A fresh look at the library

If you haven’t been to the Newport Beach Central Library recently,

you might want to check it out over the holidays. The Central Library

closed last week for renovations and refurbishments, and this is the

perfect time to take a fresh look at what the library has to offer.

The Popular Library section, with its collection of the latest

bestsellers, magazines, books on cassette or CD and videotapes and

DVDs, has been expanded. It now has more comfortable seating for

those who want to browse leisurely through the extensive magazine

collection. Catch up over the holidays on all those issues of your

favorite magazine that you’ve been too busy to read.

The Central Library and all three branches circulate their

magazine collections, so why not pick up a few copies and take them

home with you for a week? While browsing through the Popular Library,

you’ll also discover a large selection of books on CD and films in

videotape and DVD formats for home enjoyment.

When you stroll upstairs, you’ll notice that our business

reference collection has been integrated with our reference

collection. Not to worry -- all the most useful and current

information is still available. For your convenience, the New York

Times and the Wall Street Journal indexes and the “Readers’ Guide to

Periodical Literature” are now on the index tables next to the

microfilm-microfiche cabinets and reader-printers.

The biggest change is that the Teen Center is now upstairs. This

is the perfect location for studying and homework, now near all those

resources that students need for homework. There will be two

dedicated computer terminals for teens to use during Teen Center

hours, and teens will have access to the 24 public computers

upstairs. As always, the Teen Center is open to all library customers

during school hours.

The teen librarians can suggest a variety of resources for

schoolwork needs, and if you want to read over the school break, they

can always recommend several great titles. The Teen Center offers

books to satisfy every taste: fantasy, science fiction, mystery,

romance, graphic novels, teen magazines, and books on cassette and

CD.

If you don’t have a chance to make it into your nearest Newport

Beach Public Library, don’t forget many of the library’s resources

are available online at https://www.newportbeach library.org. You can

access the library’s catalog, a variety of databases and lists of

bestsellers and new titles, and you can check out the many programs

offered at the library.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Susie Lamb. For more information on

the Central Library or any of the branch locations, please call the

Newport Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.