The first-ever "Rediscover Makiki" event tomorrow and Saturday will benefit Makiki Community Library, which is in need of money for operations and to buy new computers and other materials.

A blessing of the library, which closed three years ago for renovations, will be held at the kick-off of the "Rediscover" event tomorrow, and attendees will get a chance to take a peek at the renovated space for the first time since it was completed in March. But the official reopening of the library likely won't come until the end of the year, said library officials, because more money is needed for computers, electrical upgrades to the building and to hire a part-time librarian.

Proceeds from the "Rediscover" event at Makiki District Park will go to the community library, said Ron Paik, president of the library's board of directors. The event will feature free entertainment and movies on big screens, plus a slew of food vendors.

Makiki Community Library has been closed since September 2005.

It is the only library in the state run by volunteers and donations, and gets its space free from the city at Makiki District Park. The city also funded renovations to the library, which took much longer than originally planned because of structural issues at the site.

Paik said a priority for the library is to install ceiling fans, since it is not air-conditioned. He also said the library wants to offer more community services than it has in the past, and more computers for patron use.

"We need to reinvent ourself," Paik said. "We'd like to create a learning center, but right now we only have two aging computers."

Since renovations at the library were finished, dozens of volunteers have been working to go through the inventory of books, clearing out obsolete editions or less-read titles.

At the "Rediscover" event, some of those books and other items will be for sale.