After 13 Years, Library Gets Back in Circulation

Thirteen years after budget cuts stemming from Proposition 13 forced the Arroyo Seco Branch Library to close, it will open Tuesday with a new name, a new look and a new service.

The Bob Lucas Memorial Library and Literacy Center, 2659 N. Lincoln Ave., will restore library services to the city’s west side and incorporate “Let’s Read Altadena,” an adult literacy program, said branch librarian Cora Forcell.

The library will be one of only three in the country that combine library services with literacy training, she said.

The center is named for William (Bob) Lucas, a member of the Altadena Library board of trustees who worked to reestablish the branch before his death last July. Lucas was a literacy advocate, photographer and journalist. He wrote for NBC-TV and the Los Angeles Sentinel and was West Coast editor of Jet magazine, a popular weekly aimed primarily at African-Americans.

An opening celebration, with the theme “Something Wonderful Is Happening in Altadena,” will take place at the library Monday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Pasadena High School graduate Michael Cooper, a former Los Angeles Laker, will be there, Forcell said.

Also among the 300 guests expected will be Lucas family members and Carol Smith, the branch’s first librarian when it opened in 1957, Forcell said.

The library is opening in the same building it used to occupy. The building has been renovated with dark green tweed carpet, oak bookcases with burgundy-colored shelves, green blinds and double glass doors. Outside, a memorial to Lucas is encased in the wall.

“It is virtually a new library in an old building,” Forcell said. “It’s captivating. It’s beautiful.”

The library will contain more than 2,000 books, Forcell said. The children’s section has books such as “Sayonara, Mrs. Kackleman” by Maira Kalman and “My First Camera Book” and kits such as “Become a Bug Expert.” A computer will be installed to connect with the main library, Forcell said.

Three tutoring stations will be set up in the rear of the library, where volunteers will teach adults and children to read.

The library was closed in 1979 due to budget cuts brought about by Proposition 13, an initiative passed by California voters in 1978 that lowered property taxes and reduced funding for many government programs.

District Librarian William Tema said combining the library services with the literacy program--funded by a $45,000 California State Literacy grant--some belt-tightening and the gradual rise of property tax assessments in Altadena helped make it possible to reopen the branch. He said operating the branch required no additional payroll cost because two staff members already on the library payroll are being transferred to the branch.

“We barely can do it, but felt we needed to reach out to the community on the west side,” Tema said.

A library survey showed many west Altadena residents were not using the branch library at 600 E. Mariposa St., he said, and the distance and lack of transportation is believed to be the reason.

The library will open Tuesday. Hours will be 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For information, call (818) 798-8338.