Ready for checkout

When the long-awaited Donna and John Crean Mariners Branch Library opens its doors Thursday, it will be pulling double duty: The new facility will operate as both the Mariners Elementary School library and a public library.

At 15,000 square feet, the $5.9-million library boasts a size more than double that of the previous Mariners branch. With a collection that includes 58,000 items and a view of Mariners Park, it offers beautiful surroundings and a slew of services for children and adults.

During school hours, Mariners students will have an area of the library for their exclusive use.

“We will actually have two librarians,” Mariners Principal Pam Coughlin said. “All of their children’s books were added to our books. I don’t remember exactly how many that is, but it is a lot.”

The new Vincent Jorgensen Community Room will provide after-school study space for students as well as an area for community activities.

“We are going to get so many more resources,” Coughlin said. “The kids are very excited.”

The new Mariners library will continue Newport Beach’s push to fuse the written word with the computer chip.

For starters, users can check out iPods loaded with digital audio books.

“They check out the whole iPod, but they have to have their own earphones,” said Linda Katsouleas, director of library services for Newport Beach.

Within two months, Katsouleas plans to offer MP3 downloads at all branches as well as online.

“It would allow you to come in or do it from home and download the book to your MP3 player,” she said.

Library patrons will also have the opportunity to borrow wireless-ready laptops for use on library grounds. Those with laptops are free to roam the grounds while surfing the Internet on the library’s wireless network.

“Now people can come in and curl up in one of our chairs and use their laptops,” Katsouleas said.

The atmosphere is definitely part of the experience for those visiting the new facility. Vaulted ceilings, movable translucent partitions, expansive windows and separate computer centers for children and adults help make this library an experience for all ages.

“The project has done a great job of coming in on budget and on time,” said Mayor Don Webb, who was on the library’s building committee. “This gives the children an opportunity to have a library much larger than other schools.”

Webb will speak at the opening ceremonies beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday. Also scheduled to speak are Marian Bergeson, former California secretary of education; Harry Hamilton, board of library trustees chairman; and David Brooks, Newport-Mesa Unified board president.

Webb plans to talk about the history of the facility. Built for about $100,000, the first Mariners library opened April 1, 1963, becoming the largest library in Newport Beach.

Over the years, the library’s needs for space grew. Outdoor patios were walled off to provide needed workspace, and additional parking was added off site.

In the spring of 2001, Theresa Chase and Chris Wilkerson led the community in raising the $1 million required to qualify for a $3.2 million California state library grant. Half of the grant-qualifying amount was donated by Donna and John Crean, for whom the building was named.

The opening ceremonies will be held in front of the library, near the intersection of 17th Street and Irvine Avenue. dpt.19-library-1-CPhotoInfoGI1Q392E20060419ixxy23ncLINDA NGUYEN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Librarian assistant Joanna Ransom shelves books in preparation for the opening of the expanded Mariners Branch Library.