Walnut Creek proclaims Fair Housing Month and National Library Week; library staff report rising use and planned branch upgrades

Mayor Kevin Wilk used the April 21 meeting to read and sign proclamations recognizing April 2026 as Fair Housing Month and declaring the week as National Library Week. Raquel Gonzalez of Echo Housing Forward accepted the Fair Housing proclamation and recounted Echo Housing’s local history and the national Fair Housing Act anniversary.

Contra Costa library managers provided a year-in-review. Ally Bernback, manager of the Ignacio Valley Library, said circulation of library materials is up about 9% year over year and digital circulation rose about 39%; she said the system circulated more than 7,000,000 items in the past year. Library staff also highlighted countywide programs — a Rolling Reader early-literacy van that served more than 11,000 people, expanded language collections and summer reading and meal-service programs that served thousands of children — and thanked local partners including the Walnut Creek Library Foundation and Friends groups.

Library staff also told the council the Ignacio Valley Library will undergo deferred-maintenance capital upgrades — a new HVAC system, roof and electrical work — and is expected to close for roughly eight to ten months when work begins. Staff said they will reassign workers to other branches during the closure and return with improved systems when the project finishes.

Council and residents thanked library staff and volunteers and promoted upcoming events including the summer reading program beginning in June.