A Very Special Place

Here's a multiple choice question: Name the best thing about living in the Conejo Valley:

a. the ever-appreciating real

estate values b. the beautifully landscaped

areas c. the attractive shopping centers d. the Thousand Oaks Library.

If I were grading your paper- and I've graded a lot of them in my other life as a teacher-hands down I'd mark the answer d: The Thousand Oaks Library.

There are lots of reasons for this answer, the main one being the courtesy and competence of all the employees, from the folks at the check-out counter to the reference librarians who invariably walk you to the book location you need.

Recently the library has undergone a monumental expansion in the form of a magnificent (there is no other word for it) children's library with incredible amounts of shelf space, many lovely read-andstudy areas and an aquarium bigger than most of the rooms in my house.

There is also an outdoor courtyard and children's garden.

There are many other impressive statistics about the library including thousands of photographs tracing the history of the city, a gigantic collection of videos and DVDs and a large genealogy section staffed by gracious volunteers who can help you trace many aspects of your family history. I was able to locate my mother and father on the 1930 New York City Census.

But the most important aspect of the library is its staff-both librarians and others working in various capacities to make it such a special place.

It's a beautiful place, no doubt about it, but in the way that people describe those near and dear to them, it also has an inner beauty that transcends the outer one. To use an old clich, it's beautiful inside and out because of the character and dedication of the people within it.

On a recent day I walked by the aquarium and noticed a large fish resting at the bottom. He was clearly

alive but not moving. One of the librarians saw me looking at him and said: "Oh, that's Napoleon. He must be exhausted from all the attention. You see, he really likes people."

How appropriate, I thought. He's just like the Thousand Oaks Library. It really likes people too.

Contact Dina Adler at dinaadler@yahoo.com.