BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- It's been a long time coming. At last, the southwest Kern County Public Library is open to the community. "We are having our grand reopening celebration after a year of construction. So we're showing off our new facilities and our upgrades," Assistant Director of Libraries Shalyn Pineda said. Kern County Board of Education hears arguments on posting Ten Commandments in public classrooms Pineda said they faced significant delays throughout the reconstruction process. "We hit a few hiccups, but in order to really upgrade our safety and security features, we just needed a little more time." But now, a beautiful new, renovated library is the reward. It's one that people in the area have been waiting for a long time. "I'm super excited that it's back open because it was hard to get to the other library that was downtown," said Francesca Ochart who brought her daughter. Patience is a virtue as they say. Southwest Bakersfield resident Blanca Gonzalez says these renovations, along with some of the little details, made the wait well worth while. "We spent the whole year waiting, we were going to the one downtown, but we really missed the storytime here, and because it's closer to our house too. Overall it just looks more organized, the books seem more accessible for the kids, the shelves are lower. It just seems a lot better." But wait, there's more! This isn't the only library that's recently opened. Wife speaks out after Border Patrol agents arrest her husband "We've already opened our Holloway-Gonzales branch on Brundage in Bakersfield. We also have in progress our Lake Isabella branch, and our Taft branch and our Rosamond branch," the Assistant Director of Libraries said. 'What's with all the libraries?' I hear you asking in this age of information on the internet. Make no mistake, even now, libraries are still 'lit' and 'totally slap', as the kids would say. "For those who like to read on their phones, we actually have ebooks and audiobook apps for that where you don't have to buy them, you can get them from the library… it's also really important for community connection. Just the ability to connect with their neighbors and their community members… we always have events you can come to and interact with other people," Pineda added.