Retiree Hard at Work on Library Hours

George Berg is just an ordinary citizen who loves his local library and decided to do something when the hours started getting shorter.

Commuting from Los Angeles, where he worked as an aerospace project manager, the Ojai resident couldn’t get home before the library closed. “That’s what put me in touch with the library crisis,” he said.

So Berg became what Ojai librarian Kit Willis described as a “walking encyclopedia” of library funding, working seven days a week campaigning for tax measures and searching for ways to pay for more hours and resources. He was recently honored for his efforts when the California Library Assn. gave him its 1996 President’s Award.

“Well, I was pleased,” said Berg, who gave credit to his fellow volunteers.

Berg retired two years ago. Six months later, Willis asked him to help get a city tax measure passed so the library could stay open more hours. The measure passed on the second try in March.

Thanks to the new tax, Ojai has been able to stay open seven days and expand from 24 to 55 hours a week.

“Our usage is way up,” said Willis. “What it says is that people had given up on using the library when they couldn’t figure out when it was open.”

Berg is now working with a loosely organized group called Save Our Libraries, trying to pass a funding measure for the whole county.

“We’re trying to be fair to people so that they get taxed in proportion to the value they get from the library,” Berg said.