The Archibald Library's collection is scheduled to leave 7368 Archibald Ave. in spring 2027 and move to two renovated buildings at Lions Park on Base Line Road. There it will reopen as the Diane Williams Library at Lions Park. This won't be the library's first move between these two sites. In 1994 it went the other way.
In 1964 the San Bernardino County Library opened a branch on the Lions Club's property in Cucamonga. When the city opened its own library on Archibald Avenue in 1994, the old county branch it outgrew was on Base Line Road. The Filippi Room, on the northeast corner of Lions West, is the original county library room. The city's new library is going back to the spot where Cucamonga's first library stood, and a promise the Lions Club wrote into a property transfer more than 50 years ago is a big reason that spot was still available.
A lot that was promised to stay public
The Cucamonga District Host Lions Club tells the site's history in its own records:
- 1950. The Lions buy a five-acre lot on Base Line, two blocks from the old Growers Service and Supply Company. They clear the land, secure water rights, and dedicate the street along the west edge, still called Lions Street.
- 1964. The county asks for a library in Cucamonga. The club finances a building, negotiates an agreement with the county, and the San Bernardino County Library opens on the Lions' property.
- 1974. The county asks for a larger building. The Lions transfer the property and building to the county, with the stipulation that it "always must remain a community service facility."
- 1977. The new City of Rancho Cucamonga incorporates, and the county transfers the buildings and land to the city.
- 1998. Lions Center East is dedicated in January, and Lions Center West follows in October.
The club credits George Parker, a member for more than 40 years, with getting that community-service requirement into the 1974 transfer. It says his condition "paved the way for the eventual transfer from the county to the city." After the library left, the buildings stayed in public use as Lions Center East and West. The city says Lions Center activities were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and later moved to other Community Services locations. The site was emptied in 2024 to make way for construction.
When the city began looking for a new home for the west-side library in 2022, Library Services Director Wess Garcia told the Daily Bulletin that the Lions Center made sense in part because of "its previous use as the county library." "When we started looking at this it made sense to use the existing structures we had there and just activate them in a different way," he said.
The building on Archibald was never meant to be a library
Rancho Cucamonga left the San Bernardino County Library System in July 1994. The Archibald Library opened that September 24 in a building with an unusual history. "The building was designed to be a medical office, but it was never occupied. The city bought it and remodeled it," former library director Robert Karatsu told the Daily Bulletin in 2014. "When you look at it today, you can see, 'oh, examining room, examining room, doctor's office …'" It was about twice the size of the county branch on Base Line, which was enough for a new city library in 1994.
Three decades later, a city survey in early 2022 found the Archibald building didn't meet community needs. Concerns centered on where the children's area sat, how easy the library was to walk to, and how much room it had for community events. The building's systems were the harder problem. In September 2025, Garcia said it "was going to cost over $13 million or more just to fix up the Archibald Library" and get its mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems working for another 10 to 15 years.
Compare that with what the city is spending on the move. The city estimates the full Lions Park conversion at about $12 million. That's less than Garcia's repair estimate for Archibald, and according to the city, the Archibald site "lacks the capacity for meaningful expansion." In October 2022, the state's Building Forward Library Infrastructure Grant program awarded the project $6,498,126. The grant requires a 50% city match of $3,249,063. The city's project page puts it plainly: continuing to invest in the Archibald site "would not be fiscally responsible."
What the Lions buildings are turning into
Construction started on Monday, July 14, 2025. The plan keeps both Lions buildings, renovates their interiors, and adds a 2,240-square-foot enclosed, climate-controlled corridor to join them. County Supervisor Jesse Armendarez of the Second District contributed $1.2 million toward that corridor. The corridor carries out an idea Garcia described back in 2022, a walkway linking the two buildings "to create the image of one large space." Construction photos on the city's project page, posted in June and July 2026, show the corridor framing, the interior layout, and the entrance to a Friends of the Library bookstore.
The city's feature list addresses most of the complaints raised in the 2022 survey:
- A single-story layout, with ADA-compliant upgrades throughout
- A larger Library of Things. Garcia has said items like air fryers, microscopes, and tents will be easier to check out.
- An enlarged story theater and more programming space, indoors and outdoors
- More public study rooms and meeting areas
- New lighting, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems, plus new paint, windows, signage, pathways, and landscaping
The park next door is the biggest change from the Archibald setup. Garcia said more outdoor library events are planned because the new building opens onto Lions Park. The city chose the site for its walkability, too, calling it a "highly walkable location in an underserved area of the City that has not seen a new community facility in over 15 years."
Whose name goes over the door
The name was announced at this spring's State of the City, during a segment on current projects. Diane Williams was in the audience. Mayor Dennis Michael called her "a longtime and I almost want to say a forever library supporter."
Her record supports him. Williams was first elected to the Rancho Cucamonga City Council in 1990 and served seven four-year terms before retiring after 28 years. In 1984, ten years before the city had a library of its own, she helped start the Friends of the Library. That's why the Friends of the Library bookstore entrance in the city's construction photos fits the name. A library on the lot where the old county branch stood will carry the name of someone who backed local libraries before the city ran one.
What hasn't been decided yet
The city hasn't announced a closing date for the Archibald Library. Its project page says the branch will stay open "throughout most of the construction process," with the move planned for spring 2027. Garcia has said the library will give notice before Archibald closes so staff can pack and move the collection and equipment.
There also hasn't been any public word on what happens to the Archibald building. The last specific report found, from the Daily Bulletin in December 2022, said the city hadn't decided. The city's own project page is the place to watch for updates on both questions.
As of the Daily Bulletin's September 2025 report, these other city library locations were open while the Lions buildings are under construction:
- The Paul A. Biane Library
- The Randall Lewis Second Story and Beyond
- The 24/7 library at 10595 Town Center Drive
A new library brings changes to the streets around it, from foot traffic to park use and parking along Base Line. If you live on the west side and want to know what a project like the Diane Williams Library could mean for your street or your home's value, Hugo Rojas and the team at 1st Class Realty Group are happy to talk it through in English or Spanish. Schedule a free consultation and bring your questions.
