Council to Discuss Funding Library Expansion Study

When the county clears its administrative office supplies from the second floor of E.P. Foster Library in downtown Ventura later this month, the cramped library will finally double its space.

But how could that new space best be used?

Tonight, the City Council will decide whether to hire local architectural firm Scott Ellinwood and Associates to answer that question.

If approved, the study will cost the city $47,686.

Among other things the study will include an analysis of the structural constraints of the building--city officials have said the second floor is too weak to carry full-height book shelves. The study will suggest alternatives for how space in the building could be best used, and how much each alternative would cost.

In addition, the report will examine what could be done with the old brick City Hall building attached to the back of the library.

Ellinwood has designed numerous civic buildings in Ventura County, including the Port Hueneme Library and the newly renovated sections of Santa Paula High School. He also designed Figueroa Plaza--the walkway with fountains across from San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura.

Councilman Jim Friedman, who served as the city’s library liaison to the county, said the decision of how much money to spend renovating Foster will be difficult because so much is undecided.

Ventura has not decided whether it will build one large central library, and it does not know if ultimately the city will remain part of the county system, Friedman said. “In light of the fact that we are looking to have a facility built ultimately, E.P. Foster would be used for the next five to 10 years,” he said. “But we have to decide how much of an investment we want to make doubling the space we have.” The library currently has 16,500 square feet.

Bill Fulton, head of the city’s Library Advisory Committee, supports doing the study.

“The physical state of our libraries has been going down the toilet for the past decade,” Fulton said. “For the first time in a while we are going to decide what to do about that.”