A New Chapter : Funding: Ojai officials are expected to contribute $30,000 to keep the county-operated library open an additional 26 hours per week.

Moving to keep the local library open more hours, Ojai is expected next week to become the first city in Ventura County to subsidize the county library system’s ailing budget.

The Ojai Library--like most of the 15 county-operated libraries--had its hours slashed more than 50% last month because of budget cuts.

The Ojai branch is now open 20 hours a week. If the proposed $30,000 contribution is approved--which officials say is likely--it would be open 46 hours per week beginning early next month.

“We’re delighted that a city has decided to chip in to help provide library service,” said Alan Langville, community libraries division manager. “We hope that other cities will find a way to go along with this, because we can’t maintain the same level of service without their help.”

The county library system lost about $1.7 million in this fiscal year’s budget, resulting in layoffs and fewer operating hours at every library.

County officials say the 50,000-volume Ojai Library has the highest circulation per capita of any library in the county--about 10,000 books per month. It is 100 years old, making it one of the oldest libraries in the county.

If approved, the $30,000 gift would go toward hiring three part-time staffers for the library, officials said.

The idea of subsidizing the library arose after patrons encountered closed doors last month and flooded City Hall with letters and phone calls, city officials said.

“The noise was deafening,” Ojai Councilman James Loebl said. “People were outraged. We have an unusual reading public.”

Michael Grans called and wrote letters to council members. He frequently uses the library to do research, and his daughter does homework there after school.

“This is a great place,” Grans said, flipping through a dictionary of mythological terms. “My daughter learned ventriloquism from a program here. I came here to get my fix of the New Yorker.”

A few feet away, Aja Bulla-Richards, 15, was completing her Spanish and chemistry homework Wednesday. Like Grans, she was relieved to hear that the library may be open more hours.

“I think it would be very useful to a lot of people,” she said. “Sometimes when reports are due, students find there are a lot less weekend hours.”

Donald Betlach said he has been coming to the library nearly every day for 10 years to read newspapers. Ojai has a duty to step in where the county has failed, he said.

“The city has to look out for its own citizens,” he said.

Ojai officials said they plan to study the possibilities of breaking away from the county system and forming their own library system. Such studies are already under way in Simi Valley and Moorpark.

Libraries in Thousand Oaks, Oxnard and Santa Paula already are funded locally.

Other cities may decide to follow Ojai’s lead in subsidizing their local county branch, county officials said. Earlier this year, Ventura residents raised enough money to prevent the closure of the Ventura Avenue Library. The Ventura City Council matched the community’s donation with a $15,000 gift.

Next week, Supervisor Vicky Howard will propose adding four more hours a week to the branch libraries in Simi Valley and Camarillo. The libraries in Ventura are open 32 hours a week compared to 28 hours a week in Simi and Camarillo, she said.

“We wanted to equalize it,” Howard said. Her proposal would involve shifting reference librarians’ job assignments to circulation services.

Councilman Loebl said he believes the funds will be approved. Ann Crozier, who has been a librarian at Ojai Library for about 15 years, said she is confident that patrons will be able to persuade any wavering city officials.

“We have a literate community here,” Crozier said. “There’s a lot of public support.”

FYI

The Ojai City Council will decide Tuesday whether to spend $30,000 to expand hours at the Ojai Library from 20 to 46 per week. If the plan is approved, the library will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays; from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Ojai City Hall, 401 S. Ventura St.