ESCONDIDO -- When retired engineer Jim Thurston asks employees of the Escondido Public Library why there aren't more electrical engineering and other technical books, they tell him, "We don't have the room."

Thurston, who stops in every other day, often has to drive to the far larger central library in downtown San Diego to get the books he craves. On Thursday, he settled for the Escondido library's copy of "Transformers and Motors," so he could review the theory of how a transformer operates.

News of whether there will be room for more books, not to mention patrons, programs, and other materials, will be coming Oct. 28.

The city of Escondido hopes to build a new 86,000-square-foot facility on the 200 block of South Kalmia Street downtown, where the current 44,000-square-foot library is located. The project hinges on getting $19.5 million from the $350 million Library Bond Act that California voters passed three years ago.

In this round of grants -- the second of three -- that will be announced at the end of October, $110 million could be handed out.

City officials learned in June that their $30.8 million project was officially eligible for the state funding, and a grant of $19.5 million would cover almost 65 percent of the overall cost of building and basic equipment. The city plans to pay the rest.

'Keeping our fingers crossed'

This week, the officials were told when the people who ultimately award the money, the California Public Library Construction and Renovation Board, are scheduled to meet in Sacramento and make their decisions.

"It's not every day you can get 65 cents on the dollar for a new facility," said City Librarian Laura Mitchell. "We are really keeping our fingers crossed."

Jerraldeane Quon, co-chair of the Escondido Library Endowment Foundation, said during a fund-raising raffle earlier this year that many people have asked her why a new library is needed. Quon told them the facility is overloaded with books and patrons, but the reasons go beyond that.

"This is a cornerstone building of our city, and we need to make sure it will be here for generations to come," she said.

Thurston has lived in Escondido since 1960, and remembers when the current library opened in 1980.

"It seemed huge then," he said.

Now, time seems to have shrunk the facility.

"After Labor Day is when it starts to get busy and crowded," Thurston said. "If you want to pop in and look at the Wall Street Journal, there are 10 people waiting ahead of you."

Project would be extensive

The current library would continue to be used while the new one is built. Once the new buildings are completed, including 140 underground parking spaces, the old library would be demolished and 81 parking spaces created in its place.

The only building that will survive the expansion project is the 8,000-square-foot Mathes Center on the southwest corner. The center houses the library's Pioneer Room, which is dedicated to preservation and research of Escondido history, and a city recreation program.

The new building would right several wrongs that have emerged over time, said Mitchell, the librarian.

The slightly loud "Teen Hot Spot" would be closer to the media section, which is also noisy, Mitchell said.

Tutoring areas for the literacy program, now squashed into cubicles in a hallway outside meeting rooms and administrative areas, would be near the computers. That way, the participants could have easier access to software and would be encouraged to use the computers more often, Mitchell said.

No middle ground for funding

When the city learns if they'll have the state bond money, the answer will be all $19.5 million or nothing.

The bond is written in a way that requires the grant be for 65 percent of the project, up to a maximum of $20 million.

The Escondido library's project is one of 66 vying for $110 million being given out in this round of grants. The total amount being asked by all 66 projects is $550 million.

"You see the obvious competition problem," said Richard Hall, bond act manager.

In the first round, $150 million was given out to 16 projects. In the third round, for which applications are due in January, the remaining funding will be awarded.

If Escondido doesn't get the money in October, it can and will reapply in January, Mitchell said.

Cuts haven't hit project

City funding for the project seems solid. State budget cuts' ripple effects on Escondido forced the city to use $1 million of reserves to balance its $64.6 million budget but it hasn't affected plans to spend $11.25 million of city money on the library, said Deputy City Manager Jack Anderson.

During meetings this spring, the City Council considered the financial problems but decided the need for the expansion was too strong and the opportunity of the grant money was too good to pass up.

Anderson said the new library will play a larger role in local development.

"It's an important civic facility and to expand that downtown is a major part of an ongoing effort to revitalize downtown," he said.

Area's need among requirements

According to the bond, the state library board must choose who will get the money based on population growth, the needs of the area surrounding the library, the age and condition of the existing facility and to what degree the library fails to serve residents.

The board will also look at how the library plans to integrate electronic technology into the project, how well suited the project is to its location and the financial ability of the city to open and maintain the proposed library.

First priority will go to projects that have a joint use element and an agreement with at least one school district, the bond act said.

The library has taken the requirement to heart. Mitchell said an agreement has been made with the Escondido Union School District to provide space for tutoring and small classes, particularly remedial classes, and to also offer a place for the district's home-schooled students, she said.

Fund raising slow but accelerating

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to raise $3 million in donations in the next three years to pay for books and computers, to fund programs and to pay fees for visiting authors and professional storytellers. The shopping list even includes a dinosaur skeleton model.

"I just want to be able to grant as much of their wish list as possible," said Quon, who co-chairs the endowment foundation.

The grant money pays for only the building, specifically the property and equipment.

So far, the foundation has raised $40,000, Mitchell said. The money was generated by the group's first fund-raising effort -- a raffle in April for a Mini Cooper.

A second event in June was a small party to raise awareness of the fund-raising and thank people involved in the Mini Cooper raffle, and it raised little money, Mitchell said.

Quon said her committee is completing a capital campaign packet, distributing the packet to local businesses and planning a timeline for fund-raisers, she said.

Another plan taking shape is a children's program in which teddy bears can be purchased and children encouraged to bring their bear back for regular visits, she said.

The five committee members are also hoping to find more people to join them, said Quon, a retired teacher.

"We are only a committee of five, and it will take a lot more than five people to raise the necessary funds," she said. "Three million dollars is a lot of money to raise."

Contact staff writer Tanya Rodrigues at (760) 740-5420 or trodrigues@nctimes.com.