SOUTH WHITTIER >> The county is closing the book on its strip mall turned tiny library for South Whittier, where patrons often had to circle the block to figure out how to get in the parking lot.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $13.3 million on the design, development and construction of a new library for South Whittier, according to a news release from Supervisor Don Knabe’s office.

The new library will replace an old, outdated library that has become too small for the growing community, Knabe, 4th District, said in the news release.

“We’re thrilled,” said Kelly Baggett, manager of the 6,526-square-foot South Whittier Library, 14433 Leffingwell Road, which opened in October 1988.

The new library will be on the grounds of the Sheriff’s Department’s STARS Center.

Margaret Donnellan Todd, head of the county’s public library system, said the new library will be approximately 15,000 square feet and located on the green space and parking lot on the northeast corner of Telegraph and Colima roads.

“It will have much more parking,” said Donnellan Todd, who said patrons often have difficultly getting in and out of the current library’s parking lot, which doesn’t have enough space.

The environmental impact report required for the project will be drafted at the same time the county develops plans and designs the library, she said, in an effort to save time.

“We’d like to get this built at quickly as possible,” she said.

No completion date has been set, but the goal is to open the library in November 2016, which would coincide with the date when Knabe is termed out of office.

Under county rules, the library must achieve at least a silver LEED rating, but officials are hoping for a platinum rating, she said.

The design of the library will be similar to one used for the 10,655-square-foot Sorensen Library, 6934 Broadway, which opened in October 2010 after being closed in 2008 to make way for the new facility, according to the county public library’s website.

However, the exterior of the library will much different, said Donnellan Todd.

“It will be unique to South Whittier,” she said.

She said the county is using the Sorensen design in an effort to expedite the planning for the library.

The current library will remain open until the new library is completed, Donnellan Todd said.

The project is part of Knabe’s “Operation Libraries,” a plan to invest $45 million in the restoration of county libraries in the Fourth District, said the release.

“Across Los Angeles County, and especially my district, libraries are as popular as ever,” Knabe said. “There is no better way to strengthen a community than to invest in libraries. Residents will have greater access to books, videos and other multimedia when this project is completed, and they will have a brand new facility that will bring the community together.”

The library’s service area has a (2010) population of 73,179, according to the county library office.