The Grant R. Brimhall Library serves as the main
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
for the city of
Thousand Oaks, California
Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...
. It is controlled by the Thousand Oaks Library System, which also controls the Newbury Park Branch Library. The Grant R. Brimhall Building is located on Janss Rd. near
State Route 23. There are in the main building and in the adjacent Special Collections Storage building. It serves Thousand Oaks, including
Newbury Park and
Westlake Village
Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...
. It is the largest library in
Ventura County
Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...
, the largest library in the region, and one of the largest in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
.
American Radio Archive
American Radio Archives is located within the Thousand Oaks Library in Thousand Oaks, California and contains one of the largest collections of radio broadcasting in the United StatesSterling, Christopher H. and Cary O’Dell (2009). ''The Concis ...
was part of the Special Collections Department at the library, and featured one of the largest collections of broadcasting documents in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, or perhaps in the world. It had a collection of 23,000 radio- and TV scripts, 10,000 photographs, and 10,000 books related to the history of radio. Furthermore, it contained archives of notable individuals such as
Bob Crosby
George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...
,
Rudy Vallee
Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
*Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...
,
Norman Corwin
Norman Lewis Corwin (May 3, 1910 – October 18, 2011) was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing. His earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during the ...
, and
Monty Masters.
[Sterling, Christopher H. and Cary O’Dell (2009). ''The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio''. Routledge. Page 472. .]
History
The Thousand Oaks City Council established the Thousand Oaks Library, which was dedicated on January 25, 1982. Previously, library services had been provided by the Ventura County Library Services Agency operating from a branch on Wilbur Road. The new city structure provided the community with a 59,000 sq. ft. building. It has an interior fountain and a sculpture of
J.B. Blunk, which was the city's first major purchase of artwork. The land is owned by
Conejo Recreation and Park District, which leases the property to the city for a 98-year lease.
A.C. Martin and Associates was the library designers, and the original 54,000 sq. ft. building was built at a cost of $8 million, much of it which had been donated. The City of Thousand Oaks made a $4.5 million down payment. A reception was held on January 22, 1982, where 385 people attended and donated over $75,000. Hundreds more turned out the following day for the public dedication. On day one, around 4,300 books were loaned, $1,000 was donated to the book fund, and 500 new library cards were issued. The library opened with a collection of 200,000 books, however, was expected to reach 300,000 by 1990. From 1986 to 1987 the library circulated over 1.2 million items, a 97% increase since its opening in 1982–83. As of 1989, the library was visited by 2,500 people on a daily basis.
The library was originally located on Wilbur Road, across from where the
Janss Marketplace
Janss Marketplace is an outdoor shopping mall in Thousand Oaks, California. Previously known as Janss Mall, it opened in September 1961 as Village Lane. It was the first mall established in the city, and Thousand Oaks' only shopping center until T ...
parking structure stands today. Today, the original building has been remodeled and is used for art work. The Thousand Oaks Library occupies its new building, at 1401 E. Janss Rd. in January 1982, which was later named the Grant R. Brimhall Library in honor of the former City Manager. Before 1982, the library was part of the
Ventura County Library
Ventura County Library is a free public library system of 12 community libraries and a museum library in Ventura County, California, organized in 1916. At the time of its centennial in 2016, the system provided access to 412,715 physical volumes an ...
Services Agency. In November 1982, the City of Thousand Oaks assumed responsibility for library operations.
The Newbury Park Branch of the library opened in January 1991 at 2331 Borchard Rd. The library encompasses . The building includes an additional which house the Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library work area. Newbury Park Library is also home of
Thousand Oaks Community Gallery
Thousand Oaks Community Gallery is a public art gallery located adjacent to Newbury Park Library in Newbury Park, California. The gallery was established in February 1991, and features a variety of workshops, visual arts exhibitions, photographie ...
.
Architecture
A.C. Martin and Associates Architecture firm located in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
was the designer responsible for the new library. It shares similar architecture to the original Thousand Oaks City Hall, which is located off Lynn Rd. across from
The Oaks Shopping Center
The Oaks is a two-level indoor/outdoor, regional shopping mall located in Thousand Oaks, California. It is owned and managed by Macerich. Accessible from US Highway 101 (the Ventura Freeway) midway between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, ...
, and with the
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center and present city hall located on
Thousand Oaks Boulevard
Thousand Oaks Boulevard, previously known as Ventura Boulevard, is a street in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County. It stretches from Thousand Oaks through Westlake Village to Agoura Hills. In Thousand Oaks, it is located in the downtown area and w ...
