The former Cesar Chavez Library in Phoenix is now the Prickly Pear Library.
That was the overwhelming favorite from a public survey out of five desert flora names. Phoenix City Council approved the name on Wednesday through a unanimous consent agenda vote.
City council voted in March to strip Cesar Chavez’s name from all city property after allegations emerged that the labor leader sexually abused girls and women. In the interim, the library branch southwest of 35th Avenue and Baseline Road, has been called the Library in Laveen.
The former Cesar Chavez Library in Phoenix is now the Prickly Pear Library.
(Courtesy city of Phoenix)
Prickly Pear received more than twice as many votes as any other option in the survey, which received more than 6,000 responses. The final tally was:
Prickly Pear: 2,775
Manzanita: 1,379
Creosote: 845
Senita: 809
Chaparral: 355
One member of the Phoenix Heritage Commission was opposed to the new name during the commission’s meeting on Monday. The commission reviews the naming processes for all city facilities except for the Parks Department, which has its own process.
Library staff at the Cesar Chavez Library (now Prickly Pear Library) pose for a photo in their Halloween costumes in 2022.
(Courtesy Phoenix Public Library)
Commissioner Keely Varvel Hartsell thanked the library staff for their work in the naming process, noting that 6,000 survey responses are not easy to come by. However, she felt the public was not fully able to give input because all of the options were desert flora. She would have liked to see an option to keep the theme a name that in some way honors the farmworkers movement.
“The other side hasn’t been as explored as I personally would like, but I understand if others want to proceed,” Varvel Hartsell said during Monday’s commission meeting.
Library Services Director Erin MacFarlane explained that the advisory board established a policy in the early 1960s to name all new library branches after desert flora.
She agreed that she and her staff “do not want to take something away” from the farmworkers movement. She said the library is an educational institution that can heavily feature the history of the farmworkers movement at the Prickly Pear Library even if it isn’t in the name. There can be a permanent educational display, they can commission an artist to make a mural or other piece of art commemorating the movement as well as host educational programming or evolving displays about it.
A display of books about Cesar Chavez is on display at Phoenix's Cesar Chavez Library (now Prickly Pear Library) branch in 2022.
(Courtesy Phoenix Public Library)
MacFarlane also mentioned that library staff met with staff for both council districts and the mayor’s office about the list of candidate names for the library. They also sought feedback from the nearby Cactus Canyon High School and from people visiting the library.
Members of the Heritage Commission noted that the survey for the renaming of Cesar Chavez Park, next door to the library, does include an option for Farmworkers Park. City staff said that is because Parks Department naming is not under the Heritage Commission and not bound by the same rules.
There are four examples of Phoenix library branches that broke from the trend of desert flora names: the formerly named Cesar Chavez Library, which opened in 2007, Burton Barr Central Library, which opened in 1995, Harmon Library, which opened in 2009, and South Mountain Community Library, which opened in 2011 in partnership with South Mountain Community College.
City council voted in March to rename the March 31, 2026, holiday from Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day. However, the vote only applied to the single holiday. Further council action will be needed to rename future iterations of the holiday, whether with the same name or another.
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Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.
Community: Mark enjoys taking his two young sons to parks, the Phoenix Zoo, the Phoenix Public Library and other fun events around the Valley. He also participates in a local book club.
Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.
Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.
Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, sons and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.
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