VALLEY CENTER -- Almost every morning, Angel Guadalupe Galvez, 37, rode his bike three miles from his childhood home where he lived with his parents to volunteer at the Valley Center library.

On Tuesday, he was killed when he was hit from behind by a pickup on Cole Grade Road, just a few blocks from the library. The truck's driver told a California Highway Patrol officer he didn't see Galvez until the last moment.

"He was like an icon," Regine Thorne, the library's assistant manager, said of Galvez.

Thorne said she fielded dozens of calls and questions from patrons who had heard about Galvez's death. The library's flag flew at half-staff Wednesday.

"He may have spent more hours in the building than the staff did," said library manager Sandy Puccio, who met Galvez nine years ago when she started at the old Valley Center library in a storefront on Valley Center Road. Galvez volunteered there, and came along when the new library opened in 2002.

Galvez spent his mornings checking in books, pulling books to be sent to other branches, and helping in any way he could, staff said. In the afternoons, he would usually settle in and compose poetry or memoirs on his laptop computer.

"There is no doubt now that while libraries do rely on paid staff to get things done, it's also the small group of volunteers that keep a place like a library humming with activity," Galvez wrote in an online blog, explaining why he spent so much time helping.

Thorne said that Galvez had an uncanny knack for finding books that weren't shelved correctly.

Earlier this week, someone requested that a rare book on local history be sent to another branch, Thorne said. Galvez pulled the book, but left a sticky note on it alerting Thorne to the book's value.

"You don't want to send this out, do you?" the note read.

Galvez's sister, Diana Ruiz, 41, of Valley Center, said her brother had been born with health problems; he had open-heart surgery as an infant and was blind in one eye. His disabilities made school difficult, and he stopped attending Orange Glen High School in Escondido in the 10th grade. Never able to get a driver's license, he was an avid bicyclist who for years commuted from Valley Center to Escondido to work as a page at the library there, Ruiz said.

"He just loved spending time at the library," his sister recalled. "He spent so much time reading; you had to be careful if you asked him what he was reading, because he could tell you about the whole book."

Ruiz said Galvez's infirmities made working full time difficult, but he kept his legs strong with constant cycling. He loved long bike rides, and had made it up Palomar Mountain and to Temecula, she said.

Galvez struggled with self-doubt and melancholy, and he had his heart broken more than once. His poetry, which he worked on daily, reflected his strong emotions, said friend Jim Tucker, 65.

Tucker said he met Galvez in the Valley Center library and related to his sensitivity. The younger man challenged Tucker to write poetry, and the semiretired antique auto-parts dealer tried it, discovering a fondness for verse.

In a stanza about his friend, Tucker wrote:

Meanwhile back at the library

Angel is ensconced at his computer working on his prose

He writes of love and love lost.

And its ultimate cost

While taking in the scent of a delicate rose placed near by.

Puccio said Galvez's sensitivity meant he knew when someone needed help. He would leap to help frustrated technophobes at the library's computer terminals or someone running a community event who needed help setting up chairs.

Galvez, who was not married, leaves behind an extended family that has been in Valley Center since 1978. Ruiz, his older sister, said their mother, Cruz Galvez, is devastated by the death of her second son, which follows the tragic death of her first son. In September 2005, Galvez's older brother, Humberto Galvez, 39, was killed when a sport utility vehicle collided with his dirt bike on a rural road between Valley Center and Pauma Valley.

"It's really, really hard for her," Ruiz said of their mother.

Tuesday's fatal collision is under investigation. CHP officials have said that Galvez was wearing a helmet and riding to the right of traffic, and that the truck's driver, who did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, could face misdemeanor manslaughter charges.

The Summer Pops concert at the Valley Center Library Thursday will be dedicated to Galvez. The event is planned for 7 p.m. at 29200 Cole Grade Road.

Call staff writer Sarah Gordon at 760-740-3517.