Leanne Pinault helps her daughter Presley, 8, with vocabulary lessons in the new West Henderson Library branch on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Councilman Dan Shaw, center, speaks at the debut of the new West Henderson Library branch on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson, as Marcie Smedley, Henderson Libraries executive director, left, and David Ortlipp, chairman of the Henderson Library board of trustees, right, look on. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Community members listen as Councilman Dan Shaw speaks at the debut of the new West Henderson Library branch on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Councilman Dan Shaw shakes hands with Marcie Smedley, Henderson Libraries executive director, at the grand opening of the new West Henderson Library branch on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson, as David Ortlipp, chairman of the Henderson Library board of trustees, right, looks on. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
David Ortlipp, chairman of the Henderson Library board of trustees, speaks at the debut of the new West Henderson Library branch on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
David Ortlipp, chairman of the Henderson Library board of trustees, cuts the ribbon for the grand opening of new West Henderson Library branch on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Henderson Libraries debut a new library branch with a ribbon cutting and activities on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Henderson Libraries celebrate the grand opening of a new library branch with a ribbon cutting and activities on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Tia Owens, right, shows a book to her daughter Melody, 2, in the new Henderson Library branch during grand opening on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Parker Pinault, 7, reads at the grand opening of the West Henderson Library branch on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
Henderson Libraries celebrate the grand opening of a new library branch with a ribbon cutting and activities on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in West Henderson. (Amaya Edwards/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @amayaedw5
The Henderson library system has opened a new branch in the quickly growing west area of the city.
A ribbon cutting was held Tuesday at West Henderson Library, 3243 Bicentennial Parkway. The event included western-themed activities such as a photo booth, crafts and games.
Henderson Libraries is leasing a 3,500-square-foot facility in the Bicentennial Marketplace at the corner of Bicentennial Parkway and Via Contessa. Community members have been using the space since a soft opening in late July.
“The ability to immerse ourselves into the growing West Henderson community makes this a unique opportunity,” West Henderson Library Manager Shakita Kirkland said in a news release. “Our location and smaller footprint allow the West Henderson Library team to effortlessly build and nurture relationships across multiple service points, but more importantly, demographics.”
Henderson Libraries Executive Director Marcie Smedley said in the news release that it’s the first time in 20 years that a branch has opened “to provide services where none existed before.”
“We’re thrilled to be a part of the quickly growing, dynamic community that is West Henderson,” she said.
The West Henderson branch is among five operated by Henderson Libraries. The new branch has six employees, and one additional position will be added within the next year.
The new branch opening comes about a decade after the library system closed two branches — Galleria and Lydia Malcolm — in 2012 after voters rejected a ballot question that called for a tax rate increase in response to budget shortfalls.
