Checked Out

Donna Roff sees the library books packed stack by stack into cardboard boxes, and can’t help but feel some melancholy at knowing they’ll be locked up for months.

They’re not meant to be stuck in boxes, sitting in a warehouse somewhere out of circulation. But all of E.P. Foster Library’s 122,598 books are being carted away, in 8,500 boxes hauled by 15 movers, to make room for a long-planned, six-month renovation.

The downtown building, which opened in 1959, needs a new ventilation and heating system, access for the disabled and more room for its books.

“We’re not the only ones who are sad,” said Roff, Foster’s principal librarian. “People have their favorite books, and you never know until you have to take them away.”

The two-day packing job, which began Monday, is a daunting task for movers accustomed to the contents of a comparably small-scale three-bedroom house.

“It’s monotonous. They go on forever,” said mover Doug Hamlet, who stacked dozens of “Sweet Valley High” paperbacks into a cardboard box.

The $2-million project, funded by the city, will double the library’s public space to 32,000 square feet and add some cosmetic touch-ups and an art piece to the foyer.

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Sally Weber, a Ventura glass artist, will create the art piece, which is to be titled “Matrix.” The library’s entrance will be made up of sheets of glass with a layer of colored film in between, a “contemporary stained glass,” according to Jessica Cusick, the city’s public arts supervisor.

In the meantime, Foster staff members have been reassigned to Avenue and Wright libraries, which have extended hours during the closure. Avenue Library, on North Ventura Avenue, is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Wright Library, on Day Road, is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The temporary closure will force Foster library’s 35,000 cardholders to get their books at other locations, said Alan Langville, deputy director of Ventura County libraries.

Foster is operated under the auspices of the county’s Library Services Agency, which owns and operates most of the county’s public libraries, with the exception of those that are operated by cities.

Since Ventura is footing the project’s bill, the agency has transferred ownership to the city, though the county will continue to staff and operate Foster.

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The second floor had been occupied by county library agency offices, which have since moved to the Tolman-Riker Building in Ventura. The renovated space will house a new circulation desk and more breathing room for books upon their return.

“We have no money for more books, but at least we’ll have room for the books we already have,” Langville said.