Libraries to Recycle Bricks, Windows

Thousands of bricks were used in 1929 to construct the North Hollywood library, which 20 years ago was renamed in honor of onetime area resident Amelia Earhart, the famed aviator.

Thanks to a state grant, many of those bricks--along with original windows and wooden frames--will be recycled in an environmentally conscious approach to a citywide library reconstruction project, Fontayne Holmes, director of Los Angeles Public Library facilities, said Monday.

“With this recycling project, we’re playing our role in preserving the environment,” she said.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board will reimburse the city as much as $100,000 to recycle at least 80% of the items from five branches, including North Hollywood and Sherman Oaks in the Valley, Holmes said. The other three branches are Pacific Palisades, Arroyo Seco and Palms Rancho.

Many city libraries are deteriorating or are too small for their communities and need to be reconstructed, expanded or torn down and rebuilt, city library spokesman Peter Persic said. The project is being funded by Proposition DD, a $178.3-million library bond measure that voters approved in 1998 to refurbish or rebuild 32 libraries citywide.

The North Hollywood branch will be renovated and expanded to accommodate a new multipurpose room and additional parking, Persic said. The Sherman Oaks branch will be razed and relocated at a bigger site, which is yet to be determined.

The branches will be closed during construction, which may begin as early as next spring and end by the summer of 2002.