Valencia Library Opens New Chapter With Bookmobile

Some library services will resume next week in Valencia, which has been without a public library since the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake.

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A bookmobile will begin operating near the earthquake-damaged building and a storytelling series for children will be offered at a mall.

Library branches are open in Newhall and Canyon Country, according to Josefina Reyes, community library manager for the Valencia branch, but they are not convenient for all residents.

“We felt we wanted some presence in this community,” Reyes said.

The bookmobile, stocked with about 3,000 books, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays in the courtyard adjacent to the library at 23743 Valencia Blvd. It will also make available a small selection of cassettes and compact discs.

Story times for children 3 to 5 years old will be offered weekly starting Monday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Valencia Town Center, 24201 Valencia Blvd. The free story readings, one of the library’s most popular activities before the earthquake, also include songs and crafts. No advance registration is required and parents are free to remain during the 45- to 60-minute program.

The 24,000-square-foot Valencia library, which was the busiest of the county’s 87 facilities, is expected to remain closed until the end of the year while repairs are completed, Reyes said. A water pipe burst in the library during the earthquake, flooding the building and damaging about one-fourth of the 155,000 publications.

Crews also had to remove most of the building’s internal fixtures so asbestos could be removed from the ceiling.