Bookmobile to Open in Simi in Wake of Library Damage
A bookmobile will open next week in Simi Valley, offering residents a place to check out and return reading material until their library reopens.
Starting Monday, the bookmobile on the library’s lawn will be open from noon to 5 p.m. every day except Friday and Sunday. Outdoor bins will be available for book returns.
The Simi Valley library was damaged extensively during the recent earthquake, with bookshelves overturned, windows shattered and furniture broken. But the building itself is structurally sound and should reopen by the first week in March.
“A little bit of everything was damaged,” said Ritch Wells, an administrative assistant to Ventura County Supervisor Vicky Howard, who represents Simi Valley. “But it’s structurally sound. It just needs to be put back together.”
The library’s conference room will reopen Thursday, a month before reading rooms are ready. Residents interested in scheduling a meeting in the library should call Howard’s office at 582-8010.
The Simi Valley courthouse, which also suffered damage in the Jan. 17 temblor, will reopen all offices and courtrooms on Monday, Wells said. Many of the courthouse windows were broken and an interior water line snapped, flooding many offices and destroying some files.
Total damage for both the library and the courthouse is estimated at $1.3 million.
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