OAK PARK : Public Library at High School Under-Used, Officials Contend

If you want to find the Oak Park Public Library, just go to the local high school and ask a student to point the way.

But library officials said they think the fact that the Oak Park Public Library is combined with the library of Oak Park High School may be keeping residents away.

“I think they’re intimidated,” Librarian Katherine Desio said.

Dixie Adeniran, director of the Ventura County Library Services Agency, recently told the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council that the public library is under-used for a community of Oak Park’s size and affluence. Oak Park residents may be inhibited about venturing onto a high school campus, Adeniran said.

The issue has come to the forefront in Oak Park since the Thousand Oaks Library began charging a $55 fee Oct. 1 to people who do not live in the city. The Municipal Advisory Council will consider at its next meeting whether Oak Park should join the Thousand Oaks library system or try to beef up its own library.

Oak Park residents came up with the idea of combining the public library with the high school facility when the school opened in 1981. The arrangement has enhanced the high school library and has saved the county money, officials said. But since that time, Oak Park’s population has grown from about 4,000 to about 13,000.

Oak Park resident Lisa Rosenberg said she brings her children and those of her neighbor to the library because it is convenient. But she said she prefers the Thousand Oaks Library because children’s books are in a separate section.

“It’s in its own place,” Rosenberg said. “You don’t have to be so quiet because of the kids studying.”

Agoura Hills resident Rhonda Zucker said she brings her daughter to the Oak Park library because it is less crowded than the Agoura Hills facility. But her daughter said she is intimidated by the high school students. “I’m kind of embarrassed a little bit because they’re all older than me,” said Jenna Zucker, 10.

Parking is also a problem, officials said. During the day, cars of school staff members take up most of the parking spaces near the building.

In addition, the library is not visible from the street. “I just don’t think a lot of people are aware that this library exists,” High School Principal Jeff Chancer said.

“First, you’re lucky if you find Oak Park on any map, and then you’re lucky if you find the library,” resident Barbara Gray said.

Desio said she regularly distributes flyers to local stores and businesses announcing the existence of Oak Park Public Library. “I don’t know what else we can do besides having an airplane take a sign around,” she said.