THOUSAND OAKS : Library Piggy Bank Hungry for Donations

After a four-year hibernation, Penelope the Pig is back in circulation.

The circulation desk of the Thousand Oaks Library, that is.

Penelope, a large glass piggy bank, is gobbling up patrons’ donations to use for new library supplies. All money collected this month will go for children’s videos, while September donations will pay for books on tape, Deputy Library Director Steve Brogden said.

To sweeten Penelope’s pot, the Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library has pledged to match donations up to at least $1,000, Friends President Kathy Lewis said.

Penelope eats spare change, Lewis said, “but she really likes green, leafy things”--preferably imprinted with illustrations of such people as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.

Brogden said Penelope lets patrons vote with their dollars for favorite items. In upcoming months, he said, Penelope’s donations may be used for such things as children’s puppets, travel videos, extra copies of popular mysteries and children’s books on foreign countries.

“This is something where everybody, from grandma to the grandchildren, can contribute something to the things they like,” he said.

Patrons of the library’s satellite won’t have to miss out on Penelope, Lewis said.

“She has a sibling, or a baby, at the Newbury Park branch,” Lewis said. “She’s not quite as large but just as cute.”