SAN FERNANDO : Traffic at Reopened Library Increases

When librarian Judith Babka walked into her branch in San Fernando the day after the Northridge earthquake, she found microfiche machines dangling by their cords and paperbacks spit out of their exploded revolving racks. Bookshelves had collapsed and books were strewn everywhere.

“It was like a tornado had gone through. There was nothing like it,” Babka said. “Most of it was just books everywhere--books, videos, two or three feet deep in the library.”

Staff members of the county branch library opened the doors to the public Feb. 1, but only after spending seven days cleaning up.

“It was quite a task,” said library assistant Diane Gavin. “It’s overwhelming when you see all the books back on the floor.”

Now that it’s open, the library is getting more than its normal 200 to 300 daily customers. Babka estimated at least 1,000 books are being returned or checked out daily, with many more coming in than going out.

Because many city libraries closed, including the closest in Sylmar and Pacoima, people are returning books to the county branch, which will send the books to the main city library.

Four days after the Jan. 17 quake, after the library building was deemed structurally sound, workers started putting in 10-hour days. Three windows had shattered and others were loosened from their frames, shaking whenever an aftershock occurred.

“They are floor-to-ceiling windows,” Babka said. “It was a little unsettling.”

Babka estimated the book collection at about 30,000 to 32,000 volumes. She said she and seven others picked up about 20,000 volumes from the floor--plus the library’s collections of audiotapes and videotapes.

While staff was putting the library back in order, borrowers worried about late fees arrived in a steady stream. Babka, however, said late fees will not be charged.

“A lot of them have more to think of than bringing back their library materials,” Babka said.