Residents to Check Out the Library

It’s not as glamorous as an early showing of the upcoming box office blockbuster or the latest fashions.

But in what library officials bill as a “sneak preview,” Thousand Oaks residents will have an opportunity Saturday to walk through the renovated main library on East Janss Road.

The library, which was badly damaged during the 1994 earthquake and was later plagued by potentially toxic levels of mold growing in its walls, is scheduled to reopen Nov. 25. The renovated building will be brighter and better, officials said.

“It will be really good to be back,” said Steve Brogden, the library’s deputy director. “Moving is always an unsettling time. But I think the staff is looking forward to being back.”

Brogden said the temporary building on Willow Lane, where the library has been in operation since May 1995, was spacious enough to let the library spread out its increasingly large collection.

But when residents stroll through the renovated hallways and stacks, the newly carpeted floors and the rebuilt reference and checkout desks at the Janss Road building, they will see a library that is better lit and designed to give a sense of openness, he said.

“That building was designed to be a library,” Brogden said. “And now it is much improved.”

When the 14-year-old library reopens, it will have about 320,000 books, or about 20,000 more than before the quake, Brogden said. Additionally, the library will house a new CD-ROM collection purchased by Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library, a volunteer group that brings cultural events to the library and helps support it financially.

The library shut down for three months following the January 1994 quake. The Janss Road building was partially reopened until the library was moved to the larger Willow Lane building in May 1995.

In September 1995, high levels of penicillium mold spores were discovered in the walls of the Janss Road building, and reconstruction was temporarily halted. The mold, which was traced to leaks in the fire sprinkler system, prolonged the refurbishing work by at least six months, according to city officials.

“The source of the mold was the quake, which brought down the sprinkler system,” said Ed Johnduff of the city Public Works Department. After the quake, the shuttered building’s damp and warm interior became a perfect environment for mold to propagate.

“It was all over the place,” Johnduff said. “The books that were moldy were immediately thrown away. The wallboard, the carpet and any wall coverings that were fabric had to be disposed of. The building was stripped.”

Although no serious illnesses have been linked to the high levels of mold, library employees had complained of bronchial problems and rashes before the mold was discovered, Brogden said.

Most of the $4.5-million tab for refurbishing the building will be split between the city’s insurance carrier and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Johnduff said. A small, undetermined portion of the money needed for the upgrades will be paid by the city, he added.

Library patrons were pleased with the temporary building on Willow Lane, said Judy Harker, president of Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library.

“People have gotten used to larger spaces,” Harker said. “But changes in the layout have been made, and things are going to work out very nicely. Things will be more accessible and easier to find and see at the new building.”

With the move back to the renovated building, the library support group will return to its monthly schedule of afternoon and evening cultural events hosted by storytellers, puppeteers and musicians. Since the Janss Road building was damaged, the family events have been held only intermittently at the library’s Newbury Park branch.

But most of all, the move back to the old building will be the end of a nearly three-year ordeal for those who plan activities at the library.

“It’s been a continuing nightmare,” Harker said. “It will be just such a relief to get back to normal.”

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FYI

* The Thousand Oaks Library invites the public to a “sneak preview” of the renovated library building at 1401 E. Janss Road from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Thousand Oaks Main Library at 2400 Willow Lane will close Oct. 24. It will reopen at the East Janss Road location on Nov 25.

Between those dates, the Newbury Park Branch at 2331 Borchard Road will operate with the following extended hours:

Mondays-Thursdays: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Fridays: closed.

Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sundays: 1 to 5 p.m.