Birthday celebration planned for home-grown library
By Earl Bates

Germinated from an idea, it's been 110 years since Ojai Library first sprouted, and 75 years since it was successfully transplanted into its home in the now-historic Carleton Winslow building.

People can be known by the books they read, according to an old proverb, and similarly, a community can be known by the library it keeps.

"I think libraries take their character a lot from the community in which they are found," said Ventura County Library Director Starrett Kreissman.

Ojai residents are known for creating and maintaining a very well-loved library, one of the most distinguished small community libraries in California.

Circulation is one vital sign of a library's health; Ojai residents flow through their library as if foraging for essential nutrients. Their enthusiasm for learning has established for Ojai Library as the highest per capita usage in the county library system.
Frequent library visitation is common in well-educated communities, "That's typical," said Kreissman, "but I think it goes way beyond that in Ojai. You have a community of people who are very interested in learning about all kinds of things, and they value reading. And you have a community that supports its library to an incredible level."

Ojai's dedication to creating and maintaining a healthy library is a blossom of the community's perennial concern with education.
Sherman Thacher, founder of The Thacher School, was seminal from the beginning and through the early years of Ojai Library. "He started the library with $500, but that was a long time ago," said Thacher's daughter Hattie Herrick.

A headline in the May 24, 1893 issue of the community's newspaper, The Ojai, stated, "The way made clear at the public meeting yesterday to accept the liberal gift of the relatives of the late George Thacher."

The article continued, "Those present were very enthusiastic, and if the same sentiment generally prevails, as it should, a free library here, on a firm financial foundation, is fully assured The donors simply ask that the books be suitably housed, and that the people provide means for maintaining the library so it will serve all the people."

The Thacher family's special gift of vision, time and money was the seed that started the library. That first $500, equal to about $10,000 in today's dollars, purchased books for the original collection.

"This sum would not be sufficient to carry on the work, so the interest and cooperation of the Ojai Club and entire community was asked," recounted former Ojai librarian, Zaidee Soule. And there began a tradition of symbiosis, the people of Ojai nurtured the library and the library nourished the community.

Ojai Library became the first branch of the Ventura County Library System in 1916, and by 1927 plans were being made for a building and location that would be the most suitable for the community.

"Sherman Thacher and other public-spirited people formed a volunteer library committee " according to Soule. "There was a call for subscriptions and thanks to Edward Libbey Charles Pratt and many others. eough money was promised to justify making definite plans."

Ojai Library was moved from Montgomery Street to its present place at the corner of Ventura Street and Ojai Avenue in 1928.
The planting of the library at this gateway-to-the-village location was the vision of Edward Libbey. It had always been Libbey's dream to have a library at this site, according to trustees of the Libbey estate.

Enthusiastic community involvement is one element of Ojai Library's character, Kreissman said, and there are several other key ingredients, including the library's staff, the services they provide, and the building that houses it. "In Ojai you have a distinct historic building, which, of course, is now being studied for expansion," said Kreissman.

"Back in 1989 a library consultant was hired and at that time he identified the need for a larger library," said current Ojai librarian, Kit Willis. "We are to the point now that when we add a new book we have to remove an old book." And the library functions as much more than a source of reading material. "One of the roles of a public library is to serve as a community center," said Willis. "To do that we need to provide space for meetings and cultural programs."

The budget for the library has been on the line time and time again, and the people of Ojai have kept it alive and growing with the community. In 1996, Ojai voted for a parcel tax for the library, and it's still the only one in the county with this kind of support.

During the campaign for the parcel tax, residents concerned with maintaining a well-cultivated library walked Ojai's precincts to discuss the issue with voters.

Ann Crozier, then Ojai librarian, was one of the first walkers out talking with people. She was greeted by an apparently friendly Australian shepherd dog in front of a residence. When the man of the house came to the door, he said he would not be voting for the tax. Crozier asked him why, and they discussed the issue for several minutes.

After the conversation, as she turned to leave, the dog bit the librarian on her buttocks. "I regret that I have but one ass to give for my library," Crozier said while recounting the episode. "Ann is the only person who could convert a dog bite on the backside into an element of a winning political campaign," commented Ojai resident George Berg.

The Ojai Library is currently staffed by three full-time librarians and a number of part-time employees. Also, more than 100 volunteers from the community help with the many tasks, projects and programs.

"Everywhere I go I hear nothing but praise for the staff of the Ojai Library," said county library director Kreissmann. "Whenever I am up there, or at a community event, people will say, 'I want you to know the staff of our library is so friendly and so helpful.'"
"It has been my goal to make Ojai Library a place where people feel welcome, feel happy to be there," said librarian Willis. "I like working in the Ojai community because this community supports its library and really uses its library."

Ojai Library patron Brenda Loree said, "Ojai Library rules! It is so wonderful! I wish that every library in the world could be as enjoyable and as enriching as Ojai Library because then it would be a perfect world."

Ojai is recognized around the world for having a special sense of place, it is known as a cultured community living within a natural environment and as a sanctuary within the golden-souled land of California. Ojai Library, rooted in its Carleton Winslow design building, and the Pratt House, a Greene and Greene masterpiece, are two kindred focals of Ojai's sense of place.

Ojai Library's birthday party, organized by a committee of volunteers co-chaired by residents Pat Weinberger and Bill Moses, will be held June 21 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Pratt House. The celebration will feature docent tours of the Pratt House, recently honored by the National Register of Historic Places. Also planned is a live auction, musical entertainment, hors d'oeuvres, and drinks. Tickets are $35 per person, proceeds will benefit Ojai Library. Everyone is invited to attend, call 646-2353 for information and reservations.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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