EDITORIAL: Portola Valley library needs a home EDITORIAL: Portola Valley library needs a home (April 20, 2005)

Patrons of the Portola Valley library were saddened last week when many realized that the facility will close on June 1.

The reason: the earthquake fault that forced Portola Valley's town offices to move to a temporary building runs beneath the library as well. An inspection of the library by a structural engineer found the building vulnerable to collapse in a major quake, a determination that convinced county staff members to seek other quarters.

The big question now for town leaders is whether to move library services, either to a temporary building on site or leased space off site, until a new Town Center complex is built. A new library might open in September 2007.

Even if the library's books and computers are not moved to another site, the county has generously offered to continue various services, such as story times for children in the Historic Schoolhouse, expanded hours at the Woodside library, a Bookmobile visit every two weeks, and a satellite computer where books could be reserved and other services received.

An experimental books-by-mail program also could help make up for lost services, said Victoria L. Johnson, the county library director. Staff time could be spent on this project in lieu of the work lost if the library closes, she said.

But regardless of the various ways that a library can operate without a base of bricks and mortar, it will be extremely difficult for many users to imagine life without the institution that provides so much for the community. The camaraderie and synergy of students gathering at the library after school to study and do research could not be duplicated by a computer network. Nor could the caring services of the library staff.

That is why we hope the community can find a way to set up a portable building or lease space such as the new building at Jan's Valley Inn until a new library is built. Other locations are sure to surface if the town decides it can afford that solution.

Libraries, once thought to be passe with the rise of the Internet, have steadily regained ground, including as a location to learn about the many resources that are available to do research online.

Library patrons and students should not suffer while the town builds a new home. Investing in an interim library makes a lot of sense for Portola Valley. The town should examine every option possible before it decides to abandon this valuable service.

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