City to Consider Donation to Save Ventura Library

The Ventura City Council on Monday will consider giving $15,000 to help prevent the closure of a small library in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

About two months ago, the Ventura County supervisors temporarily saved the Ventura Avenue library from shutting down for 60 days, giving community leaders time to raise private funds to pay for operating costs.

Fund-raising efforts have been stepped up as the April 1 deadline looms, said Councilman Gary Tuttle, who heads a community group called Preserve the Avenue Library.

The group has raised about $5,300 so far, and Tuttle said he plans to ask his fellow council members Monday for a onetime donation to “buy some time.”

The library--which costs $48,000 a year to operate though open only two days a week--had been targeted for closure because of its high operating costs and because its location at 807 N. Ventura Ave. is only about a mile from the E.P. Foster Library in downtown Ventura.

“The library will close if we don’t do this,” Tuttle said. “It’s going to be hard for the council to say no.”

The one-room library has one of the highest circulation rates among small libraries countywide, and is particularly popular with children in the neighborhood. It has about 20,000 volumes, and houses one of the largest Spanish reading collections among county libraries.

Ventura County Library Services Director Dixie Adeniran said she is optimistic that community groups will raise the money, but noted that libraries have problems finding money for operating costs year after year.

“Our experience has been that private fund-raising is more easily sustainable for onetime projects,” Adeniran said. “Our underlying problem is ongoing operating funds.”

Tuttle said Preserve the Avenue Library’s short-term goal is to raise $75,000 to keep the library open four days a week for the next three years while community leaders search for a permanent facility.

Not all council members could be reached for comment, but Councilman Todd Collart said he might support the $15,000 donation, and Councilman Jim Monahan said he definitely would.

“It’s something we need to do,” Monahan said. “It’s a worthwhile thing. I think that we can probably find $15,000 in the budget.”

City Budget Director Mike Solomon said if approved, the money would probably come from the city’s general fund or from the capital improvement fund.

He said he thought it is likely the council will approve it because the amount is relatively small and a library is a popular cause.

“It’s a nice, nice thing to do, and it hits home like Mom and apple pie,” Solomon said.

If the council decides to give $15,000, it will be the highest donation so far, said Phyllis Brzozowski, another member of Preserve the Avenue Library. “The Avenue Lions Club has given a check for $1,000,” she said, adding that most of the other donations have been “chicken feed.”

The group also has a series of fund-raisers planned in the next few months, beginning with a telethon on March 31.

Preserve the Avenue Library is a committee made up of community groups including Project Understanding, the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura, plus the elementary and intermediate schools in the Avenue neighborhood.