Mayor David Bieter on Wednesday presided over the ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremonies for the new Library! at Collister, Boise’s first neighborhood library and its first new full-service library facility in more than 30 years.

Members of the Boise City Council, Boise Public Library Board of Trustees, Friends of the Library and area neighborhood associations joined in the celebration at the new facility, located in the Collister Shopping Center. Council President David Eberle, Library Board President Jim Thompson, and architect Dwaine Carver of Trout Architects joined Mayor Bieter in addressing the audience at the event.

“Every so often in the life of a city, an event occurs that’s truly worthy of the word landmark,” the mayor said. “We’ve arrived at such a moment. This new facility is the first step in addressing Boise’s longstanding deficit in library services. And it’s the fulfillment of our promise to deliver municipal services, whenever possible, at the neighborhood level.”

The 7,955-square-foot facility includes the full range of library offerings, including 15,000 books, movies, music and other materials; a children’s area with programs for young readers; reference services and staff to assist with information requests; 32 public computers with Internet access, as well as wireless service; two public meeting rooms with full audio-visual services, capable of accommodating groups of 10 to 40 people; and a “living room” area for reading, socializing and coffee.

The Library! at Collister is the first of four new branch libraries currently under development. The second, another “storefront”-style library in the Hillcrest Shopping Center, is scheduled to open in March. The third, a larger “free-standing” facility, is now in the design phase and is set for completion in May 2009. The fourth, at Bown Crossing, is tentatively expected to open in 2010. All of these facilities are being built and operated using existing and projected city resources, with no additional tax increases.