General Information

To get to the Oxnard Public Library at 251 South A St. Take Oxnard Blvd to Second Street; Go West to A Street; park in front or behind. Free parking is available west of the library and across A Street to the East. A large map of how to get to the library. Mapquest also provides directions from address to address

The Main Library is the initial phase of the Oxnard Civic Center Master Plan as set forth in 1989. Located on A Street between Second and Third Streets in Downtown Oxnard, the library is a two-story brick structure of 72,000 square feet. It is organized about an axis defined by arched entry portals and a two story vaulted lobby. This axis will be extended in future phases of the Civic Center's development which will include a new City Hall, Civic Plaza and other site improvements as planned in 1989. The library was funded primarily by residential growth fees.

Space on the ground floor is assigned to functions requiring the highest degree of public and service accessibility such as circulation services, multi-purpose rooms, the children's library, library administration and technical services. The second floor has been assigned completely to adult services. Literary quotations have been incorporated into the library's signage system which also features bilingual directional graphics.

The project was managed by James E Frandsen, Public Works Director; Samia Maximous, Principal Engineer; and Buddy Valencerina, Project Manager. The architectural firm was Whisler-Patri, Inc., Piero Patri, Principal in Charge; Managing Principal, Richard Graziano; Project Director, Brad Neal; Project Architect, Gary Samonsky; Interior Designers Gary Gudorf and Tony Vross; and Construction Administrator, Susan McDonald. The building was constructed by J. R. Roberts, Corporation. Nick Baker was Project Manager and Collin Nichols was Assistant Project Manager. Construction began with ground breaking on June 29, 1990 and the building was completed in January 1992, on schedule and within budget.

Dedication ceremonies were held on Saturday March 7, 1992.

In 1906, just eight years after the founding of the City of Oxnard, a group of citizens applied to philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and secured funds to build the City's first public library building. Franklin P. Burnham designed the Greek-Doric building which was constructed by T.H. Carroll. The building, designed to hold 5,000 volumes, and to serve a population of 2,555 also included City Hall. The doors were opened to the public on May 15, 1907.

As early as 1909, Oxnard extended library service to all residents of Ventura County, and stations were set up in Port Hueneme, Moorpark, Saticoy, Santa Rosa Valley, Camarillo, Santa Susana and the Ocean View School. These stations later became part of the Ventura County Library System.

The Carnegie Library was enlarged in 1923 to allow for additional City offices and to provide increased space for the library. In 1949, City officials vacated the basement of the library, and the Children's Department was moved into that area.

By 1962, the population of Oxnard had reached 40,000, and the collection had outgrown the confines of the Carnegie Library. The architectural firm of Miller and Crowell designed a 13,384 square foot, one-story brick building at 214 South C Street which was designed to hold 69,000 volumes. The new library opened to the public on March 4, 1963 and the Carnegie Library became the Carnegie Cultural Art Center in 1980.

In 1972, a 4,400 square foot addition to the 214 South C Street building brought the total book capacity to 100,000 volumes, with added space for administrative offices.

In 1978, library consultant Raymond Holt was retained to provide a blueprint for future library construction. He recommended the planning and construction of a 50,00 to 60,00 square foot central library with an ultimate capability of expansion to 100,000 square feet. The City Council began examination of a new central library building program and approved the concept of a Civic Center Master Plan in 1985. The Master Plan included a new library building as an integral part of a planned Civic Center Plaza, City administrative offices and a central plaza.

The Civic Center Master Plan was refined into several stages and, in August 1987, the City Council approved the design and development of a new 72,000 square foot library building at the southwest corner of Third and A Streets as Phase I of the Master Plan. On May 8, 1990, City Council approved a bid by J. R. Roberts, Corporation for the construction of the new library building.

The building was completed in January 1992. Total project costs, including furniture, equipment and parking lot construction, were $12,800,000.

OXNARD PUBLIC LIBRARY
Registered Borrowers as of June 30, 1999: 65,038 Children Borrowers Age 0-14: 17,680
Books Held (June 30, 96): 325,773 Microfilm(reels):7697 Microforms(not microfilm):21,310
Audio Materials: 11,318 -- Video Materials: 4,338 -- CD-ROMS: 372 -- Serial Volumes: 13,800
Attendance in Library: 509,756 -- Reference Questions: 107,443 -- Total Librarians: 14.15(includes temporary)
Circulation of Children's Materials: 279,376 --Circulation of Non-English Materials: 67,302 -- Total Circulation: 599,604 -- In-Library use of Materials: 110,661
Total Programs: 555 -- Total Program Attendance: 15,713

The 90th Anniversary Jubilee of the library was held on Saturday May 10, 1997.

In November of 1997 the library had a Name the Country Contest.Over 150 entry forms were taken.

We requested an RFP for a Strategic Plan for the library leading to meetings in September 1999.

Summer 2000 the first Oxnard Public Library Teen Summer Reading Program, Bookscape Summer

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