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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC - Public CommentsST�jm (Frsslo Al PUBLIC CWMCA S 1 -z& -1,C) 8 Reasons the Newport Beach Public Library Needs a 21st Century Auditorium 1. The Friends Room is too small. This Friends Room has been too small since the Library opened inll It has been too small since the Distinguished Series Lecture Series was established 13 years ago. Though we can pack in 220 people, over the years it has been necessary to cut off ticket sales as we recently did with the Nicholas Kristof event on October 301h. Demand was so high that we could have sold twice as many tickets. We even sold 23 sponsorship tickets at $250.00 and we had to cut that off as well, demonstrating that the public will support quality programming. Just recently I was turned away at the door, along with many others, for the event featuring Bill Lobdell. No more room. It's a great problem to have, but let's fix it. 2. The Friends Room is not built for 21' programming. Most speakers now bring PowerPoint presentations and video to enhance their lecture. It then becomes necessary to eliminate the stage and put the podium on the floor so that the audience can see the screen. It is then harder to see the speaker. This is an unfortunate way to present a prestigious author. the Library Foundation just spent thousands of dollars to bring to Newport Beach. In addition, when a speaker does not use the screen, we need to bring in a make shift platform to raise the podium. We need quality lighting to enhance the stage. Do we want to continue this forever? 3. The DSLS Committee could negotiate books with more expensive and acclaimed speakers if we had more seats to sell. The price tag for dynamic renowned speakers has risen dramatically. Our ability to book these amazing individuals is only limited by the number of bodies we can put in seats. More seats = more potential revenue and better quality speakers. Alternatively, the limited number of seats also affects the high price of our tickets. Often, we could serve the community better by charging less money per ticket if we had more seats to sell. 4. The Friends Room does not have the ability to properly video tape a speaker to use for television broadcast or You Tube video coverage. We have the potential to film our programming and share it with a wider audience, as does the Los Angeles Public Library. We are hampered by the space available to set up video cameras in the aisle or at the back of the room. The camera blocks views and is in the way, often requiring that we remove some seats to make room. It is unprofessional. A new auditorium could include a tech booth that handles all sound, visual and recording capabilities. This would help facilitate our recorded pod casts produced for the Library Foundation website. 5. The Friends Room can be so crowded for weeknight programming that we don't have space for the refreshment in the back without removing seating. Programming and logistics are compromised once again because we have to squeeze so many functions into one room at the same time. 6. The Friends Room has light pollution for some daytime programs. The community Room was not designed to have Power Point or video screening during the day. The quality of the programming suffers due to the light pollution coming in from the windows and doorways despite the added blinds to remedy this problem. 7. Crowds line up to enter the Friends Room in a congested hallway blocking the doors to the bathroom. More circulation space is needed during popular events for crowd control and ticket check 8. A new auditorium would spread out the parking. Parking at the Library is continually a problem, particularly for Saturday events, wher, the Library is open at the same time. By moving bigger events to the new Civic Center facility, attendees would logically park in new parking structure eliminating the bottleneck we now experience. 10 Reasons the City of Newport Beach Needs a 21" Century Auditorium 1. There is no auditorium! With the exception of Newport Harbor High School, there is no alternative facility for large -scale events to take place in our city. It is amazing that a city the size of Newport Beach, and one of the wealthiest and highly educated communities in the country, has never aspired to build an auditorium before. 2. Arts and culture will flourish if there is a 21" century auditorium. Local arts groups would be thrilled to have access to a new multi purpose facility that can comfortably accommodate their audiences. Music groups, theatre groups, the Newport Beach Film Festival, Corona Del March High School, and more would bring the Library and Civic Center alive with creative energy. 3. The public will be excited about the new civic center auditorium! Once the construction mess starts and traffic increases, the City needs the public on its side. Patience and goodwill come with the understanding there is small space set aside in a] 7, 000 square foot building that the public can enjoy. Citizens want something to look forward t when tax dollars are spent. 4. If not now, when? It's a waste of money to build a new community room that is already too small on paper. Brace yourselffor the pubic outcry once it is build 5. The Chamber of Commerce and other government - affiliated organizations can use this space for larger events. For a city to flourish, so must its facilities to accommodate the economic energy 6. The City Council will receive praise and glory once for a magnificent new public programming space. Be a visionary! The public will be ecstatic with a new, expanded facility that will bring more enriching programming and events into their lives so close to home. 7. The City needs to capitalize on the long -term use of this precious land. We need to gather our can -do attitude, determination and goodwill to join forces and build a practical, usable space. If not, this will be a stunning missed opportunity. S. This building will be one of the few architectural landmarks in the Newport Beach. It should be celebrated!! We can't cheap out. 8 Ways to Raise Money for Extra Seating 1. How much money do we need to accommodate 150 more +/- seats anyway ?? This can't be an unattainable amount of money 2. Use the Library Foundation and other organizations to launch a fundraising campaign. 3. Sell each seat for $1,000 and put a small name plaque on it. 275 x $1, 000 = $275, 000 in donations!!!! 4. Sell the naming rights. The Los Angeles Public Library's lectures take place in the Mark Taper Auditorium. This opportunity could generate a nice big donation. 5. The auditorium and the plaza can be used for a multitude of fundraising events that will generate future revenue. 6. Rent the facility for corporate events and other private affairs. The auditorium can be rented out to the business community. The civic building is literally surrounding by local corporation, many of which have annual meeting and other events requiring multi -media facilities for speeches and presentations. This new building could be rented for this purpose. The LA Public Library rents their auditorum for $2,500 plus extra for parking, etc... 7. Tap into the Library Foundation supporters via our email and web connections to raise money. The Library Foundation's data base of supporters and ticket buyers is 16, 522 people and growing already familiar with our facilities and may be interested in joining the effort to expand far future programming. This would be a grass roots outreach. 8. Organize a series of fundraisers with the N.B. Film Festival and other groups and dedicate the money towards this project. Look how successful the campaign was to raise money to build the Mariner's Branch. 9. People love the Library. There is untapped community good will. Citizens are hungry for rich, community experience that the Library and the Foundation presents. If citizens know that we can deliver even better programming with a large, state -of -the art space - they will back us up. 10. The work of acclaimed architect Peter Bohlin will be studied, published and praised for generations to come. Doesn't the City want to design and build an amazing auditorium while we have a world - class talent working for us all? People open their wallets if they know their donation is directed towards a solid investment for the future —just as they did when private funds were raised years ago to build the current Library Building.