Costa Mesa/Donald Dungan Library

This library is small. And the staff are very helpful. And the computer always offline

Great programs, lovely collection & displays. Wonderfully helpful staff… if I do say so myself :) p. s. nice location!

The boyfriend and I didn’t want to make the drive to the Huntington Beach Central Library, so we decided to check out the Costa Mesa library in case we could have a closer study spot. However, we later regretted our laziness :/
The library looks nice on the outside but once you get inside you realize that the place is smaller than it looks. Because the boyfriend had brought his laptop, he wanted to find a spot with an outlet for his charger but it was very hard to find a free spot by an outlet because there were only a few. Their wifi was so slow though that the boyfriend ended up not using his laptop. He thought about using one of their computers really fast but there were soo many homeless people especially on the computers that he decided it probably wasn’t too sanitary.
We stayed for about half an hour before deciding that we’d really be more productive elsewhere. Not a horrible library but not really somewhere that I would want to hang out and study… Maybe I’ve been spoiled by Huntington Beach’s library but I will NOT be coming back!

Nice job on the re-​model! It looks like they replaced the wooden beams that were rotting and also did a face lift of the interior. (The lighting is a bit intense for me, so I just have to get in and out).
Friendly, helpful staff, especially Megan (sp?)!

For a small library, it makes the best out of the space it has. Best: open 7 days a week
Small Friends of the Library bookstore, but nice people working there.
It’s too bad Costa Mesa has several small library and doesn’t get a nice, new large one.

I am in a book club and I didn’t feel like paying $ 13 or so dollars for this month’s book so I checked out the Costa Mesa Library to see if they had it. They are open on Sundays which is totally nice.
I went to the information desk and asked the ladies there if they had the book I was looking for. Apparently, Jennifer Giffin’s «Where We Belong» is a popular book. There was over 100 people on the hold list. Luckily for me, the Costa Mesa library has book «rentals» and you can rent the book for $ 1.50 for the week and then .25 cents for each day after. Fine by me!
I checked out my book, paid my buck fifty and then I discovered they were doing a book sale as well. I headed over to the community room to check it out. It was a dollar a bag and they had some really good titles. I have gone to other book sales like this and usually the good books are gone by the first day. I happily left with a heavy bag filled with books. Now I gotta make room on the bookshelf!
Yes, it is on the smaller side and there are quite a few homeless people milling around but it is a good library.

Yes, there are quite a few homeless people in the library but that is not even one of my complaints. I went there today to get some studying done and not only were there VERY few tables with plugs for your laptop, but I spent nearly 15 minutes trying to connect to their WiFi. Then it was unbearably slow that I just had to leave! The lady next to me was having the same issue with their WiFi :(I don’t think I’ll be returning here again!

The best part of this library are the hours. It’s open every day. The worst part is the fact that it’s in a park where a lot of homeless people hang out, and they often frequent the library to use the facilities. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but that’s what I think.

This library is smaller than it looks! I like the high ceiling, but that’s about all I like about this place. There were so many homeless people in and around the library! The staff are all used to them lounging about the place. At one point, a security guard came in to tell a staff member that a homeless person outside was having a seizure. He and the staff member were cool as cucumbers. Apparently, that person is a regular at the library and often has these seizures. It was like routine for them!
When the staff is chit-​chatting on the phone or with one another, you can hear every word because the place is so small. Also, you have to ask someone to use the restroom; they unlock the door from their desk. Aside from the homeless people, there were some strange characters there that night. Never again.

For the most part, this place does the job. It provides me a convenient place to study, even open on Sundays (from 12pm-​5pm). Say whaaat?!?
A couple things that bothered me was, yes, the place is a little small. Not many chairs for us studious patrons. The staff chit chat pretty loudly amongst one another, adding to the small feel of the room. I solved this problem with some Pandora on a pair of headphones.
This place is also patronized by homeless people, which doesn’t bother me so much… as the smell of old urine they carried with them that particular day. Happy studying!

Inadequate air conditioning.
Restroom is locked and u must ask for permission to use it.
Very limited # of plugs for laptops.
This is one of the more depressing libraries in the OC system.

This is my go-​to library because I live around the corner. They handle all the inter-​library loans I request quickly and happily. I appreciate their reminders about when my next book (s) are due when I check out new ones and I think the library has a great children’s book section. I haven’t gone yet, but I’d love to take my daughter to their story hour on Tuesdays.

The staff is polite and willing to help with anything! The facilities are very clean. It’s not completely quiet, but just bring headphones. Free WiFi.

You will find this library comfortable and inviting. So do many homeless people. I’m ambivalent about that. As a library, this is just so-​so; relatively small holdings with no particular area of specialty. Since it’s part of the Orange County system, that’s not so bad; you can get interlibrary loans. The library has a bank of computers, but good luck getting on one of those. The workers are generally friendly, and there’s some nice park space nearby, so it’s not bad to get some light reading and then laze outside for a while. But if you’re a serious researcher or looking for anything very specialized, you might not have much luck.

I visited here by accident, as I was early for an event at the neighboring community center. This library can be best described as cute: aesthetically pleasing and small-​feeling, but in a good way.

«Aidez moi, s’il vous plait» … can you help me please?
I entered the library, eager. Excited. (Ecstatic!) — in my quest to obtain a passport. I had only recently found that I was able to avoid a trip to the post office (lackluster, dreary, I’d rather stab my eye with a fork, ugh, the ever loathe-​able post office)
You see, friends… I’m crossing oceans. Globe trekking… to. .. PARIS!
A friend tells me as we’re side by side on the elliptical at the gym, «Go to Friends of Costa Mesa Donald Dungan library… you can make an appointment over the phone… I was in and out in 15 minutes.»
15 minutes?!?
Très bien!
I am SO there!
I made my appointment for a Saturday… and was quickly ushered into a small room lined with books to the ceiling and a smiling, elderly librarian pulled a plain white screen down behind me and thrust a large piece of cardboard covered in aluminum foil in my hands… «for better lighting… no shadows»… I held back a giggle and she proceeded to snap two shots. The only awkward moment came as an unexpected «cheeeese» when I was already smiling (ear to ear).
I was literally in and outta there in 10 minutes.
I definitely recommend this library to meet your world traveling documentation needs. Easy and efficient and the $ 25 processing fee to support a non-​profit makes it all the while!
A bientôt, Paris! (see you soon)