\u201cThis branch was a lifesaver,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a lot of support through college, so it felt personal when they closed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
To Rivera, the Benjamin Franklin Library acted as an anchor. Raised between Orange County, Los Angeles and Mexico, her parents brought her to the branch when she was a child and it became a safe haven for her while she attended East L.A. College.<\/p>\n
Now, a stay-at-home mother, Rivera is turning her frustration into action by forming a new Friends of the Library group in Boyle Heights<\/a>, an effort to advocate for the unique needs of three public library branches serving the neighborhood: Benjamin Franklin, Malabar and Stevenson.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a group actually born out of anger and frustration\u2026 We\u2019re building one out of how neglected we are as a neighborhood,\u201d Rivera said.<\/p>\n A library in need<\/p>\n Friends of Library groups are nonprofit organizations that work to increase community engagement with library services, provide volunteer support and advocate for the financial support of the branches they represent. According to the Los Angeles Public Library, there are more than 60 active Friends of the Library groups across the city\u00a0<\/a>that each raise funds through book sales to raise money for the branches.<\/p>\n While many of these groups are sometimes focused on fundraising through book sales, Rivera says she feels there is much more at stake for libraries throughout Boyle Heights.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to concentrate less on book sales and maybe more on like grant writing, because I think that yields the bigger game,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n About a dozen members, including three board members, are now behind the group. Next, Rivera is working to formalize the Friends of the Boyle Heights Libraries\u2019 status as a nonprofit organization and recruit more members.<\/p>\n Rivera often sets up outside the closed library to talk to passersby, many of whom are unaware of the library\u2019s closure. She carries a volunteer sign-up sheet and answers questions about the library\u2019s ongoing delays.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of them were like, \u2018Of course, this happens to us all the time in many different ways.\u2019 It always feels like we\u2019re last to know and the first to be forgotten,\u201d Rivera said.<\/p>\n Residents attempt to access the now-closed temporary bungalow at the Benjamin Franklin Library on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025.<\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Andrew Lopez<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Boyle Heights Beat<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n Elected officials step in<\/p>\n Since the 2020 closure, the library has faced delays tied to staffing shortages, environmental and historical assessments and a disruption in funding, according to the Bureau of Engineering, which oversees the planning and design of city infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n L.A. City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado is pushing for accountability. In one of her first motions, she requested a report detailing setbacks<\/a> and project updates.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a key city service that is a lifeline for Angelenos, especially working-class folks of color and Boyle Heights deserves it just as much as anybody else,\u201d Jurado said in an interview with Boyle Heights Beat.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/scpr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/5143533\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/780x520+0+0\/resize\/780x520!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F50%2Fda%2F48c07f47466f86e988439dc98e0a%2Fbhb-friends-of-library.JPEG\")
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