Local mom opens home to residents who wish to access expanding Japanese library collection
What may be one of the largest collections of Japanese literature in the Verdugo region is kept inside the home of a local resident who, about two days per month, welcomes guests to her home where they can peruse the offerings and check out books and DVDs to return later.
Mitsuko Roberts, a local mom of four, established the Okanoue Library a little over a year ago.
She had been assessing the books in her home and tallied at least 200 Japanese books. Many had come from Japan, mailed to her from her mother who lives in Tokyo, where Roberts was born and raised.
Roberts said it bothered her that so many books were sitting on the shelf going unread.
“I was thinking, this is such a shame,” she said.
Soon, she was telling other parents of students enrolled in Verdugo Woodlands Elementary — where three of her children attend — about her unused books.
Some parents expressed similar feelings about Japanese books collecting dust in their homes, so they decided to pool their books and open a library.
After reviewing hundreds of titles, Roberts and her friends selected 300 and opened the library in May 2015.
Since then, Okanoue Library has grown in size. It’s equipped with a catalog of 700 items, including fiction and nonfiction books, DVDs and comic books for young and older students.
Roberts, who worked with Glendale school officials several years ago to establish the dual-language Japanese program at Verdugo Woodlands Elementary, is a huge proponent of bilingual education.
She said the library is a way to provide more access to students to expand their familiarity with speaking, reading and writing in Japanese.
“This library is a product of our thought, our intention, in increasing Japanese literacy,” Roberts said.
Fellow parent Soonja Bin, who often donates books to the collection and volunteers to run it, said the library has become an important local resource.
“It really helps in providing that supplemental literature that would otherwise be unavailable in the local area,” Bin said. Whenever she’s in Gardena, she visits Book-Off, where she can find some books in good condition discounted to 50 cents a title, and she’ll purchase several to donate to Okanoue.
The library’s name came out of one of the early meetings Roberts had with fellow parents.
“One of the moms accidentally said, ‘The library on top on the hill,” Roberts recalled. Okanoue translates to “hilltop,” and Roberts liked the name immediately because her home is located just “over the hill” from Verdugo Woodlands Elementary.
When Roberts opens the library, twice per month, usually on a Saturday or a Sunday, her husband will lug two heavy book carts into their front yard, and they’ll set up tables and chairs for adults and children as well as pop up large umbrellas to provide shade to read under.
Roberts also enlists older students to read to younger ones, and when she sees young children listen to an older student read for half an hour or more, she knows the library is worth the effort.
“It’s really refreshing to see the kids really enjoy it. It makes me very, very happy,” she said.
Okanoue Library, located at 1900 Sherer Lane, will be open from 10 a.m. to noon on Sept. 10 and 25 as well as Oct. 8 and 23.
For information, email okanouelibrary@gmail.com.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
