CHECK IT OUT:

Back to school means back to books, but at the library you’ll find a lot more than books this fall. The Newport Beach Public Library is starting a new season of programs and special events for all ages, including ongoing computer classes, story times for children, craft programs, classical music concerts and special events.

One of the most exciting programs being introduced is “Seasoned with Theatre,” a series of free performing-arts enrichment programs for young people. The library is hosting them in partnership with South Coast Repertory.

“Seasoned with Theatre” will include free performances, acting workshops and “behind the scenes” theater activities presented by talented staff members and professional artists from South Coast Repertory on Saturdays until May. The first program in the series, “Acting Workshop I,” will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Central Library. The programs are appropriate for school-age children 6 and older who are accompanied by an adult. A schedule of “Seasoned with Theatre” events and more information is available at www.newportbeachlibrary.org and (949) 644-3296. The program is sponsored by the library and generously funded by the Argyros Foundation.

For music lovers, a new season of Sunday Musicales kicks off with pianist Beth Sussman at 3 p.m. Sept. 21 in the Friends Meeting Room of the Central Library. Sussman’s performance of “Just Desserts” will feature familiar and not-so-well-known pieces interspersed with information about the composer and the music itself. Popular selections by George Gershwin, as well as from classical composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, make up her appealing repertoire.

“A violin is a fiddle, and a fiddle is a violin,” says Paul Stein, a member of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra who leads the first family concert of the season, “Fiddle Fireworks,” at 2 p.m. Oct. 4. Stein will set off musical “fireworks,” playing selections such as “Hot Canary,” Mozart and “Fiddling the Fiddle” in this performance geared to entertain children ages 5 and older with their families.

Book Groups sponsored by the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation also start a new season in September. The morning Manuscripts Book Group will be reading and discussing “The Emperor’s Children” by Claire Messud at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. This dazzling, masterful novel involves intersection in the lives of three friends, now on the cusp of their 30s, making their way — and not — in New York City.

“Criminal Paradise” by Stephen M. Thomas will be the evening Manuscripts discussion title at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16. This new mystery, set in Orange County and written by a local author, is about a reasonably honorable thief who holds up businesses and restaurants across Southern California and finds his life transformed by a photograph of a young girl found inside a safe. We are pleased to have the author back Oct. 15 to discuss “Criminal Paradise.” This event is free and open to the public.

Come join us at the Newport Beach Public Library, the cultural, educational and informational heart of Newport Beach. Check out the “Events Calendar” at www.newportbeachlibrary.org for a schedule of upcoming programs and events.

CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public Library. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at www.newportbeachlibrary.org. For more information on the Central Library or any of the branches, please contact the Newport Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.