In folding chairs with books in hand, Iciar Rivera and her three young children sat in the shade of the ficus trees outside the recently shuttered Benjamin Franklin Library bungalow.

A handmade sign affixed to the nearby wall read: ¡Abran Franklin Ya! — Open Franklin Now.

For Rivera, 40, this wasn’t just an act of protest — it was a call to action. Her local library has been in limbo since 2020, when its main building shut down during the pandemic and remained closed for renovations. A temporary bungalow served the community for three years, until it too closed on Aug. 1, leaving residents with no immediate library access . Now, the library isn’t expected to open until 2027.

“This branch was a lifesaver,” Rivera said. “I didn’t have a lot of support through college, so it felt person

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