City hosts grand opening
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

New library opens in Agoura Hills MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn QUIET TIME-Gerry Iroaga works during his lunch break in the new Agoura Hills Library. The official grand opening of the library and civic center was Saturday. See related photos on page 23.

Elyssa Woods, 4, isn’t reading quite yet, but the way her eyes danced across the Dr. Seuss pages it may not be long.

Elyssa thumbed through every red, green and yellow illustration as she sat with her book inside the children’s section of the new Agoura Hills Library. Lots of hubbub going on last weekend, but little fazed her; the characters of the book had her hooked.

The library’s Saturday grand opening featured a ribbon cutting, outdoor mini-golf, strolling magician, story teller, facing painting, and—lots and lots of books.

Once the doors opened, parents, kids and others flocked inside.

"I was surprised at how big it was," said Jim Woods of Agoura Hills, Elyssa’s father. "For Agoura, it’s a good thing."

The family’s 20-month-old son was in awe, too. Looked like a new playground to him.

The 17,500 square-foot library is part of the new 34,000 square-foot Agoura Hills Civic Center that includes a city hall, city council chambers and community room.

Located at 29901 Ladyface Court, the library will be owned by the city, but run by Los Angeles County staff.

"Public libraries are uniquely America," said Margaret Donnellan Todd, Los Angeles County librarian. "We consider it an honor to operate this library."

The Las Virgenes Library on Roadside Drive, a crowded, 30-year-old facility that was less than half the size of the new library, was closed last month to begin the changeover.

Faced with competition from on-line booksellers and chic new retailers, public libraries in America were seen as becoming superfluous in recent years. But with much more to offer than just books—children’s story hours, arts and crafts classes and other educational programs, for example—the country’s public library has become a full-fledged family destination.

"A public library is about more than just a building, it’s about the fundamentals on which our democracy is founded," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, speaking at a reception for dignitaries on Friday.

Besides 94,000 books, the library has almost 200 magazine subscriptions, 6,800 audio recordings and 6,300 videocassettes and DVDs. With a library card, they’re all free.

"You can’t believe the quality of books we get donated to this library almost a daily basis," said Eric Haupt, president of the Friends of the Agoura Hills Library.

Total price tag for the new complex didn’t come cheap. It cost $10 million.

With fundraisers, book sales and farmers’ market proceeds, the Friends raised more than $360,000 to help build the library and stock the shelves. The city, which floated bonds to pay for most of the cost, will receive about $400,000 from the sale of the old library on Roadside.

The land for the new library came several years ago as a donation from the Kanan family, one of the area’s largest landholders.

Patty Kanan’s late mother had wanted desperately to see a new library built.

"It was her dream," Kanan said.

Planning began over a decade ago as complaints grew about leaks at the old library and limited parking. The Roadside location had 27 parking spaces; the new library has 92.

"It only took 12 years and hundreds of people hanging in there," said Louise Rishoff, an Agoura Hills city councilwoman who was given much of the credit for pushing the library. "The community never lost faith and we did it."

Rishoff kept her grin throughout the weekend.

"She was the guiding light to getting all this started," Haupt said.

Inside the children’s area, miniature tables and chairs sit beneath a colorful wall mural that depicts a scene from nature. A reading gazebo adds to the fantasyland flavor, and to make sure all endings are happy, the bathrooms even come with tiny potties.

In addition to a colorful children’s area, the library features a large young adult section, several enclosed study rooms and a separate computer center. In all, 25 computers are available to the public, some that are hooked into the county’s voluminous catalogue system and some with access to the Internet.

"It can tell you a lot of information if you get lost," said Martin Heusser, a 12-year-old bibliophile who sat at one of the computers and typed feverishly.

Adults haven’t been forgotten, however. The Friends will operate a bookstore and there’s also a browsing area with a fireplace. Cappuccino can’t be far behind.

The building’s craftsman style architecture and earth tone colors add a feeling of warmth. Landscaping includes a large oak tree at the entrance, lighted during the evening.

Library hours are Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Call (818) 889-2278 for more information, or visit the Los Angeles County Public Library Website at www.colapublib.org.