Library Checks Out as Arena for Artists
With its elegant structure and gold-card library cards, the Beverly Hills Library is a delightful place to check out books on poodle-grooming and Mercedes maintenance.
And if officials have their way, you’ll come to think of this city of glitz as a city of goodwill where struggling artists can show off their singing, dancing and writing talents.
“We want the library to be an arena for emerging Southern California artists,” says Michelle Merrill, cultural services manager for the city of Beverly Hills. “A place for people to come for a free concert, a lecture or an artist exhibition.”
The library has always a part of the Beverly Hills Civic Center on Rexford Drive, but not until the structure underwent remodeling in 1989, did its civic role grow.
Architect Charles Moore expanded the original library by adding wings. One houses the children’s section, another the reference area. A third wing is home to a 200-seat auditorium, which enables the library to sponsor a myriad of cultural events.
As head of the Library and Community Services Department, Merrill’s goal is to make the library a cultural center in the community.
“Our mission is to provide opportunity for exposure and be able to provide support. I think that’s what we are here for--to support. We have a building, we have a room. Why not support these groups if they have something valuable to share with the community?”
Since there is an abundance of talent out there, dying for exposure, Merrill says she has no trouble filling her events calendar--even though she doesn’t pay performers.
“I’m inundated with people,” she says. “I don’t need any more people. A lot of people want to use this as a real opportunity for their own commercialism.”
Merrill looks for talent that might not have the opportunity to be showcased elsewhere and might not be easily accessible to the community.
For example, David Atchity wanted to help struggling writers and Beverly Hills had the room to house writing workshops. Now they are so popular at the library, that Atchity started another series at the library in Pasadena.
Similarly, Ronald Celona needed a venue for his American Musical Theatre Repertory--a place where he could test out new material before mounting a full production. On April 27-28, the Beverly Hills library is sponsoring a staged musical reading of his new musical farce, “Oh Rats.”
Other examples of upcoming non-traditional library events include:
* Synthesizer musician Michael Robinson will lecture on computer-controlled synthesizer music on May 3, and present his own compositions on May 4.
* A representative from the Goldwyn Foundation will give a history lecture on May 6. On May 17, the foundation will exhibit “The Wizard of Oz” memorabilia, along with a children’s performance.
* Los Angeles Women in Theatre will present poetry readings and dramatic interpretations on Mother’s Day, May 10.
Beyond its cultural offerings and pleasant atmosphere, the Beverly Hills library offers an outstanding facility, with collections that surpass many larger communities.
“The library serves a dual purpose,” says acting director Frank Piontek.
“One is for pleasure and relaxation--that is, your general fiction books, your videotapes. And the other is an educational function, to provide materials for students in school, for all ages from elementary to college level. Also, it’s educational in the sense of people who want to educate themselves.”
The library itself has an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. With comfortable chairs, soft lighting and deep pile carpeting, you feel like you’re in the lobby of a Hyatt hotel rather than in a library. Its spacious interior and galleries are reminiscent of a Venetian plaza.
The children’s area is charming. The hallway leading there is lined with children’s drawings and book reports; a buttery-yellow glow gives the appearance of an eternally sunny day. The series of archways becomes smaller and smaller, giving the impression of entering a tinier world.
Throughout the library are works of art that are periodically replaced, but don’t expect the peacefulness of an art gallery. On Sundays and after 3 p.m. on weekdays, the library is inundated with scholarly yet giggly teen-agers working on school projects.
On the premises, you’ll also find a small bookstore run by the Friends of the Library. This unassuming little room gets heaps of books donated every month from the public.
Among the library’s more traditional services:
* A large fine-arts division featuring 18th-, 19th- and 20th-Century British and American art.
* For the business-minded, directories on manufacturing, imports and exports, franchises; books on stocks and bonds, mutual funds and other finance information.
* Audiovisual materials with more than 80,000 audiocassettes, compact discs, videocassettes, laser discs and books on tape.
* An extensive children’s section offers programs to promote interest in reading, such as a summer reading club, book reports and story times with parents.
* A modern reference and periodical area that features on-line information. Also, the library subscribes to more than 600 periodicals.
* Microcomputers with spreadsheets, word processing and desktop publishing capabilities.
“(The Library) brings cultures together,” says Merrill. “Sometimes people in Beverly Hills don’t really get a chance to see there’s life beyond Olympic Boulevard.
“A city can be a lovely city to live in, but there’s got to be another dimension to your community. There has to be an opportunity for culture and leisure programs to provide nourishment.”
Beverly Hills Library The library is open Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-8:45 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4:45 p.m.
The library is located at 444 N. Rexford Drive, off Santa Monica Boulevard.
For information, call:
* Reference: (213) 288-2244
* Circulation desk: (213) 288-2220
* Children’s information: (213) 288-2211
* Events: (213) 288-2201
The community bulletin board (on the left as you enter the north doors) also lists upcoming events.
