Officials break ground on new, state-of-the-art West Las Vegas Library

Nevada Public Radio
By Kristen DeSilva

Hundreds of people usually don’t turn out at a ceremony announcing a new library, but that was the case in the Historic Westside Tuesday. Officials broke ground on the new West Las Vegas Library, slated to open in fall 2025.

The new library, on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, will be more than 40,000 square feet with state-of-the-art upgrades, featuring an events center, STEAM activities, after-school tutoring and much more.

Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear represents the Westside and has been the face of the area’s Historic Urban Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan. He said it’s making a difference in the underserved community.

“I'm a longtime resident, born and raised here. I would go to the meetings, we were talking about what we want to do, what we want to be when we grow up. And nothing ever happened, unfortunately. But we are changing that, we are on solid footing.”

Claytee White directs UNLV’s Oral History Research Center.

“Now we will have the most beautiful, the most innovative one in the system with books, a business incubator, books, makerspace, all kinds of newfangled assets for our community, and books. This will be the library of the present and the future.”

This library replaces the current, much smaller, West Las Vegas Library, built in 1989. The area's first library opened in 1973, spearheaded by activist Ruby Duncan.

Construction is expected to start in March.