Library closes chapter on its first decade

Alicia Robinson

NEWPORT BEACH -- The city’s central public library shared knowledge

in more than a million ways last year, more than 80 years after the

city’s first public library opened with just 1,100 books in its collection.

The Newport Beach Central Library on Avocado Avenue is geared up

for a week of celebration beginning Saturday for its 10th

anniversary. The week kicks off with a gala at the Newport Beach

Marriott Hotel and includes an art exhibit, talks with authors and a

day of activities for children.

One of the most enthusiastic celebrants of the library’s milestone

birthday is Lucille Kuehn, a former city councilwoman who lobbied the

city for better library facilities for 20 years.

“I kept pushing for a more adequate library,” Kuehn said. “We had

nothing, and then we built the Newport Center branch ... It was too

tiny when it was built.”

That branch, which opened in 1980, became part of the Orange

County Museum of Art when the Avocado Avenue facility opened. Kuehn

said city officials resisted a new library early on because in the

1970s it was seen as a frill, a nonessential compared with roads,

sewers and other public facilities.

So, Kuehn decided to run for the City Council, with the library as

one of her major platforms.

“At that time, cultural and social programs were considered

evidence of a left-wing conspiracy, and I was a very liberal thinker

because I espoused both the library and the Oasis [senior center],”

she said.

She talked with everyone she knew from book clubs and other groups

and worked with then-city manager Robert Wynn, who assured her the

council would commit to a library if the community supported it.

The City Council wanted a $1 million commitment from the

community. That’s where Elizabeth Stahr stepped in. She and her

husband, John, mustered all their resources.

“It was at the beginning of a recession, and I’d never done

anything like this,” Stahr said. “For five years, at dinner we didn’t

talk about anything but the library.”

In the end, the Stahrs convinced more than 3,000 people to give

more than $2 million for the library construction, and the city put

in about $7 million.

On opening day -- July 10, 1994 -- about 2,500 people were

expected to show up. Twice that number came. It was a joyous

occasion, especially for Kuehn.

“I cried,” she said. “It was almost an impossible dream.”

Since then, the library’s work has continued to grow. Its

circulation last year was about 1 million items.

Library Services Director Linda Katsouleas said state statistics

show Newport Beach residents read an average of 19 books per person

per year, one of the highest averages in Southern California.

“We’re the best-read community, and I think that says something

about the education levels and the interest in reading here in

Newport,” she said.

People come from all over Orange County to use the library for a

variety of reasons, she said.

“It’s quiet. We like to use the computers,” said Marcie Garner,

who was in the library’s children’s room earlier this week with her

son and daughter.

Her son, Rhodes, who will begin first grade this fall, said he

likes to read about dinosaurs. His sister, Raleigh, who will be in

pre-kindergarten, was working on the computer.

The family spent a lot of time at the library last summer, and

they’ll be there this year too, Marcie Garner said.

“This year, we thought we’d check out books because he have a

reader now,” she said.

Ed Roletti, who recently resettled in Newport Beach after moving

to Oregon for 10 years, said he’s a frequent library visitor. The old

library was small, he said.

“This new library is really great,” Roletti said. “I come in here

at least a couple of times a week.”

The library has been able to respond to changing times because it

was planned to accommodate new technology, Katsouleas said. An

increasing number of library resources are kept electronically, the

library offers wireless Internet access to its databases, and patrons

now receive e-mail notifications that their books are due back.

As more information goes digital, however, Katsouleas expects

books to remain a vital part of the library’s offerings.

“People love books, and I think they probably always will for

their portability, their convenience and for the joy of the physical

presence of the book,” she said.

The Newport Beach community has embraced the library, and that’s

gratifying to Stahr and Kuehn.

“It’s become so much a part of the life of Newport Beach,” Kuehn

said. “I take my grandchildren over and show them -- grandma helped

build this.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.