THOUSAND OAKS : Mock Stock Sale Earns $3,700 to Buy Books

Promoted as a “blue chip opportunity with dividends for the future,” a fund-raising campaign to sell mock stock in the Thousand Oaks Library has spurred 140 “investors” to pour more than $3,700 into a book-buying account.

Since its first stock offering, at the grand-opening ceremony for the Newbury Park Branch in January, 1991, the Thousand Oaks Library Investment Group has sold 186 shares at $20 each, said Kathy Lewis, president of the library’s Friends auxiliary.

“Not everyone can give big, big bucks,” Lewis said. “But this allows people to give something and lets them become involved in the library. Every little bit helps.”

Some investors have been so pleased with the dividends--which include a gold-rimmed certificate and a bookplate listing the donor’s name--that they have returned to buy new shares each year. Many buy shares in memory of deceased relatives.