GLENDALE : Chevy Chase Library to Reopen Wednesday

After being closed for five months because of damage sustained in the Northridge earthquake, the Chevy Chase Branch Library will reopen Wednesday.

The Jan. 17 earthquake caused the ceiling in the 20-year-old facility to collapse, showering the library’s 30,000-book collection and employees’ desks with ceiling tile fragments.

Many more tiles fell during the myriad of aftershocks, making the facility unsafe for employees and the public, said John Hickman, facilities services administrator.

The long delay between the earthquake and this week’s reopening is due to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to only reimburse the city for $12,000 of the $29,000 required to fix the ceiling, Hickman said.

Officials have appealed the request, asking FEMA for the entire amount.

Meanwhile, workers have removed the remaining ceiling tiles, making the branch look somewhat like “one of those New Age restaurants on Melrose,” said Chevy Chase Branch Manager Mary Alice Wollam.

Officials have sent a city bookmobile to sit in front of the branch on Wednesdays to serve residents in Chevy Chase Canyon who were unable to use the branch facility.

The Chevy Chase Library was the only city facility closed for a long period of time following the 6.8-magnitude earthquake. Several of the city’s six library facilities were closed for several days after the earthquake so employees could pick up books that fell during the temblor.

Because of budget cutbacks, the Chevy Chase branch will be open to the public only on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.