Back in Books : With Little Fanfare, Patched-Up Thousand Oaks Library Reopens for Business

With no fanfare except a brief burst of applause, the Thousand Oaks Library reopened Monday, as two dozen eager readers rushed through the sliding glass doors at 10 a.m. sharp.

Scurrying to snag favorite magazines or rummage through new fiction, most patrons barely glanced at the library’s post-quake condition.

The bare concrete floor, patched and cracked, and the exposed metal girders, hung with industrial-sized lights, made no difference to residents overjoyed to see their library back in business.

They cared only about the bookshelves, magazine racks and children’s puppet stacks--and those were all full, befitting a library touted as the best in Ventura County.

“They said it wouldn’t be pretty, but the books are there, and that’s what’s important,” said Marie Reidy, who arrived a full hour before the doors opened, hoping to do some early morning research for a historical society project.

Apparently, hundreds of Thousand Oaks residents agreed.

“The parking lot seems to be full, and everyone’s glad we’re open,” Deputy Director Steve Brogden reported. For his staff, too, the reopening was a cause for celebration--especially after months spent cleaning up or working in the cramped Newbury Park branch.

“Newbury Park is a wonderful place, but it’s not built for the kind of workload it’s been under. It’s good to get back here,” Brogden said.

Aiming for business as usual, city staff decided to defer a major grand opening celebration until the fall, when the library will boast new carpet and decorative ceiling. A low-key party for children, featuring clowns and a bake sale, will welcome patrons from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday.

But many children couldn’t wait until the weekend.

In the library by 10:15, 4-year-old David Richardson knew exactly what he wanted--a plush green alligator puppet, a book on maps and a chance to play with the globe next to the children’s circulation counter.

As he peppered his dad with cosmic questions--if this planet suffers earthquakes, does Mars shudder through Marsquakes?--David reveled in the spacious library reading room.

During the three months the library was closed, “I was very sad,” David said. Although he went to the Newbury Park branch several times a week, “they don’t have puppets over there,” he added, hauling a footstool to the toy rack so he could reach the furry animals.

The Newbury Park branch served as a stop-gap book source for many Thousand Oaks readers after the Northridge temblor knocked loose the main library’s metal ceiling, forcing the long closure.

A few even found that they preferred the more intimate branch, such as sixth-grader Amy LaFata, who said, “I like a small library because it’s a lot easier to find stuff.”

But most avid readers said they were eager to return to the main library and its 290,000-volume collection, including videos, records and books on tape.

“It was tough without it,” Larry Goldstein said as he waited to pick up some novels for his kids. “Every time we went to the other library and looked in the computers for a book, it would turn out to be located here.”

While staff members said the Monday morning crowd wasn’t quite as big as usual, the library was buzzing by lunchtime.

Fourth-grader Britney Seay was looking for a book on horses to keep her busy while she recuperates from the measles this week. And Joseph Estocko needed manuals to help him program a new computer.

Meanwhile, 10th-grader Joseph Brosamle headed straight for the reference desk to get help with a report on genetic engineering.

His family moved to Thousand Oaks just three months ago, after the earthquake rattled their Granada Hills home. And Joseph said he could not understand why anyone would complain about the library’s lack of carpet and ceiling.

“Look how big this place is,” his mother, Debbie Brosamle, agreed. “It’s our first time in here, and it’s real nice.”