Newport Beach may tighten its library rules

That annoying person talking loudly on a cellphone may one day be barred from using the Newport Beach Public Library.

Librarians want new regulations that would allow them to discipline unruly patrons, and the Board of Library Trustees gave them the go-ahead Tuesday to draft penalties.

As a public space, libraries must balance the needs of orderly patrons with the reality that some people smell strongly, make too much noise or stay on the computers for too long. How to reprimand adults without impinging on their public benefits is now the challenge for city staffers.

“We want to maintain the environment so people can enjoy the library,” said Tim Hetherton, library services manager. “At the same time, we want to make sure we’re not abusing anyone’s rights.”

Under the current code of conduct, librarians can ask someone to leave the building if he or she violates the rules, but that is their only recourse. A violator could drive to the other side of town and roll into a branch on roller skates, or even barefoot — both of which are prohibited.

Some other library systems lay out escalating penalties for breaking their rules. Pomona has a strict policy outlining which violations could result in permanent exclusion or even criminal prosecution.

Hetherton would like to follow that model.

The new policy might start with banning a patron for the day, and repeat offenders could be kept out for a week or a month. The most serious violators — such as those who commit crimes — could be barred from the library permanently.

That brings up legal questions that Hetherton will discuss with the city attorney. Because the library receives state and local government funds, it may not be able to exclude people from using its services.

And not everyone believes librarians should have so much power.

“I think that’s kind of invading someone’s freedoms,” said Hunter Rosner, 29. “The library’s like a refuge.”

Some of the rules in Newport Beach’s code of conduct are designed to control the effect homeless people have on others. For example, shopping carts, sleeping bags and bedrolls are not allowed in the libraries.

One cause for ejection is “The lack of personal hygiene or use of perfume or fragrance which produces odors that interfere with other customers’ use of library facilities.”

For Richard McDonough, 73, that’s the biggest nuisance: “It’s mostly odors.” People need to honor “decorum,” said McDonough, who often uses the Central Library.

While library officials say there wasn’t a particular series of events that triggered the push for tighter rules, they say there have been enough incidents to be concerned.

It’s not easy being a librarian, Hetherton said: “You try to bring it up in a way that’s non-confrontational. Most people are mortified that the librarian came to talk to them.”

At the library Thursday, someone had made a comfortable home office in a long cubicle, complete with a set of watercolor paints and a can of chili. But Hetherton said that wasn’t grounds for removal.

“We encourage people to get comfortable,” he said.

Sometimes, though, the staff members have to call the police if someone refuses to leave.

“They bend over backwards to be extremely fair to patrons,” said Karen Clark, an attorney who chairs the Board of Library Trustees.

As long as there’s an appeals process, Clark said she would support such a policy.

“Let’s make sure we have rules that are specific and enforceable,” she said.

The library would also need to figure out how to keep track of rabble-rousers. Would the librarians have photos of banned patrons, or something akin to “Wanted” posters?

“I can’t picture the day a staffer would look at a customer and compare it to a mug shot,” Hetherton said.

For now, people can keep evading librarians, as the policy has yet to be finalized and approved by the city attorney and the Board of Trustees.

mike.reicher@latimes.com