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.