But the group of local Saratoga artists now say they find that booking the room for a scheduled date is becoming increasingly more difficult.

That doesn't surprise Saratoga librarian Dolly Barnes. She estimates that the use of the room has gone up by 15 to 20 percent since the Saratoga Library reopened its doors last June.

"We try to be very fair and make sure that all facilities are accessible," Barnes said.

Eric Einarsson of the South Bay Soaring Society loves the community room at the library. "It's a nice new facility, it's centrally located and it has good parking," Einarsson saud.

For two months now, the Soaring Society has been holding its monthly meetings at the community room. "It costs only $10 to book the room," Einarsson added.

Lillian Gong-Guy, co-founder of the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project finds the room beautiful. Her reasons for liking it are the same as Einarsson.

"The room is brighter and the chairs and tables are much nicer," she said.

The room can hold 120 people and also has access to a kitchen. Demand has been so high that the prized evening slots fill up very quickly.

The community room is available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The booking dates between September and December will open up on the first business day of August. Up to now, bookings could be made by phone or in person during library hours between Monday and Friday before 5 p.m. But for the next booking period that opens up on Aug. 2, bookings will only be accepted in person for the first two hours the library is open. "This is just to avoid confusion," said Barnes.

The Saratoga Contemporary Artists hopes that the library will let them book the room for a year or six months. "The current system works against us," said Phyllis Feemster. "It is difficult to contact members and inform them about date changes."

The library currently allows any organization in Santa Clara use of the community room. The artists groups says organizations based in Saratoga should be given preference when the rooms are booked.

"The community room is a shared resource. We cannot let one single organization book it for an indefinite period of time," Barnes said. She said the artists had been using the community room for a long time but had never been able to book it indefinitely in the past.