Library Board Approves 5-Year Improvement Plan

Five Valley library branches would be demolished and replaced and one branch would be expanded under a five-year capital improvement program approved recently by the Los Angeles Board of Library Commissioners.

A budget has not yet been developed, but the library board expects to seek funding for the projects from the city’s general fund, said library system spokesman Peter Persic.

The plan, approved last week, would provide new library buildings for Chatsworth, Encino-Tarzana, Pacoima, Sun Valley and Sylmar, and an expanded library for North Hollywood.

It’s been 13 years since the city funded a major capital improvement program for the library system, according to the city clerk’s office. However, library construction projects initiated in 1989 were paid for with $53 million in city bond revenue and $40 million in federal grant funding, Persic said.

A $178.3-million proposed bond for city libraries will be on the Nov. 3 ballot. If the bond is approved, Persic said, the library system will include the projects approved last week in an expanded capital improvement program.

The bond issue, Proposition DD, would benefit 12 Valley library branches. New branch buildings would be built for Sylmar, Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Encino-Tarzana, Northridge, Pacoima, Sun Valley and Woodland Hills. Renovated and expanded buildings would be provided for North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Valley Plaza and West Valley branches.