenges that face the residents of Oak Park in receiving library services,\u201d Coyl said. \u201cThey are served by other libraries, but the distance and the transportation to those libraries is, in many cases, a barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n Underground Books, a longstanding Black bookstore in Oak Park, serves as its current literary hub. Former Mayor Kevin Johnson\u2019s mother, nicknamed Mother Rose, opened the bookstore in 2003.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Mother Rose passed away last year, but current owner Cassandra Jennings told CapRadio part of the reason she opened her store was the absence of a library.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe grew up in Oak Park, went to Sac High and raised her family here,\u201d Jennings explained. \u201cTo see that there wasn\u2019t a library here was disturbing to her.\u201d<\/p>\n Jennings added that the bookstore puts on a wildly popular monthly reading event for kids ages five to 10, but as a shop they can only do so much.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can only serve so many people at one time,\u201d Jennings said. \u201c\u200aSometimes we just need quiet spaces to do whatever it is we need to be doing, whether it’s studying, reading, work, reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Friends of the Oak Park Library\u2019<\/p>\n Dorothy and Michelle Benjamin first launched their grassroots effort called Friends of the Oak Park Library in 2015. They were concerned about below average test scores at nearby schools such as Bret Harte Elementary<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith today\u2019s climate, especially in competition with social media, there\u2019s not a lot of hands on books,\u201d Dorothy Benjamin said.<\/p>\n Over the last decade, the mother and daughter have garnered 1,300 signatures in support of bringing a library back. They\u2019ve also pitched ideas to past and present city officials.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The two have been working with Councilmember Caity Maple, who represents Oak Park and has supported the effort since before she took office in 2022.<\/p>\n Maple said the last concrete idea was to open a new library in the former Sacramento Observer Building at 2330 Alhambra Boulevard. But that property was bought by the Sierra Health Foundation and gifted to non-profit Community Against Sexual Harm in 2026<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow the search is on,\u201d Maple said. \u201cWe do not have another location identified.\u201d<\/p>\n Costs and City Budget Constraints<\/p>\n One major elephant in the room is how much a new library would cost. The city is in a $66.2 million structural deficit and can\u2019t afford to pay for building a new one.<\/p>\n The idea to rehabilitate the Alhambra location would\u2019ve cost around $12 million, according to Maple. Building a new library from the ground up would cost tens of millions of dollars the city doesn\u2019t have.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maple, who is also the board chair of the Sacramento Public Library, told CapRadio the city will have to get creative to bring a library back to Oak Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully the right partnership will present itself, and I\u2019m hopeful our budget situation looks like it\u2019s on the up,\u201d Maple said. \u201cIf we continue down that path, hopefully we\u2019ll be in a situation in the not so distant future where we might have the resources to be able to invest in something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Talks of Collaboration with McGeorge School of Law\u00a0<\/p>\n Dorothy Benjamin said that they met with officials at McGeorge School of Law to see if they could use some parts of the previous building on 5th Street as public library space.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re very open to what we\u2019re trying to do,\u201d Dorothy Benjamin said. \u201cIn our meetings with them, they talk about the fact that they think it\u2019s a great idea that their students could participate in tutoring them.\u201d<\/p>\n Three officials with McGeorge contacted for this story did not respond to requests for comment on the idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n Libraries as the heartbeat of community<\/p>\n Ruth Finch\/CapRadio<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/the_sacramento_bee_1988_12_08_32.jpg\")
The Sacramento Bee covered the Oak Park Library’s consolidation in 1988.Courtesy of Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dscf6864.jpg\")
University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law owns the old library location on the corner of 33rd Street and 5th Avenue.Ruth Finch\/CapRadio<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dscf6881.jpg\")
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