SEAL BEACH : Computer Woes Stall Opening of Library

More than two months after Leisure World bought the adjacent county library to save it from closure, its rebirth as a private library for the retirement community’s 8,700 residents has been stalled by computer glitches.

The library was purchased by Leisure World’s governing Golden Rain Foundation for $225,000 at a June auction of county properties. It marked the first private acquisition of an Orange County public library, according to County Librarian John M. Adams. But after the sale, the county removed the computer system that inventories books and materials.

Before the library can reopen, inventory records must be loaded into a new computer system purchased by the Golden Rain Foundation. The county’s data tapes were not compatible with the new computer equipment.

“Right now, we’re trying to get all the books onto the computer,” said Howard McCurdy, president of the Golden Rain Foundation board. “In the good old days, you could use a paper and pencil. Nowadays, you’ve got to put everything on computer. I guess it saves a lot of something, but it’s not time.”

Volunteers in the retirement community also face the daunting task of changing all county identification marks on library books and materials.

“We’ve got to get the county name off some 35,000 books and tapes,” McCurdy said. “This is almost like starting from scratch.”

The foundation has projected a Sept. 22 opening date.

Councilman George Brown, a Leisure World resident who led the drive to purchase the 22-year-old library, said that residents are eager for it to reopen.

“I understand their frustration,” Brown said, “but when we open, we want it to be a first-class operation.”