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The new library project received a significant endorsement with the gift of $2,000,000
by Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Annenberg for the purchase of a prime nine acre
parcel on Highway 111. The result would be a totally new building, incorporating
original ideas for comfort, aesthetics, and technologies to provide outstanding
service to the community. This building was dedicated in January, 2006, exactly
ten years following the first opening in 1996.
With an expansive Community Room the Library has become a major cultural
center serving all area residents. The awards for service continue to arrive and
by all measures the Rancho Mirage Public Library ranks in the top tier of public
libraries in California and the nation.
The Rancho Mirage Public Library is an excellent example of an important cultural
asset which was developed by a supportive City Council in response to an expressed
community desire. Its success has been possible by careful management of civic
resources and by generous private support in volunteer effort and financial gifts.
Fundraising for the Library has always been instrumental to its success,
supplementing City funding with private gifts. From 1995 – 2010 the Friends of
the Library led fundraising. In 2010, the City Council established the Library’s
Foundation to take on that effort.
The Library has benefited from sound administration and prudent management for
its twenty years of service. Tom Johnson served as Library Director, 1995-2006,
followed by Betty Teoman, then Interim Director Susan Cook, and David Bryant,
2008 through the present. All have had the solid endorsement of the City Council,
serving as Library Board. All these Directors have been encouraged to offer a
Library meeting the high standards that mark Rancho Mirage but also to foster
dynamic ideas to further the Library experience for all 350,000 visitors annually and
the million more who use the Library’s impressive website each year.
For twenty years, Rancho Mirage Public Library has been a leading library. That
progressive tradition continues into the future. In 2015, a major solar project took
the Library off the grid with electricity generated on site. During 2016, the Library will
offer special programs, exhibits, and more to celebrate its first two decades. Also
in 2016 you will see construction of the City Observatory on the west side of our
campus. A telescope pointing to the stars is perfectly emblematic of the Rancho
Mirage Public Library as a dynamic center for learning with an unlimited future.
Rancho Mirage Public Library, where everything is possible!
David Bryant
Dr. Charles Monell
Presented by the Rancho Mirage Public Library Foundation