EL RIO : Schoolchildren Write to Save Local Library

About 50 fifth- and sixth-graders at Rio Plaza School in El Rio have petitioned the county Board of Supervisors to save their local public library from closure.

The students wrote letters, signed petitions and drafted essays this week outlining why they think the El Rio community library should remain open, said Kathy Marquez-Szlykowicz.

She said she conceived the idea after reading about imminent cuts in Ventura County’s public library system. The library on Jourdan Street in El Rio is a vital link to information for hundreds of schoolchildren who live in the area, Marquez-Szlykowicz said.

The next closest library is the downtown Oxnard Library, about 12 miles away, she said. Many of the families who live in El Rio are poor, Marquez-Szlykowicz said.

“Most of these children’s parents don’t have a car to take them to another library,” she said. “And they don’t have the money for new books.”

“I am really sad because it’s been there for a long time,” said Vanessa Segovia, 10, a fifth-grader. “I hope they will listen to kids because it’s the kids who use the library the most.”

Marquez-Szlykowicz, who delivered the students’ letters to supervisors, said she was buoyed by their enthusiasm. The experience was valuable for the budding citizens, she said.

“It’s a good way for them to start realizing there is power in numbers,” she said.