I am thrilled to be writing you for the first time as President of the Friends of the Palisades Library. It is a true honor to be of service to the community, leading this incredible group as we write the next chapter of the Palisades Library. I also want to acknowledge the exceptionally thoughtful and devoted stewardship provided by immediate past President Laura Schneider and previously serving board members.
A bit about me. My love for libraries goes back to my childhood in Pasadena, where I spent endless hours tucked away with a good book in the corner of my local public library, the first neighborhood spot to which I was allowed to walk on my own.
My husband Bart and I moved to the Palisades in June 2015 and grew our family to include son Felix, 10, and daughter Polly, 4. Both children attended local schools and enjoyed many hours at the library, the park, the baseball fields and gymnastics classes. Like many of you, we lost our home to the fires in January and continue to grieve not only our home but also our community.
As we look forward, though, I am truly excited by what’s to come as our town rebuilds. For our beloved library, a temporary bungalow will be available while LAPL develops the roadmap for our new, permanent space. Our library is a critical beacon of the community and the true heart of the Palisades, a place not only to nurture a love for reading but also to gather for community connection, inspiration and support.
As you might imagine, we have been eagerly awaiting word from LAPL about the date that the temporary bungalow space will be ready for use. We are still working with the “Fall” time frame mentioned in the July newsletter, however in the coming weeks, I hope we will be able to share more specifics about timing, services and programming.
To date, we have been told that our temporary space will consist of one 60′ by 60′ bungalow that will house the public library space and a community room. There will also be “holds” lockers that will be able to be accessed at any time to pick up books reserved online, as well as computers, scanners and printers. LAPL is tentatively anticipating five days of service staffing, Tuesday – Saturday, with limited hours.
I visit the Palisades at least once a week and I continue to be heartened by the progress I see. CVS, Temescal Canyon, the playground and the rec center have all re-opened. Calvary Christian and Marquez Charter Elementary schools will be back on campus this Fall.
I even picked up some new glasses from Dr. Polan’s office, and it’s certainly much easier to write this letter now that I can see again! I look forward to the day when we will be together again at the library and I can get to know each of you in person but until then, please feel free to reach out to say hello.
With gratitude and great hope for the future,
Cameron Pfizenmaier