Manhattan Beach Library Commission reviews rising circulation and program attendance
The local branch logged 172,291 visitors and held 283 programs in FY 2025–2026, while staff reported growing demand for books and events.
Two hosts walk through the week’s edition in conversation — library report, council reports on closed-session discussions, and what’s coming next. Generated by Aware, from this week’s verified summaries.
The Manhattan Beach Library Commission heard that circulation rose 21.58% and program attendance climbed 26%, even as temporary closures reduced visitor counts.
More people checked out books, even as closures cut visits. Library staff told the Manhattan Beach Library Commission that the local branch circulated 231,372 books in FY 2025–2026, up 21.58% from the prior year. Staff counted 172,291 visitors, 64,560 holds and almost 3,500 new library cards. The report reached the commission later than planned because it lacked a quorum in July.
The branch held 283 programs, a 13% increase, and drew approximately 12,000 attendees. Attendance rose 26%. Staff said the speaker series had brought in many people and helped shape related events. Family offerings included story times with a fire truck and a trash truck, outdoor story time and children’s crafts. An Oreo tasting drew about 80 people and had one of the highest registration counts, staff said.
Visitor numbers fell slightly despite those gains. Staff attributed the decline to closures for HVAC issues and furniture installation, which left missing days in the annual count. They described a January spike tied to New Year’s resolutions and a slower September as families adjusted to school schedules. Looking ahead, staff discussed a murder mystery program linked to the speaker series and said they were planning more events around upcoming speakers.
Council reports on closed-session discussions
The Manhattan Beach City Council went into closed session after public comments ended. The mayor said any open-session items discussed there would be announced afterward. The City Attorney said three items were on the closed-session agenda. The available account did not identify their subjects or describe what the Council expected to address in each one.
When the Manhattan Beach City Council reported back, it said it had discussed two items and given direction on the first. No reportable action was announced. The account did not spell out the direction, describe the second discussion or say what happened with the third scheduled item. It therefore gives no stated outcome for a particular city project or policy.
Fire residents tracking the meeting, the public account establishes a limited sequence: three items were scheduled, two were discussed and direction was given on one. It does not provide details of the discussion or an announced decision. No further public discussion of those items appears in the available account, leaving the Council’s report as the only description of that portion of the meeting.
Library Commission hears no public comments
The Manhattan Beach Library Commission opened its public comment period, but no one spoke. The chair checked for people waiting to speak and for raised hands online before closing the period without comments.
Residents made no requests or statements during this comment period, so the commission had no public remarks to address.
City Council extends meeting past 11 p.m.
The Manhattan Beach City Council voted to keep its meeting going past 10:30 p.m., then voted again to continue past 11:00 p.m. The extensions gave the Council time to finish remaining agenda items, including fiscal year closeout actions.
The extra time allowed the Council to continue work on fiscal year closeout items that night.
City Council receives no opening public comments
The Manhattan Beach City Council opened its public comment period after agenda approval, but no one spoke. The mayor asked for speakers in chambers and online, then closed the period when none came forward.
No resident raised a topic or made a request during the Council’s opening comment period.
Library Commission reviews StoryWalk installation and committee work
The Manhattan Beach Library Commission heard that laminated StoryWalk books had been picked up for installation and that members were considering UV protection for future pages. The chair said work on the completed needs assessment had shifted to surplus funds and reminded commissioners of meeting and communication rules.
UV protection could help the outdoor books last longer, while the surplus-funds work remains pending.
What we didn’t fit in this Sundays edition
MANHATTAN BEACH had 2 more items this week. Here are sixfour — the rest are on Aware.
- GOVERNANCECommunity organization announcements and upcoming events. City staff and community representatives announced upcoming events including composting and shredding events, the pumpkin race and Halloween carnival, a public art master plan input event, a firefighters pancake breakfast, United Against Hate Week programming, a library murder mystery, and police events on El Niño preparedness and a trunk-or-treat.
- GOVERNANCEPublic hearing and introduction of omnibus zoning code and Local Coastal Program text amendments. The Council held a public hearing and introduced Ordinance No. 26-000012 to implement omnibus zone text amendments to Title 10 and the Local Coastal Program, described as housekeeping and clarifying changes. The ordinance was introduced with minor corrections and passed unanimously.
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No resident comments recorded this week.