NEWPORT BEACH : Main Library to Be Closed During Move

The city’s main library will close for almost a month while books and other materials are moved to the building that will become the Central Library.

More than 135,000 books, recordings and reference materials will come from the old Center Library at 856 San Clemente Drive. The building will close June 16.

Besides setting up the current collection in the new library, the movers will also integrate more than 20,000 books that now lie in boxes for lack of space, said Tom Johnson, assistant city librarian.

The new Central Library is scheduled to open July 10. Johnson said staff will use the coming month to set up telephones, computers and other equipment.

The new library can hold 260,000 items, Johnson said, adding that it should be able to house the city’s collection for decades to come.

The City Council recently approved spending $30,000 to transport more than 150,000 items to the new library building at 1000 Avocado Ave.

The Center Library opened in 1980 but is now too small, Johnson said. The old building was acquired by the Irvine Co. in return for the land on which the new library was built.

Plans call for the old library to become an art museum, Johnson said.

The city’s three branch libraries will expand their hours while the main library is closed.

The Balboa, Corona del Mar and Mariners branch libraries will be open on Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 9 p.m. and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Corona del Mar and Mariners branches will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on June 19, June 26 and July 3.

Newport libraries circulate 1.2 million items each year, Johnson said, and in that time get 800,000 visits and 200,000 reference questions.