The Oxnard Public Library is a free public library system operated by the City of Oxnard, California. It has three locations: the Downtown Main Library, the South Oxnard Branch Library, and the Colonia Branch Library. History Preface The area, now known as the Oxnard Plain, was inhabited by Chumash Indians. Juan Cabrillo, a visitor reported to the Queen of Spain in 1542, described the area as the "land of everlasting summers". Approximately 50,000 Indians were in the vicinity. Then other European immigrants began to settle and farming became a major industry. The first church was built in 1900, and the Ventura County Railway was built for transporting beets from the field. Then the Oxnard Union High School District was formed in 1902. It was not until 1906 that educator and first mayor of Oxnard, Richard B. Haydock, applied for assistance to construct a library building from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. Oxnard, the largest city in Ventura County, is the center of the vast alluvial plain which is now known as the Oxnard Plain, at 180 square miles is the richest agricultural land in California. General The Oxnard Public Library first opened in 1907. It is located on the corner of C and Fourth Streets. The library was funded by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. Later in 1909, the library opened up deposit stations where they would maintain a few collections of books. The deposit stations eventually became library branches. The branches were maintained in Port Hueneme, Moorpark, Saticoy, Camarillo, Somis, and Santa Susana. However, those branches were dissolved in 1915 by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors(VCBS). The VCBS established the Oxnard Library branches into the Ventura County Library System. During that time, the City of Oxnard leaders wanted to keep the Oxnard Public Library as a city library. So, it stayed separate from the County Library System. Over the years, the library went through a few building expansions. In 1956, it introduced a bookmobile service. This was the library’s first extension. In 1963, the library moved its Main Library to its second location on the corner of C and Second streets. In 1922, the library moved to its current location at 251 South A Street. The newest location provides space for additional books, audio-visual materials, meeting rooms, an amphitheater, and study rooms. In 2000, the library added public computers, a computer lab, and an automated book return system. In 1989,