. The style is very clean and futuristic, with straight lines throughout. It is noted by local residents as being one of the most appealing buildings in the area because of its unique architecture, which was ahead of its time.
Relocation and return
For many years, the library was not located at the main Grant R. Brimhall Building. It moved to a large commercial building off Conejo School Road. In 1994, the Thousand Oaks Library was damaged by the Northridge earthquake and was temporarily relocated to 2400 Willow Lane to allow reconstruction to proceed rapidly. The Grant R. Brimhall Library re-opened at the Janss Road site in November 1996. The building began to have problems with the roof in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Damage occurred inside the library due to leaking, which sent the city and original developer into a lawsuit that took years to conclude. Until the lawsuit concluded and the building could be repaired correctly, the library was moved to the Conejo School Road location, across the
US 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
freeway from the present day
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall incl ...
.
Thousand Oaks Library System
There are approximately 380,000 items in the collection, including books, magazines, newspapers, recorded books on CD and digital formats, DVDs, CD-ROMs and music CDs. New materials are ordered daily by the library. The library system no longer uses the
card catalog
A library catalog (or library catalogue in British English) is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations. A catalog for a group of libraries is also c ...
system, but rather a computer database system to store all library information. The library system also offers large meeting rooms and auditoriums at both library locations, and the
Conejo Valley
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Communities in the Conejo ...
Art Exhibition at the Newbury Park Branch, which is constantly running and previewing local artists' work.
The
American Radio Archive
American Radio Archives is located within the Thousand Oaks Library in Thousand Oaks, California and contains one of the largest collections of radio broadcasting in the United StatesSterling, Christopher H. and Cary O’Dell (2009). ''The Concis ...
was one of the special collections of the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation. Other collections include local history and the art and history of the book. The American Radio Archives and Museum contained one of the largest collections of radio broadcasting in the United States.
The library is home to a local history collection that has more than 1,800 books and pamphlets, from approximately 1875 to the present. The collection also includes extensive subject files, biographical files, maps, oral histories, photographs, and other materials.
Newbury Park Library
Newbury Park Library opened in January 1991 on Borchard Road in
Newbury Park, California
Newbury Park is a populated place and townReal Estate Communications, Inc. (1984). ''California Real Estate Directory''. Page 201. in Ventura County, California, United States.
Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks city limits, while ...
, directly across from
Newbury Gateway Park
Newbury Gateway Park is a seven-acre neighborhood park, located across the street from Newbury Park Library in western Newbury Park, California. The most notable attraction here includes the endemic plant and tree species, including an oak grove ...
. It is adjacent to
Thousand Oaks Community Gallery
Thousand Oaks Community Gallery is a public art gallery located adjacent to Newbury Park Library in Newbury Park, California. The gallery was established in February 1991, and features a variety of workshops, visual arts exhibitions, photographie ...
and home of the 4,000 sq. ft. Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library work area. The 31,000 sq. ft. library is a branch of the Thousand Oaks Library and is located in a former ''
Ralphs
Ralphs is an American supermarket chain in Southern California. The largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Foods Co. names ...
'' supermarket. It was finished in 1991 at a cost of $4 million, and opened with a collection of 18,000 volumes and a small collection of video and audiotapes. The library houses various genealogical items of the
Conejo Valley Genealogical Society.
Expansion
The Grant R. Brimhall Library recently finished a children's wing expansion project. The library expansion project includes a expansion of the Grant R. Brimhall Library. The project adds onto the south side of the building and is devoted to children's services and collections. Additional staff work area is also included in this project. The new Children's Library entrance is facing Janss Road, with additional parking, a drive-up book drop, a courtyard, 3700 gallon saltwater aquarium and children's patio. It also offers a separate program room, additional shelving for the juvenile collection, and extra study and seating area for children. The existing facility was renovated and modified to include a new location for the library Foundation Store, the Special Collections Department, as well as new quiet and group study rooms, additional seating and shelving.
It was designed by Killefer, Flammang Architects located in Santa Monica, and constructed by AKG Construction, Inc., based in Van Nuys. It took approximately 18 months to complete from its start date, November 17, 2004. Total cost added up to $10.5 million.
References
External links
Grant R. Brimhall Library Home PageOnline photo archiveFriends of the Thousand Oaks Library
{{Authority control
Libraries in Ventura County, California
Buildings and structures in Thousand Oaks, California
Education in Thousand Oaks, California
Library buildings completed in 1982
1982 establishments in California