{"id":410919,"date":"2026-07-24T16:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410919\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T16:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T16:39:09","slug":"libraries-are-here-to-stay-how-the-campbell-renovation-is-keeping-the-library-relevant-the-mercury-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410919\/","title":{"rendered":"Libraries are here to stay: How the Campbell renovation is keeping the library relevant \u2013 The Mercury News"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Campbell Library reopened its doors in early May<\/a> after a renovation, eager patrons checked out more than 5,000 books, DVDs, CDs and other materials from the mostly brand-new collection on the first day alone.<\/p>\n

Originally built in 1975, the library, located in downtown Campbell, was the last in the 8-library Santa Clara County Library District system to undergo a significant overhaul. The new space has floor-to-ceiling windows that let natural light shine in and more community and meeting spaces than the original. The children\u2019s section now features a play space, which the library district has increasingly incorporated into its different branches<\/a>, to draw families with children into the library and help them build early literacy skills.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Santa Clara County libraries roll out summer reading program<\/a><\/p>\n

The library\u2019s reopening comes at a time when Campbell Community Librarian Nichole King said the county\u2019s libraries are \u201cbusier than ever,\u201d and libraries are seeing a resurgence in a post-pandemic world that lacks \u201cthird places\u201d for people to gather which aren\u2019t their home or work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe library is that kind of last free indoor space for whatever you might need,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

The Bay Area News Group caught up with King to learn more about the library\u2019s renovation and how the district continues to evolve. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n

Q: What\u2019s your favorite part about being a librarian?<\/p>\n

A: One thing I heard a lot, even when e-books became really popular, was that libraries were not going to be relevant anymore \u2014 people weren\u2019t going to want to read regular books. People aren\u2019t going to want to go to the library. Libraries are going to shut down. So I think my favorite thing about working at the library is it always will be relevant. It\u2019s kind of like a big ha-ha to all those people. I like the library\u2019s ability to adapt \u2014 to pivot to whatever the community is in need of at that moment. So for example, maybe physical book circulation is down a little bit, well maybe what we need to do is put more money into e-books. Or maybe we don\u2019t need as much quiet study space because people like to collaborate more, so we have more meeting rooms. My favorite thing about working at the library is its ability to adapt to whatever the community needs and stay relevant.<\/p>\n

Q: How do you keep the library relevant in a time when people were expecting library patronage to decrease?<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The entrance to the Campbell Library in Campbell, Calif., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Nichole<\/p>\n

Nichole King, the Campbell Community Librarian, poses for a photograph in the Campbell Library in Campbell, Calif., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The City of Campbell won’t be hosting its summer concert series this year due to the ongoing renovation of the Campbell Library, seen here, and construction of the new Campbell Police Department facility. The series normally takes place on the Orchard City Green in front of the Ainsley House, adjacent to both construction sites. (Courtesy photo)<\/p>\n

\"Nichole<\/p>\n

Nichole King, the Campbell Community Librarian, poses for a photograph in the Campbell Library in Campbell, Calif., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Campbell Library, photographed in January 2026, is set to reopen after a multi-year, transformational remodel on May 9, 2026. (Sal Pizarro\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Reading<\/p>\n

Reading the room: An adult onlooker holds items from the children\u2019s section of the new Campbell Library as families check out Dreamy Downtown at the May 9 grand opening. Dreamy Downtown is the sixth Storybook children\u2019s early learning play space in the Santa Clara County Library District. After raising $250,000 toward materials and programming for the new library, the Friends of the Campbell Library are continuing to take donations for the group\u2019s \u201cLove Our Library\u201d campaign through May 31. (Photo by Anne Gelhaus)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 6<\/p>\n

The entrance to the Campbell Library in Campbell, Calif., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0We\u2019re very in tune with what (patrons) want or what they\u2019re into. For me, I know Campbell is a very young community. There\u2019s a lot of families and lots of kids under the age of five. I want to make sure that we have storytimes and programs for those ages and those parents, because I know they are who is in our community. I think that is what has helped with the resurgence and the popularity of libraries. Not only are we offering books, but we also offer things relevant to their lives regardless of age.<\/p>\n

Q: What can people expect in the new Campbell library?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A: All of the libraries in the county library district will eventually have a play space. There is really no indoor place for kids to play that\u2019s free. We\u2019ve designed all of our play spaces to include early literacy skills. The play space is really optimal for ages 0 to 10. We want to make sure that while they\u2019re playing, they\u2019re connecting playing with literacy and reading.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also able to offer more programming in this new space than before. It almost doubles our ability to have programs for patrons.<\/p>\n

We had to adjust some of our collections because traditionally we had a pretty robust CD collection in the old building. It took up quite a significant amount of space, but the circulation was quite low. In designing the building, we were trying to figure out how we could get the most bang for our buck. We knew that people were looking for places to sit, study and collaborate. We could probably serve more of the community. One of the benefits of being part of such a large system IS people do still have access to the CD collection. They just have to put them on hold and get them from one of our other locations.<\/p>\n

Another kind of space-saving thing is that we\u2019re the only library in the system that\u2019s laptop only. I\u2019ve noticed a decline too in the number of people who are accessing our desktops at other libraries before I was at Campbell. Patrons can use their library card, check out a laptop and go anywhere in the library, which makes it easier for them to use those bright spaces and areas that have that nice furniture. They\u2019re not stuck sitting at a desktop.<\/p>\n

Q: What are some things that the library provides that people might be surprised about?<\/p>\n

A: I think a lot of our e-resources are very surprising to people. We have various online resources that are not necessarily to replace our physical items, but more to supplement. A lot of people are very surprised that you can actually read every magazine<\/a> \u2014 more magazines than we would have the capacity to even hold in the library \u2014 on a virtual app through the library instantly. We carry a lot of our magazines and newspapers in different languages, as well, because those are challenging to get physically, but we\u2019re still able to offer those to patrons virtually or online. For our online offerings like Kanopy and Hoopla<\/a>, you can also stream lots of movies, series and documentaries.<\/p>\n

I think patrons are also very surprised about all the different programs we offer<\/a> \u2014 you can learn about gardening, you can learn how to sew.<\/p>\n

NICHOLE KING PROFILE<\/p>\n

Company: Santa Clara County Library District<\/p>\n

Role: Campbell Community Library<\/p>\n

Age: 46<\/p>\n

Birthplace: Santa Clara<\/p>\n

Current City: San Jose<\/p>\n

Education: B.S in molecular biology, M.L.I.S., both from SJSU<\/p>\n

FIVE FACTS ABOUT NICHOLE KING<\/p>\n

My favorite place to hike is Castle Rock.
\nA goal of mine is to see as many national parks as possible, starting this summer with Yellowstone.
\nI have been a San Jose Sharks fan for over 20 years.
\nOne of my favorite things to do is watch my sons play sports. One plays ice hockey, and another plays flag football.
\nI spend a lot of time with my dogs, a pug named Timo and a Jindo mix named Molly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Campbell Library reopened its doors in early May after a renovation, eager patrons checked out more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,647,7,185,15,181,16229,23,100,88,90,89,198,200,23192,420],"class_list":["post-410919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bay-area","tag-books","tag-california","tag-campbell","tag-education","tag-latest-headlines","tag-libraries","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay","tag-sv-chat","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}