La Cañada Library back in circulation after 3-month remodeling closure
Local bibliophiles rejoiced Monday when the La Cañada Flintridge Library opened its doors after being closed nearly three months for interior work and property upgrades, then rejoiced again to find a newer, brighter and more usable space awaiting them.
The library closed to patrons on March 30 to accommodate a $532,000 deferred maintenance project funded by the Los Angeles County Library system. Workers installed a new ceiling and carpet, overhauled the electrical system and gave the interior a new coat of paint, according to Library Manager Mark Totten.
“The weird thing is it seems bigger and we can’t figure out why,” Totten said Monday. “Even customers are saying there’s so much more room in here.”
The children’s area was rearranged and decorated with new art and furniture and now includes its own computer area separate from the adult section. Improvements were also made to the parking lot, which now has speed bumps.
Karol Sarkisiyan, a spokesperson for L.A. County Library, said in an email the La Cañada branch last received an interior makeover in 1998 and saw the addition of a new circulation desk in 2002.
Totten said library employees, who’d been shipped to other branches during the closure, were happy to be back at their home base where business was booming.
“The staff’s just bubbling today, we’re so happy to be back here,” said Totten, who mainly worked at the La Crescenta branch library during the closure. “I was in somebody else’s kitchen trying to cook a meal — now I’m back.”
