Home sweet LIBRARY
Lolita Harper
It’s a quaint little Newport Beach joint, with limited seating and
heartfelt service.
You are greeted with a smile from a familiar face as you make your
way up to the counter to place your order. Twenty-year veteran Andrea
Lingle -- known as Andy to her regulars -- is ready to serve. But
you, she knows you, and she knows just what you are thirsting for:
“The Catcher in the Rye.” J.D. Salinger. Fiction section. Three
rows back to the left, she informs you.
And so goes the everybody-knows-your-name atmosphere at Mariners
Branch Library on Dover Drive. The same wit and cheer might be found
in a bar, but this popular hangout is dry and you don’t have to be 21
to get in.
“Ours is a small library and it’s very family oriented,” said
Lingle, who lives just down the street. “A lot of our customers live
in my neighborhood.”
Lingle, a quick-witted clerk, said her most important function is
“chatting up the patrons” and learning everyone’s name.
Putting the books away, ordering supplies, checking out books --
all of that is important too, but you can find it at any library. It
is the family atmosphere that makes Mariner’s a special place. And
even though the space may be up for redesign, patrons hope that
atmosphere won’t go away.
Strollers and bikes are strewn at the entrance where beautiful
roses greet incoming patrons. Children linger on the front lawn
waiting for their rides, while a senior citizen pulls into a
handicapped parking place to return a book.
Sounds of laughter and playtime from the nearby park are suddenly
quiet as you enter the calm, but not sterile, library. To the right
are the reference, nonfiction and multi-media sections. To the left
are children’s and young adult books. In the middle, a handful of
modest tables are arranged for reading, researching or studying.
Mariners Elementary School teacher Michelle Sagona was hunched
over one of those tables midweek with a student. The Newport Beach
resident said she likes coming to this library because it is small
and quiet. She tutors there once a week during the school year and
three times as much in the summer.
“All the employees know me and always say hi,” Sagona said.
The teacher encourages her students to do their research at this
library for obvious reasons -- it’s right next to their school -- but
also because of “the feel.”
“It is small enough for them to feel secure and find their way
around,” she said.
Newport Beach and Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials
have unveiled a new design for the library, which includes a
14,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility. The new library would
be moved closer to the elementary school and used jointly by both
schoolchildren and the public.
Community concern has been raised about mixing the two groups of
patrons, but officials have tried to quell concerns by promoting
increased security features and policies. Those who support the
upgraded facility say they have created a system that would provide
adequate safety while giving people access to high-tech features and
a larger selection of books, which are long overdue. Officials are
still waiting to see if the upgrades will receive state funding.
Until that day comes, if it ever does, current patrons say they
are happy with the library just the way it is. Newport Beach resident
and mother Jamie Baskent said she doesn’t care for
“institutionalized” libraries. They are too large and intimidating --
especially for children.
She brings her 5- and 7-year-old sons in on Thursdays because that
is when the youngest has soccer practice on the adjacent fields.
Baskent, who splits her time between the Mariners and Balboa
branches, said both libraries offer a quaint feel.
“I like the smaller, more personal places,” Baskent said. “You
walk in and say hi and they know your kids and what books you like to
check out.”
The librarians and clerks have gotten to know her two boys so
well, they have helped recommend books based on the youngsters’
reading levels. Baskent said she appreciates the advice that comes
from years of biblio savvy.
Lingle, a former teacher, said she delights in watching the kids
get excited about reading but her favorite patrons are years away
from childhood.
“My special people are old people,” Lingle, 67, said. “For many of
them it is a very important part of their day and I like to make it
go as smoothly as possible.”
Lingle can tell you where anything is. Fiction, nonfiction,
reference -- you name it. And although they are newer to the library
scene, she also knows exactly where the popular videos, audio
cassettes and DVDs are found.
“I even know where the string and scotch tape are kept,” she
joked.
The efforts of Lingle and her fellow library staff do not go
unnoticed. A regular customer brings in fresh-cut roses from her
garden every week as a show of appreciation.
“They are just beautiful,” Lingle said.
The fresh flowers ritual was started years ago by former patron
Tom Atteridge, who passed away at the age of 92. Atteridge brightened
the library with weekly bundles of botanical offerings and, rather
than let that spirit die, a patron carried it on.
Just like any other family, tradition is important, Lingle said.
Neighbor and regular librarygoer Viviane Wayne said she is lucky
to be privy to such a community-minded facility. She is equally
tickled by Lingle, who she describes as “just a knock-out of a
woman.”
“She is funny, extremely bright and enormously helpful to anybody
who goes to that library,” Wayne said.
Lingle is modest. She gathers the compliments and redistributes
them to the entire library staff.
“The thing that makes Mariner’s work the way it does is because we
are a team,” Lingle said. “It’s really, really true.”
* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)
574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.
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