Closer Look -- Will new library chapter ever open?

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT BEACH -- As the effort to raise $1 million for the proposed

school-publiv Mariners Library reaches the home stretch, concerns about

the proposal continue to plague the project.

The new state-of-the-art library would be a one-story,

14,000-square-foot building to replace the current Mariners Branch

Library, on Irvine Boulevard. The lot is on city property next to the

Mariners Elementary School campus. Students would no longer use their own

school library, but would go with their teachers to the children’s

section of the public library instead.

So far, supporters have raised more than $500,000, and need the rest

by June 14 to be eligible for $2 million in state funds.

While proponents express confidence that the other half a million will

be procured, opposition to the library is mushrooming. A petition that

began circulating a little more than a week ago, has already garnered

more than 200 signatures, said parent Linda Duffy.

Safety is job one

At issue are safety concerns that opponents say are not adequately

addressed in the proposal. They are calling for the city to explore

alternatives to housing the two libraries together, so Mariners students

can continue to have exclusive use of their own school library.

However, supporters contend that safety concerns are being addressed

as the plans -- which are still a work in progress -- evolve.

“I trust that the school district and the city and the library staff

are doing the best job that they can and will continue to do the best job

they can to make my children safe,” said Theresa Chase, co-chair of the

Committee to Build the New Mariners Library.

The idea for the school-public library was hatched last year to take

advantage of Proposition 14 funds that pay for the joint projects of

separate entities. Mariners School was chosen because of its close

proximity to the branch library, which city officials say is in serious

need of renovation.

As the design stands now, the children’s section will encompass a

3,000-square-foot area. Mariners studentswill have the secured use of an

area inside this section for approximately 30 hours per week. They will

access this area through a separate school entrance. General public

access to the school part of the children’s section will also be

available through the school entrance as long as visitors sign in and get

authorization at the school office.

Although the final details are still being hammered out, current

safety precautions include the separate entrance, separate bathrooms in

the children sections, video cameras and a security patrol.

A good deal for the children

Supporters embarked on their fund-raising campaign in the beginning of

March and so far more than 500 individual donors have pitched in, Chase

said.

Supporters tout the advantages the new library will feature including

new technology, an expanded book collection, extended hours and

additional computers and staff.

Many parents who support the proposal say they have faith in the

school staff to watch out for their children.

“The teachers address safety concerns at school every day and I don’t

think they will abdicate that responsibility just because there’s a new

library that’s open to the public,” said Susan Graham, who has a first-

and a fourth-grader at Mariners.

But as plans advanced, concerned parents started voicing their fears

about safety. In early May, Duffy and other opponents launched a web site

to inform others about the risks they believe are inherent in a shared

facility like the potential of pedophiles accessing pornographic material

on the Internet and then accosting children.

Parents are also wary about strangers lurking around the campus. Karen

McClory said she is concerned that an incident that happened to her son

four years ago when he was a fifth-grader at the school could become more

prevalent with a shared library.

McClory said her son and some of his friends were attacked during

school hours by some teenage boys who had been using the branch library.

She said the openness of the school setting makes the children vulnerable

enough already without the additional risk of the library.

“Many times the yard duty has had to separate a strange adult from the

park or the library,” McClory said. “It is a big, public place outside of

our school. There’s always something they need to watch.”

Other ideas

One of the suggestions recently floated by opponents is to change the

nature of the proposal from a shared facility to a joint venture, which

would enable the school to keep its own library. This would also allow

the proposal to still be eligible for top-priority Proposition 14 funds,

said Richard Hall, state library bond act manager.

This would also alleviate the concerns of some opponents who fear the

students access to the library and to the books inside the children’s

section will be hampered by the shared use.

“The proposed off-campus library would severely restrict the students’

access to open book check-outs and study use at recess,” said Gerry Nack,

library clerk at the Mariners School Library, in an e-mail message.

“These students’ library visits would be dictated by the availability of

an adult escort.”

Other worries relate to the recreational nature of the park near the

school. Some residents have raised the issue of the tennis courts being

moved, but the city is going to cover the expense of relocating them next

to the fire station.

The city will also be moving the batting cages to an as-of-yet

undetermined location, said City Manager Homer Bludau.

Others have voiced concerns about a new, larger library changing the

neighborhood flavor of the park. Bludau dismissed this fear as well.

“No one wants to see that happen and I don’t think that would happen,”

Bludau said. “We expect the same people that are using the library now.

They may use it with more frequency, but it’s really for the same

people.”

A new breed of library

The only other school-public library in the county is currently being

built in Ladera Ranch by the Capistrano Unified School District.

It is being constructed as part of a new campus that will also include

an elementary and middle school. The two-story library will be housed

between the two schools, with the ground level serving the needs of the

students only and the second level available to the general public. There

will be no access to the school from the upstairs portion of the library,

said John Adams, county librarian.

“The Capistrano Unified School District was extremely concerned about

the questions of security and had to be very resourceful in developing a

solution that would satisfy those concerns,” Adams said.

Newport Beach city officials say they are applying the same

creativeness to the proposed Mariners library while they work out the

final details. Many of the parents’ concerns have already been taken into

consideration, said Bludau.

There has been a major change in the design of how to keep a physical

separation between the children’s section and other sections during

school hours, he said.

While at first, the burden was up to the library staff to monitor the

separation, now architects are devising a more physical separation like

roll-away doors. Bludau said more complete design and security measures

will be available next week.

Although there are two subsequent funding phases after the June 14

deadline, revising the library proposal is not a viable option, Bludau

said.

“There’s less than two weeks time to get the application in and to get

an application prepared for a remodel just isn’t going to happen -- not

because of the short time frame involved -- but because neither the City

Council or the school board feel that would be the best project,” Bludau

said.

Both entities will vote on the proposal on June 11.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .