RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA : New Library Opens the Book on Community Identity

Harried librarians thought the pace would slow down by now at the county’s newest and already second-busiest library. Guess again.

Hungry for books and starving for a civic identity, residents of Rancho Santa Margarita and surrounding rural communities have swarmed through the doors since the library opened last November.

“Our response has been phenomenal, we haven’t had a down time yet,” branch manager Diane Alter said. “Most times, there isn’t an empty seat in the house.”

Already, the 15,000-square-foot building has the second-highest book check-out rate in the county library system. Despite the county bankruptcy, the library hours have been extended and events like magic shows and storyteller performances for children have drawn crowds of 200 and more.

And the library has already become more than just a place to find books or read a newspaper. It’s a community center where neighbors constantly run into each other.

“You see people here that you used to see at the grocery store when it was the only store around,” said Debbie Hollison, who moments before had spotted family friend Craig Repp.

Was this kind of community gathering place badly needed?

“Absolutely,” Repp and Hollison replied in unison.

Before the library opened, residents had to drive several miles to county branches in Mission Viejo or El Toro. Both are overcrowded, undersized facilities whose combined square footage is barely more than that of the Rancho Santa Margarita branch.

“It was very difficult for teen-agers,” said Cathy Schaffer, a schoolteacher and six-year resident of Rancho Santa Margarita. “The other libraries didn’t have the resources.”

The new branch not only has more room, but large sections filled with new microfilm machines and computers.

“This is now the happening place in Rancho Santa Margarita,” said Alter. “It’s an exciting time for us. It’s good to feel needed.”