SANTA ANA : Library Renovation Plan to Be Reviewed

A $1.6-million renovation plan for the city’s Central Library will be reviewed by the City Council today.

The library has not been revamped in more than 25 years, said City Manager David N. Ream.

“It’s long overdue,” Ream said. “This will give us the opportunity to have a first-class Central Library.”

The renovation project includes a new children’s wing, more bookshelves, a reorganization of book selections and a remodeling to make entries accessible to disabled patrons.

The council will consider how to pay for the renovation and consider a bid by Mega Construction Co. to build the children’s wing. Construction is scheduled to begin in April.

The showcase for the renovation will be the library’s new wing, which will be built on the west side. The children’s wing will add 35% more public space to the library, which has about 600,000 visitors a year, said Rob Richard, library director.

When the original children’s wing was built, seven-foot-high book stacks were installed. Children are tall enough to reach only the bottom shelves.

“The books on the top shelves looked as far away as the moon,” Richard said, so the library has been forced to leave some of the top bookshelves empty. The new wing will include shorter shelves.

The main library was built in 1960. Since then, the library’s book collection has tripled, according to a staff report.

“We haven’t done much work on the library since it was built,” Richard said. “We’ve only filled in the nooks and crannies.”

After renovation, the library also intends to move its main entrance to the rear of the building, where the county is building a new parking lot for the Civic Center.