In five years, El Gabilan Library has shown the value of breaking with tradition.

In a county with a rich history, a five-year anniversary may not sound like much. But El Gabilan Library in North Salinas, part of the Salinas Public Library system, has a lot to celebrate. 

To start with, its numbers are impressive. El Gabilan is the most frequented of all three branches of SPL. It has 75,000 visitors each year, lending about 111,000 items annually. Last year it held over 200 community events attended by nearly 10,000 people.  

According to Deputy Librarian Tim Kuelker and Community Education Manager Ernesto Lizaola, this success is due not only to the actual need, but also because of its modern concept. 

“Traditional libraries used to be just stacks of books,” Kuelker says. “People would come, check out a book and then you’d be out within 15 minutes. Now libraries are community places where you come to learn, to hang out, to study, to socialize.” These days visitors spend on average two hours in the building. 

The children’s section and youth activities are the most popular, with storytimes drawing the largest audiences. The teen section has a lot of traffic, too. Both sections are located on the first floor, which is louder than a traditional library, with more activities and buzz happening.

Before the new building was constructed, storytimes used to take over the whole library, disrupting other users. Now, the quiet upstairs has multiple study rooms that can serve families or small groups. Both levels have patios—the downstairs one with nice grass to sit on; the upstairs deck could compete with a rooftop restaurant. 

Saturday is the busiest day of the week, but many students come to El Gabilan after school to study and get their homework done. The older readers come to read newspapers. 

In addition to library events, many organizations use the library. Some programs assist people studying English or working toward becoming a citizen. There are literacy programs and a large community room where the biggest events take place. There are even exercising machines if you think you can read and work out at the same time.

A future goal is to have a room where members of the public can use a 3D printer or make a T-shirt.

The fifth-year anniversary event will feel more like a party than a traditional library, with food trucks, storytime, birthday cake, crafts and more.  

El Gabilan Library fifth anniversary celebration 11am-3pm Saturday, March 1. 1400 N. Main St., Salinas. Free. 758-7302, salinaspubliclibrary.org.