Library Tour: Bonita-Sunnyside Library
Our 5th stop in my library tour took me to the first library I'm visiting that is part of the San Diego County Library system!
Bonita, California is tucked between Chula Vista, National City, and the city of San Diego. Most people living in the South Bay most likely know of this area because of either Plaza Bonita mall (one of the few closed malls in San Diego county) or the horses. You can often see horse owners riding their horses on the trails or around the Chula Vista Municipal Golf Course which is where the Bonita-Sunnyside Library is located.
The Bonita-Sunnyside Library was first founded in 1994 and was remodeled in 2020. The library facility has a lot of large windows that allow a lot of natural lighting to shine in and views of the Chula Vista golf course. When you walk inside the library it kind of feels more like an marketplace which was done by design. The design is clean, open, and has a lot of brights pops of color and fun design elements.
This library may not be as big as some of the libraries I’ve documented so far in my tour but it still offers a wide selection of books in English and Spanish, a wide selection of DVDs and Blu-rays, 3D printers you can use, a large children's area that has it’s own circulation desk, and a teens area with large tables for study groups. There is also a very cozy area that has a fire place if you prefer to curl up and read a book. If that’s not your cup of tea, there are plenty of seating options around the library in case you want to study or just do some light reading.
The manga section is located near the teens area on two bookshelves which has graphic novels, American comics, and manga. If you’re specifically looking for manga, their selection isn’t the best in my opinion but there is plenty of room for them to grow that collection.
Part of me does wish they would separate the manga from the comics and graphic novels since having everything mixed together made browsing for manga just a bit unpleasant because of the size differences. Some of the manga volumes are just so much smaller in comparison, so they toppled down on the shelves quite easily.
In terms of manga series, they do have some modern shounen series like Spy x Family, Jujutsu Kaisen, and One Punch Man. As for shoujo series, I did find Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite which I recently reviewed, and some of my favorites like Fruits Basket and Sailor Moon. I did find Kimi Ni Todoke but what they had was in Japanese.
Although this manga section was on the smaller side, there is plenty of space for it to grow! I really enjoyed spending time at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library and reading here. I will be reviewing the drama Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms very soon. This was a title that stood out to me while browsing their section and I’m so glad I got the chance to read it.
You can follow my library tour on YouTube and TikTok!
4375 Bonita Road
Bonita, CA 91902