VENTURA : Donations Extend Hours at Libraries

Private donations totaling $7,677 will keep several Ventura library branches open longer next year, but county library officials are still seeking a contribution from the city.

County officials said donations generated through a recent library survey will add a total of five hours to three county library branches from Jan. 7 to June 25.

The H.P. Wright Library on Day Road in Ventura garnered the most donations, receiving $3,049 from survey respondents.

The money will allow it to remain open an additional two hours on Wednesday nights.

Downtown Ventura’s E.P. Foster Library received $1,078, which means it can open two hours earlier on Saturdays.

The Avenue Library on Ventura Avenue, which now opens at 2 p.m. Mondays, will open an hour earlier. The new hours will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Mondays. The branch received $328 in donations.

The Saticoy branch received $200, but county officials will delay adding additional hours until a new facility opens in Saticoy next summer.

Alan Langville, community library division manager, welcomed the contributions but said the county has lost millions of dollars in permanent funding in recent years.

“It’s a small step and certainly a welcome one, but it is certainly a drop in the budget in the amount that we’ve lost,” he said.

Langville said library officials will discuss additional funding with the city of Ventura’s budget committee at 4 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall. Langville said the city of Ojai has already agreed to give $30,000 to increase the hours there from 24 to 40 hours a week.