County Closed Library, Residents May Reopen It

MALIBU —  Help may be on the way to keep the Point Dume branch library open in Malibu.

The Malibu City Council last week approved a plan for residents to continue operating the library, which ceased operation under county auspices Saturday, as a reading room staffed by residents rather than a paid librarian.

“We only need someone with brain, and we have lots of them,” Mayor Walter Keller said at Monday’s council meeting. “This is a good example of how our town can work (to solve a problem).”

Keller called the idea “rent a librarian.”

The Point Dume library, which opened in 1985, was one of 12 the county scheduled for closing because of budget constraints.

Sue Cowen, public information officer for the county library system, said last week that the county will save $80,000 from now until the end of the fiscal year in June by closing the branch.

City Manager Raymond Taylor said the proposal to keep the facility open as a reading room grew out of a meeting between city and library officials.

He said the cost of staffing will be determined.

Keller said board members of the Malibu Community Center, where the library is located, agreed to waive rent. Readers will be able to order books to be sent to Point Dume from the county library system by telephone.

The library in Malibu’s Civic Center area will remain in operation.