Monterey Public Library
625 Pacific St., Monterey
646-3932, www.monterey.org/library
Libraries are one of those civic institutions that hold together and help define communities. But they wouldn’t do so if they didn’t engage people – and the Monterey Public Library is adept at that. It does so with a vast collection of books, movies, magazine, Internet stations and e-materials; a comfortable and sunlit environment; and an open space with room for teen gaming, history talks, religious debates and storytelling. The library took a budget hit that forced it to drop Sunday hours last year, but the community is rallying to restore them. The library has secured grants, is growing its endowment through the Community Foundation for Monterey County, and launched a mobile app that nets users plenty of online services. You can’t keep a good library down.