HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-03-21 - BLT - 06 Balboa Branch Library Report
The Balboa Branch Library is the “original” Newport Beach library, when a 2200 square foot
building was constructed around existing public restrooms and opened in 1929. In 1952 this
building was expanded to the current 5000 feet. While this branch is not as heavily used as
Central and Mariners, we do have a dedicated base of regulars, mostly people who live on the
peninsula or on boats. Summer is by far our busiest time of year, seeing a lot of foot traffic,
heavy computer use by visitors, and children participating in the Summer Reading Program.
The branch is open 60 hours per week; late nights on Mondays and Wednesdays, and closed
on Sundays.
Unique to the Balboa Branch is its Nautical Collection. This collection consists of fiction,
nonfiction, reference, and DVDs. The Nautical Nonfiction collection in particular is quite popular.
This consists of practical books on boating and sailing, repair manuals, narratives, history, and
more.
Also unique to Balboa is the 3D Blu-ray collection, for adults and children.
Another unique, and new feature this year, is the Newport Beach Historical Society displays,
which are in the room that formerly housed back issues of Nautical Periodicals.
For children, we offer two storytimes a week, as well as one special program per month such as
a craft program or performer. We also do unannounced drop-in crafts, where we cover one of
the tables in the kids area with colorful paper and leave crafts outfor the kids to make.
Personnel
The Balboa Branch is staffed by one full-time librarian, two part-time clerks, and one page.
Since the branch is open late two days a week, staff from Central and Mariners fill in the
evening hours and other gaps in the schedule.
Evelyn Rogers took over as branch librarian in May of 2015 following Rebecca Lightfoot’s move
to the Mariners Branch. Clerk Mike Payne has been a fixture at the branch since 1989, lives on
the peninsula, and knows everybody. Daisy Hernandez is the other part-time clerk, a creative
person, and a great addition to staff. Page John West, another peninsula local, started in
September of 2015.
TO:
BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES
FROM:
Library Services Department
Evelyn Rogers, Balboa Branch Librarian
949-644-30763823, erogers@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY:
Evelyn Rogers
TITLE:
Balboa Branch Library Report March 2015 – March 2016
Facility Maintenance
This year we have added some nice updates and enhancements to the building. The window
film on the front doors was replaced and new lettering applied. In the children’s area the
computer workstation was replaced and color accents were painted on the walls, freshening and
brightening that area. The hallway where the public restrooms are was repainted, as was the
staff restroom. The History room was repainted in vivid blues, the same colors as the accents in
the children’s area.
For staff collections and materials, the children’s craft closet was cleaned and organized a few
months ago, and an inventory was written. This helps in the organization and implementation of
children’s programs. The storytime materials: books, the iPod, crafts, flannels, and toys, were
moved into one section of the office.
Public Service
Balboa recently enabled wireless printing. We get quite a few college students who come here
to study and they especially like having that feature available.
Circulation and Reference Services
Balboa’s service population is 5,372, although much higher during summer with tourists and
visitors who rent houses on the peninsula, many of whom have NBPL out-of-state library cards
they renew in the summer. 62,540 checkouts occurred in the period from March 2015 to
February 2016.
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
January 2016
February 2016
Checkouts
Checkouts
For the same time period we had a total of 7817 walk-in and telephone reference questions:
Checkouts and reference together:
Program Attendance
We present two children’s storytimes per week, Preschool Storytime and Books & Babies, and
have a pretty steady group of attendees. Outreach to a local preschool/daycare and to the
librarian at Newport El is done to promote our special programs, which are mainly for school-
age children. In the period from March 2015 to February 2016, we have had 858 storytime
attendees and 556 special program attendees.
0 200 400 600 800 1000
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
January 2016
February 2016
Phone
Walk-in
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
January 2016
February 2016
Checkouts
Reference
Children’s Storytimes and Special Programs:
Summer Reading
Storytime numbers drop a bit in the summer, but special program numbers increase. During the
seven weeks of the annual Summer Reading Program, 297 people attended our special
programs. 111 children signed up at the branch, and 45 finished the reading program.
Collection Maintenance
Balboa’s collection consists of36,730 items. Lately we have done a lot of rearranging, cleaning
of shelves and area, and weeding, especially in Children’s. The goal has been to clean up the
various collections, making the branch look nicer and making it easier to find materials. We
strive to keep our collections as fresh, relevant, and useful as possible.
So far,Reference has been weeded, inventoried, and reorganized, and the shelves cleaned.
Adult DVDs were weeded and shifted. Nautical DVDs were moved out of the magazine room
back into the main room, where they are more visible.An initial weeding of Nautical Nonfiction
was done, and we received extra Friends money to update this collection.
In the children’s department, graphic novels were moved to an area next to the paperbacks
where they are more accessible. New nonfiction was shifted one shelf over, where there is a bit
more room, and now the titles on all the spines are visible. Mysteries were interfiled with fiction,
which isconsistent with the rest of NBPL children’s collections. The music CDs were movedonto
wood display holders, which cleaned up that area.
Comments
The Balboa Branch has a dedicated base of folks who love their library: peninsula residents,
sailors, students, and visitors.
0 50 100 150 200 250
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
January 2016
February 2016
Storytime
Special/Family