New French Valley Library Gets Official Approval

FRENCH VALLEY, CA — Southwest Riverside County residents will soon have access to the first library in the French Valley region, after a vote of approval this week by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, officials announced.

On Tuesday, the board voted 4-0 to approve a public-private partnership to fund the French Valley Library, county officials said. Supervisor Jeff Hewitt was absent.

"For that person who says that libraries are a thing of the past: they don’t have their thumb on the pulse of their community," said Supervisor Chuck Washington, who represents French Valley and much of the SWR area. "They’re great gathering places, they’re great learning places, and I am so proud of what we are doing as a County with our library system."

Here's a bit more about the new library, via the County of Riverside:

The new French Valley Library will be located on the northeast corner of Winchester Road and Skyview Road in the unincorporated area of Riverside County. It will feature separate reading rooms for teens and young children, a community room, group study rooms, technology areas with charging stations and an opportunity room for pop-up exhibits and other events. In addition to the library, the lot also will have room for other commercial projects.

Economic Development Agency Director Rob Field said that while other public library systems have been reducing hours and closing branches, the Riverside County library system continues to grow successfully.

With 36 open branches and over four million patrons each year, Field said, “We would consider the expansion and improvement of the County library system to be a considerable success.”

The library will be developed by Omni West Group, Inc. and operated by the Riverside County Library System. The Board also approved new libraries in the cities of Menifee and Desert Hot Springs.