Fallbrook Library project moves forward

On Thursday, July 19, Fifth District County Supervisor Bill Horn commanded attention when he stood in Fallbrook and issued the order, “Start the bulldozer and tear down that building!” referring to the demolition of the Elder-Johns house at the corner of Alvarado Street and Mission Road, the future site of Fallbrook’s new library.

Horn says he is excited to be involved in building a new library for Fallbrook. The Fifth District Supervisor, representing this community for 12 years, has aided in the building of five new libraries in North County and is pleased to bring number six to the Friendly Village.

“We continue working to identify funding and, with the help of community leaders and our District 5 Community Projects Fund, we will build the sixth library in Fallbrook,” Horn said to the 100 people present at the demolition event. Members of Horn’s staff say that more than a million dollars has been allocated from the Supervisor’s fund to the Fallbrook Library project.

In addition to the Supervisor, other dignitaries including Jose Aponte, county library director; Jerri Patchett, president of Friends of the Fallbrook Library; and Jack Story, president of the Fallbrook Historical Society, joined in the milestone event and watched the beginning of the demolition of the vacant Ellis-Johns House just north of the existing Fallbrook Library. The property is currently owned by Friends of the Fallbrook Library.

Aponte underscored the need to expand the outdated Fallbrook library, the oldest and busiest in the county. Established in 1913 by the Saturday Afternoon Club (which later became the Fallbrook Woman’s Club), the original library was located inside a local drugstore. After seven moves, the library that is now 8,100 square feet has been in its present-day location since 1969. Fallbrook Library, among the top eight branches out of 32 in the county, boasts more than 26,000 library cardholders in the Fallbrook, Bonsall, De Luz and Rainbow areas.

With a community filled with library-goers, Friends President Patchett said they will lead the community in raising $1.5 million (including matching a recent $500,000 grant from Supervisor Horn) and plan to kick off a large-scale fundraising effort in the fall. Horn recently estimated the cost of the new library to be “about $9 million.”

The Friends have $2 million set aside for the project, inclusive of land costs and the parking shares.

As detailed in recent article in this paper, although the 2007-08 budget passed by the Board of Supervisors during a separate June 19 action did not include specific funding for new library construction, on May 22 the supervisors approved a Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program that included the Fallbrook and Ramona branch libraries.

“It’s a very high priority,” Aponte said. “The next step is the funding. The elected officials get them funded.”

The supervisors have the authority to add expenditures to the 2007-08 budget if a funding source is determined, and while a mid-year budget adjustment would require four votes it is likely that all five supervisors will support the Fallbrook and Ramona libraries, which were tied for priority position on the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program priority list.

Since the decision is that of the supervisors rather than county staff, Aponte cannot provide an estimate of when the funding for the new library will occur, but the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program makes him optimistic.

At the demolition event, the front door from the 85-year-old Ellis-Johns House was donated to the Fallbrook Historical Society to be featured in an exhibit.

Friends of the Fallbrook Library

Leading the way with a fundraising campaign for a new library in Fallbrook, the Friends of the Fallbrook Library have a long history of success. The organization, founded in 1963 by seven members of the American Association of University Women, has provided ongoing community support for the library and played a major role in the building of the library at its present location in 1969.

They also:

• Led the “Square Foot Campaign” and contributed $300,000 to rebuild the facility in 1987

• Operate the Bottom Shelf bookstore, where quality used books and more are made available at thrift store prices to the public

• Sponsor the annual Community Read

• Sponsor a monthly community book club

• Sponsor various library programs

• Have committed to “building out” the interior of the new library

Twenty-four volunteers comprise the organization’s board of directors and 150 volunteers manage and staff the Bottom Shelf.

To make a contribution to the library building fund, please visit the Bottom Shelf at 124 South Mission Road, Fallbrook, or call (760) 728-3835.

Any donations that exceed the amount needed for the building project will be placed into the endowment fund being created for future needs of the library.