The Katie Wheeler Library in Irvine might not be closing after all — at least not through 2029.
The city of Irvine can lease the library branch from the county until the end of the decade for slightly more than $30,000 per month. The City Council will consider the lease on Tuesday, Jan 14.
In 2024, Irvine officials said the county had plans to permanently close the Katie Wheeler later in the year once the city exits the Orange County Public Library system this summer to set up its own municipal library system.
That transition has already begun. Irvine hired its first city librarian, Julie Zeoli, in November. The new city department, Irvine Public Libraries, will open on July 1.
County libraries at Heritage Park and University Park will temporarily close from mid-May through June as the county moves out and the city takes over operations.
The third county library in Irvine, Katie Wheeler, had been slated to close for good this summer. The lease agreement does not say whether the branch would also temporarily close in early summer as part of the change in library systems.
The Katie Wheeler Branch sits inside the Irvine Ranch Historic Park, a county park.
If this lease is approved, the county will continue to own and operate the park while enabling the city to incorporate the library building into its new library system.
“This lease provides the city time to continue maturing its city-wide library system and develop plans for appropriate branch facilities that are owned and operated by the city,” an Irvine staff report says. The lease agreement would also allow the city and the county to negotiate an extension to the lease term.
Irvine officials have said plans are underway to improve and expand library facilities across the city, including adding new library locations and offering new services that meet the needs of more neighborhoods.
“Initial signs are pointing to having one main library,” Chris Slama, director of community services, said last summer, “and up to four to six branches throughout the city.”
