Officials Will Get Read on New Library

CANOGA PARK — Few would disagree that Canoga Park needs a new public library. The present one is too small, has too few computers and no children’s area--amenities patrons are used to finding at most other branches.

But its location and design are yet to be decided.

Because expansion of the old branch on Owensmouth Avenue north of Sherman Way is unfeasible, area residents are invited to a meeting tonight to discuss their ideas and preferences with Los Angeles Public Library officials and City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who represents the area.

“Getting information at the front end will produce a much better project,” Chick said.

The question of location is the most important consideration for several residents.

“We have to make it as accessible to as many people as possible, without losing the present base of library patrons,” said Leah Moses, president of the group Friends of the Canoga Park Library.

Ellen Michiel, executive director of the West Valley Community Development Corp., which provides low-income housing in Canoga Park, said the new library must be accessible to the area’s poor and to those who will walk there.

“It needs to be kept in this neighborhood,” Michiel said. “It’s a primary learning resource, especially for elementary and junior high youngsters.”

Five sites are being studied for the new library.

Chick, who visited most of the locations last week, said she considered several criteria when looking at the sites, including their affordability and proximity to schools and bus stops. Her staff also researched if the properties previously had such businesses as gas stations that may have polluted the sites with toxic materials.

According to Chick’s office, locations being considered include three properties--at 20937, 21024 and 21100 Sherman Way--that are currently used-car lots, and two vacant lots, one on the northeast corner of Canoga Avenue and Sherman Way, the other on the southwest corner of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Bassett Street.

Most residents agree that the present library is too small for the community of about 64,000 that it serves. The branch opened in 1960, and it shows. The building lacks accessibility for the disabled and a community meeting room. With no children’s area, rambunctious kids sometimes disturb adults who want to read quietly.

Gilda Thongchua, 37, said having a place reserved for children is a great idea. “My kids do make a lot of noise and I don’t want them to disturb people trying to study,” she said.

“It needs more books in Spanish” and educational videos, added Juan Carlos Regalado, 29.

Despite its deficiencies, the library remains a community gathering place, said Renee Ardon, the branch’s head librarian. She said a diverse group of immigrant and working-class families--including African Americans, Latinos, Vietnamese, Koreans and others--use the library and checked out more than 172,000 books in 1998.

“We don’t want to get too far from here,” Ardon said.

The proposed library, which will cost $5 million to build, will bring several improvements. At 12,500 square feet, it will be nearly double the size of the present building and will include seats for 160 people--three times the number now available.

It will feature reading lounges for adults, teens and children, along with a storytelling area for kids, said Brenda Breaux, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Public Library. There will also be a community room, a patio reading area and gallery exhibit space.

The new facility will increase the shelf capacity from 56,000 to 80,000 books and have 26 computers with access to the Internet and 500 electronic databases. In contrast, library patrons now commonly have to line up to use the six available computers, one of which is usually broken. The new building may also have a bookstore, Breaux said.

“It opens a whole world for people. A library gives a community a sense of pride and a sense of geographic boundaries,” Chick said. “In Los Angeles, especially in the Valley, we don’t have [enough] civic spaces, gathering spaces, a center for community life. This can be one of those anchors.”

Once the site is selected and purchased, Breaux said, the design phase will take about 14 months. Construction should start in two years, she said, and take about 1 1/2 years to complete.

The funding for the project comes from the $178-million Proposition DD bond voters approved last November. Twelve Valley libraries will be renovated, expanded or replaced through the bond.

Library patrons said they are optimistic about what the new library will bring to Canoga Park.

“It can be the shining star in the community,” Moses said.

Tonight’s meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Canoga Park Library, 7260 Owensmouth Ave. For information, call the library at (818) 887-0320.