Margaret Coleman - The path to becoming a Library trustee

Even before starting kindergarten, Margaret Coleman realized that libraries represented freedom and access to the outside world, a chance to experience life outside of the usual perimeters. At five and a half years old, she had her own library card growing up in Claremont. 

Fifteen years ago, Coleman rescued a local library in Culver City. She encouraged 600 students at her elementary school to write handwritten letters to then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. As a result, the library remained open five-days-a-week and no librarians lost their jobs.

 For Coleman, it’s been a long journey that finally ended with her appointment in 2017 to the board as president for the Beaumont Library District. Her term expires in 2026.

Expanding the Library for future generations

About a year and a half ago, Coleman retired as an elementary school teacher in Culver City and moved to Cherry Valley.

Coleman first got interested in the Beaumont Library after seeing Children’s Librarian Nell Secor reading to youngsters in Oak Glen. The children were enjoying an outdoor storytime program called Step Outside And Read (SOAR.) It’s a cooperative effort by the Library and the Wildlands Conservancy at Los Rios Rancho. 

At 61, Coleman dreams of expanding the Library to make room for a larger collection and to create separate areas for elementary students, teenagers and adults. A homework center could be another valuable addition, she says. 

“My job as a public servant is to give everyone a reason to come to the Library and discover something new.”