L.A. FIRM MAY GET CONTRACT FOR CHILDREN'S LIBRARY.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

City officials are poised to hire a Los Angeles firm for more than $525,000 to design and manage construction of the $2.7 million children's library.

The City Council is scheduled Wednesday to consider the $526,310 contract with Public Facilities Investment Corp., which has built more than 200 projects, from office buildings and retail centers to public libraries.

Construction of the new Palmdale library could begin by late September, with PFIC providing the final design and construction documents, preparing bid packages and overseeing construction.

``We're hoping for a summer 1998 opening,'' said Leon Swain, Palmdale's deputy director of public works.

The 10,000-square-foot children's library is planned for the northeast corner of Sierra Highway and Avenue Q-6. It is expected to include computer labs, homework areas, an adult lounge, a multipurpose room, restrooms with youth-size fixtures and a reading room.

The project will help relieve crowding at the Palmdale Library, which was built in 1977 to serve a community of about 12,000 people. Since then the city has grown to more than 114,000 residents.

Some residents have criticized the idea of opening a children's branch a block from the main library, rather than keeping services for all ages under one roof.

But city officials said it would be much cheaper to build a second library than to add the same amount of floor space to the existing one.

Under construction standards enacted after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the existing library would have to be extensively renovated if it were expanded, city officials said. The second floor is not strong enough to support book shelves, and the air-conditioning and electrical systems are inadequate for more floor space.