KEEP ‘EM HAPPY: Lydia Hao, who works...

KEEP ‘EM HAPPY: Lydia Hao, who works at the Heritage Park Library in Irvine, isn’t surprised to learn the library is the county leader in circulation. “We’re always busy,” she says. “Students do their homework here, people seek our help in looking for jobs. We’re so short of staff, you can’t always give everyone all the attention they want; so we do get an occasional complaint.” Heritage is one of 27 branches of the county library system.

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Orange County’s five busiest public libraries last fiscal year, based on books circulated: Heritage Park, Irvine: 499,987 El Toro, Lake Forest: 485,685 University Park, Irvine: 365,036 Mariners, Newport Beach: 363,247 Mission Viejo: 349,091 Source: California State Library