Sunday was a day to celebrate thousands of books and the place they call home.

The festivities marked 30 years for the Simi Valley Library in the building at 2969 Tapo Canyon Road. It opened Feb. 24, 1980.

“Libraries are one of the last truly free public places left,” said Gabriel Lundeen, senior city librarian.

About 60 people gathered in the library’s community room for refreshments and a special anniversary presentation.

“It’s exciting to see all the people here bringing their children,” said Maureen Lofquist, a local resident and a professor at Pierce College. “I use the library for both pleasure and business.”

City Councilmember Steve Sojka attended the afternoon event and talked about the city’s desire to expand the library.

“We’re in the talking stages. We don’t have the funds available yet,” he said. “We won’t do any expansion in a vacuum. We want to know the wants and needs of the community first.”

LOVE THE LIBRARY—Neha Davaluri, 7, holds up a paper heart she decorated during Simi Valley Library’s 30th anniversary celebration on Sunday. The event featured arts and crafts, storytelling, a puppet show and visits from Paws 4 Healing reading program dogs. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers Guest speakers Karla Hubbell and Virgil Stites, members of the Simi Valley Historical Society, talked briefly about Simi Valley’s growth into a modern city and the library’s growth along with it.

Simi’s first library dates back to 1913. It was housed in a room inside the Community Methodist Church on the corner of Second Street and Pacific Avenue.

In the late 1920s, several pioneer families decided the community should have a library building. They banded together to raise funds and bought property next to the old Simi School on Third Street. The charming one-room building opened in February 1930.

PAPER PUPPETS—Simi Valley resident Susan Honaker shows her grandson Bryce Rainer, 4, how to operate an origami puppet during the Simi Valley Library celebration. Although still in the talking stages, the city hopes to expand the library, and the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise recently renovated the community room. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers In 1962, a modern library on Los Angeles Avenue and Church Street replaced the pioneers’ building, which was later moved to Strathearn Historical Park and preserved as a cultural landmark.

By the 1970s, the L.A. Avenue site could no longer hold the library’s ever-increasing number of books and other resources, and in 1980 the city approved a proposal to build a 32,000-square-foot library across from city hall.

The library is more than a place to borrow books, Lundeen said. It’s a resource center and a place for people to gather.

The library offers a computer center with more than 30 PCs, a movie collection, books on CD and online, and research materials.

“We have recourses beyond this building. We’re part of the Ventura County system, so think of us as one huge library,” said the city librarian.

The Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise recently renovated the community room and added a multimedia setup.

“The updates have increased the versatility for groups that rent the room and for library programs,” Lundeen said. The current staff of six is assisted by part-time workers and many volunteers. “We help people find what they’re looking for. We may not have the time to do the research, but we certainly can point people in the right direction,” Lundeen said.

The library has regular weekly programs for children, such as preschool story time and family story time. Paws 4 Healing, a program where children read stories to a trained therapy dog, meets every other Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The events in the children’s library on Sunday included a performance by the Alphabet Soup Puppeteers.

“I like the computers, and you get to check out books,” said Gregory Fromm, 9.

The fourth-grader and his dad, Cory, are regulars at the library.

“I like the ‘Goosebumps’ books,” the youngster added.

While celebrating the past, Lundeen has a wish list for the next 30 years.

“I think people are starting to see how important public libraries are to the community,” the city librarian said. “I would like to see a re-imagining of the library, not only for use now but for a library of the future.”