High hopes branching out for new Mariners library

About a year and $5 million from now, library manager Mary Ellen

Bowman will be the branch manager for a new, state-of-the-art

library, which, along with new space, technology and reference tools,

will be a new home for what has been a staple in the community since

1963.

The Mariners Branch Library, now an aging facility creeping into

obsolescence in the three-branch Newport Beach Public Library system,

is being rebuilt.

Bowman is ecstatic about the project because by August of next

year, much will have been transformed. Even it’s name will change.

No longer will the library be called Mariner’s but rather the

Donna and John Crean Mariners Branch Library, named after its

most-generous private benefactors. They were pivotal, along with the

Newport Beach Public Library Foundation and the Helen Russell Estate,

in raising $1.1 million to meet a deadline to receive state,

library-renovation, matching funds worth about $3 million. In the

end, the project will cost about $5 million, officials said.

The new library -- described as open and airy and able to

accommodate surrounding schools -- will stand near the corner of

Irvine Avenue and Dover Drive, and, at 15,000 square feet, will about

double the size of the branch now at 2005 Dover Drive. That facility

serves 600 to 700 patrons each day, but officials say it is becoming

increasingly obsolete.

The Pilot’s Ryan Carter asked Bowman some questions about the new

library and her hopes for it.

What is your vision for the new library? Tell me what it will look

like and how life will be different from the way it is now.

I believe the public library should be a vital, active, focal

point of the community it serves. The building and the materials it

contains are there to be used by all age groups.

The new library will be able to accommodate more people than the

current one because of its expanded size and offer enhanced services

because of generous donations.

One immediate difference will be the separate areas for children,

adults and teens. For example, quiet study will be available for

adults, while a story can be read aloud for children in the

story-time room. Another difference will be the up-to-date ...

technology with an additional 37 computers, especially important for

homework.

Why is it important to renovate? How will a renovated branch serve

the community? Why is this significant?

The current library is outdated and new technology cannot be

brought in. It was also built to accommodate a smaller number of

people. With the construction of the new Crean Mariners Library, the

Newport Beach Public Library will be able to offer community members

more services and materials for checkout and research.

The joint-use aspect with the Mariners Elementary School is

significant because it provides Mariners students with an upgraded

facility from the 900-square-foot trailer where their current

collection is housed. The Mariners Elementary School portion of the

new library will be approximately 1,900 to 2,100 square feet.

Tell me about some of the neat educational and reference features

planned for the new branch?

The generosity of the community has been awesome. The new library

will feature an upgraded Vincent Jorgensen Community Room with

computers for a study center provided by the Weingart Foundation. The

state-of-the-art facility will include 24 adult computers, two teen

computers, and 11 children’s-room computers provided with funds from

Dwight and Silla Decker and Conexant.

The children’s room will have a story-time room with funding from

the Newport Beach Friends of the Library, a reference section,

especially for juvenile materials, and separated elementary school

and public area during school hours.

Teens will get a Young Adult area and a newly formed Mariners

Young Adult Advisory Council.

Adults will have access to upgraded research areas and new

materials.

Tell me about the people you serve at your branch? Are they mostly

younger, older, etc.?

The Mariners Library primarily serves the Mariners community,

although we attract library users from all of Newport Beach and

surrounding communities.

We have story times and picture books for toddlers, pre-schoolers

and families. We give library tours to home-schoolers, schoolchildren

and their teachers all through the school year. We have juvenile

materials for children of all ages and young adult materials for

teenagers.

We have books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, videos, books on

cassette ... CDs and more for college students, parents and other

adults.

For example, I think our oldest customer is a 94-year-old

gentlemen who visits the library at least twice a week.

How involved were you in pushing for a renovated library?

I was hired by the Newport Beach Public Library -- shortly after

they received the construction grant from the California State

Library specifically to build the new Crean Mariners Library -- as

branch manager. As a resident of Newport Beach, I am thrilled to be

able to work on a project benefiting my own community.

How much of a challenge has it been to get your branch rebuilt?

Cooperation has been the key to success in this joint venture.

Without the community support and individual donations, the Newport

Beach Public Library would not have received the construction grant

from the California State Library.

Without the vision of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Board and staff members, we would not have been able build a

joint-use facility. Without the solid support from the City of

Newport Beach and the expertise of the city staff, we would not have

been able to move the project forward.

Trustees are still seeking $300,000 for rebuilding costs. What

would you tell potential donors to convince them to donate money for

a rebuilt library?

The library has had to contend with the unforeseen rising

construction costs of steel and wood because of the rebuilding of

Iraq, construction in China, and other areas around the globe. But

with the cooperation of the community, we will be able to build the

new library. Naming opportunities still exist.

Imagine how excited a child would be to see his or her name or

family name on the donor wall. And all donations can be used for tax

purposes. Go to https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org and click on the

link, “Contribute to Build a Mariners Library Fund.” Other

informational links on the Newport Beach Public Library’s website

are, “Coming in 2005, the Donna and John Crean Mariners Branch

Library” and “Facts about the new Donna and John Crean Mariners

Branch Library.” Or, you can mail your contribution to: Newport Beach

Public Library, Attn: Crean Mariners Library, 1000 Avocado Avenue,

Newport Beach, CA, 92660.