SOUTH-CENTRAL : Library to Move to Larger Quarters

The Los Angeles City Council has approved leasing a temporary site for the Junipero Serra branch library that was damaged during the spring riots.

The council voted to spend $112,000 annually to lease and operate a 4,400-square-foot storefront in a mini-mall at 3301 S. Figueroa St. The branch is expected to open in early March.

Since July, the branch has been operating out of a smaller site in the riot-damaged shopping center at 4301 S. Figueroa St. while its permanent, historic building was being earthquake-proofed.

“The library was operating in a space that was too small and could not adequately serve the community,” 9th District Councilwoman Rita Walters said. “(Libraries) are a tremendous resource to the community. When they are destroyed, it is a major loss.”

Camille Carter, Junipero Serra’s senior librarian, praised the move to a larger facility, saying the branch will be able to hold a larger collection. “(Area children) have trouble getting the materials they need,” she said. “And many don’t have transportation to get to larger libraries.”

The Junipero Serra and the John Muir branch libraries were the two South-Central public libraries damaged during the unrest. The facilities collectively lost 35,000 books, magazines and videotapes.

Carter said her branch’s original catalogue of 21,000 books has been reduced to less than 7,000.

In June, the J. Paul Getty Trust awarded a $350,000 matching grant to replace the lost materials.

The John Muir branch has been operating from a trailer next to its permanent building at 64th Street and Vermont Avenue.