Backers of Library, Threatened With Closure, Seek New Options : Oak Park: The county facility has also been denied federal funds. Officials get a cool response after appealing to the Thousand Oaks Library for help.

Faced with the possible closure of their cramped county-run library and the rejection of a federal grant to build a new one, Oak Park officials are scrambling for funding and a home for their tiny book collection.

Oak Park library supporters appealed to the Thousand Oaks Library for help on Monday, but got a cool reception. The two groups met to iron out a proposal that would give Oak Park residents access to the books and staff of the much larger and wealthier facility in neighboring Thousand Oaks, which broke away from the county system in 1982.

But Marvin Smith, director of library services for Thousand Oaks, said he fears such an agreement could overburden his library, which has already seen an increase in demand as county-run libraries cut their hours.

“My basic concern is that it’s been a hell of a battle to keep this library intact,” said Marvin Smith, director of Thousand Oaks library services. “I am not being negative, but I am fiercely protective of what we have.”

County Supervisor Frank Schillo--whose district includes Oak Park--proposed the merger, calling it a “demonstration project.” Oak Park is one of seven small county branches slated for closure if the county approves a current proposal to give libraries only half the general fund and grant money that they have received in previous years.

Under Schillo’s proposal, Oak Park would pay about $150,000 in tax revenue currently slated for the county-run library system to Thousand Oaks’ city-run library.

Thousand Oaks librarians reluctantly agreed to consider the Oak Park proposal and come back to the table for further discussion next month. But they are not optimistic that an agreement will be reached.

“Frankly, Oak Park has nothing that would be of value to us,” Smith said.

Further dampening Oak Park’s hopes for a new library was the announcement that the library was not selected for a million-dollar federal grant that would have covered construction costs.

The county had planned to build a 10,000-square-foot facility next to Oak Park High School to replace the tiny one that operates on the school campus. But Dixie Adeniran, director of the county’s Library Service Agency, said construction would be postponed for at least a year or two, until more funding becomes available. In the meantime, the existing library could be closed for good, she said.

But Oak Park officials, along with Schillo, are not giving up. They plan to propose several scenarios to Thousand Oaks officials in the next month, ranging from hiring employees on contract to undergoing a full merger.

“The idea was not for the city library to take over but to come to an arrangement whereby the larger library could benefit as well,” Schillo told the skeptical Thousand Oaks officials.

Even if Thousand Oaks did agree to the merger, Oak Park residents would still have to decide how to fund the library.

Proposed funding plans include a parcel tax--which would require two-thirds approval of Oak Park voters--or the formation of an assessment district. Access to the Thousand Oaks Library would cost each Oak Park household about $90 per year, city officials estimate. The existing Oak Park service, paid for with property taxes and other county funds, works out to about $25 per household.

Oak Park officials also are negotiating an agreement with Air Touch Cellular, which wants to build a transmission tower on the roof. The $1,000-a-month rent could help fund library operations.

Schillo praised that plan and urged more creative funding of libraries. “Unfortunately, I can see a time when you won’t be seeing any county involvement in library services,” he said.