Member Spotlight - Gardena Mayme Dear Library

A monthly highlight of the service and/or accomplishments of a featured

Gardena Valley Chamber of Commerce business.

Gardena Mayme Dear Library

County of Los Angeles Public Library

1731 W. Gardena Blvd.

Gardena, CA 90247

(310) 323-6363

Hours of Service
Monday - Wednesday	12:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Thursday - Friday	10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday - Sunday	CLOSED

History

Gardena Library was born under the sponsorship of the Wednesday Progressive Club before the Los Angeles County Free Library was founded in 1912. In 1914, Gardena Library became a branch of the new County System. Only a few months later, the library was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles City Library Board due to annexation. It was not until August 1951 that Gardena Library came back to the County System. The present 16,000 sq. ft. building was dedicated on December 5, 1964 and re-named Gardena Mayme Dear Memorial Library on May 30, 1992 in honor of the late Mrs. Mayme Dear for her many years of dedicated volunteer services to the library.

Collection

The current collection totals 135,000 volumes. It consists of over 3,000 audio recordings, 5,424 video cassettes, 550 DVDs, 195 periodicals and newspapers, large print books, audiobooks, college catalogs, telephone directories (selected U. S. Cities), the Gardena Valley News on microfilm back to the 1950s, and documents on Japanese American internment during WWII (microfilm). Books in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese are also available.

The library's support group, the Gardena Valley Friends of the Library, raises funds for the library through the rental of popular videos and DVDs. The Friends rental collection, which features all of the latest movies, consists of over 350 titles, which can be rented for $1 a day per item.

Services

Services available to customers are public access Internet, on-line public access catalog, coin-operated copier, public meeting room (on rental basis), and children's programming.

Thanks to a generous donation from American Honda, Gardena Mayme Dear Library provides a place for students to study and learn each weekday afternoon from 3:00 - 6:00 pm. Children in second to eighth grades can use computers for research, wordprocessing or to play games. Homework assistance is also offered as well as Math tutoring on Monday and Thursday afternoons. All assistance is on a first-come, first serve basis. Appointments are not accepted.

The library offers three storytime programs each week: Family Storytime - Mondays nights at 6:30 pm, Preschool Storytime - Thursday mornings at 10:30 am, and Spanish-language Storytime - Friday mornings at 10:30 am. Storytime generally consists of a fifteen-minute period of reading to the children followed by the completion of a simple craft project by the children and their parents. An additional storytime is held the first Wednesday of each month at 1:00 pm at Super Laundry, located at 1560 W Redondo Beach Blvd., in Gardena. All storytimes are free of charge and open to children of all ages. Call Youth Services Librarian, Kelly Hulbert at (310) 323-6363 for further information.

A basic Internet class is presented each Monday morning from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. Participants learn the components of a web browser, how to access web sites, search for information, print out documents, and use e-mail. Advanced registration and a valid County of Los Angeles Public Library card with PIN number are required. Call Reference Librarian, Dennis Martin, at (310) 323-6363 to register or for further information.

Fiction readers are invited to join the Book Discussion Group the third Tuesday of each month for a lively discussion of literature. Copies of the monthly book selection are available at the Information Desk for three weeks prior to the group meeting. For a list of upcoming titles or for further information, contact Tina Carwile or Kelly Hulbert.

Facilities

The Library with an area of 16,439 square feet features an enclosed Japanese Garden designed by Takuma P. Tono, professor of landscape design at Tokyo Agriculture University. The 150-year-old stone lantern in the garden was a gift of Gardena's sister city, Ichikawa. A mosaic mural above the main entrance depicts the development of books and printing.