ENCINITAS - With its long-awaited "grand" opening only days away, the Encinitas Community Library was a bustling place Tuesday.

To prepare for daylong festivities Saturday, library staffers organized a 70,000-item collection on hundreds of steel shelves.

As the doors open to the custom-made building on a hilltop perch, branch librarian Sandy Housely said she hopes patrons will experience "the awe factor."

"The good kind of awe," she said.

The library at 540 Cornish Drive has taken two years to build and many more years to plan and steer through political obstacles - a point that then-Mayor Christy Guerin made in March 2006, when construction got under way.

"So, after 12 years, four special task forces, two library needs assessments, five site evaluations, one public opinion poll, one special election and a bid way over budget, we are breaking ground today to build our library," she said at the time.

Saturday's activities begin with an 8:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In the meantime, workers at the library have plenty to keep them busy.

On Tuesday, furniture movers wheeled lounge chairs among the rows of shelves. The art deco chairs are equipped with rotating tables just big enough to hold a laptop computer.

Electricians pulled cable through conduit to power garden lights; men with shovels popped plants into the ground.

A carpenter sawed and sanded boards. Another builder adjusted a door jamb. A man in a cherry picker tinkered with a library sign.

"Looks like we got our $20 million worth," said a neighbor who took in the action.

More than 200 items on a punch list are left to complete, but the library will open for business even if some jobs are unfinished, said Richard Phillips, a city staffer assigned to the project.

And Saturday's ceremonies will proceed rain or shine, he said.

Many Encinitas residents are contributing to the program, including celebrated guitarist Peter Sprague, painter Mary Fleener and children's books author Gretchen Wendel.

Harpists will massage the eardrums of guests; children can have their faces painted and make dolphin finger puppets. Teens can play the "Guitar Hero" video game and surfers can hear a talk by surfing writer Chris Ahrens.

Manuel Oncina, the architect who designed the library, is scheduled to host a lecture.

Visitors can ask about the library's industrial design, with board-formed interior and exterior walls of dyed concrete. Inside, ceiling joists are exposed and so are great, curving beams that support a roof that resembles a breaking wave.

One of the facility's librarians, Phil Shopoff, said Tuesday that he was very happy to be assigned to the Encinitas branch. He straightened up a shelf of economics and self-help books, leaving room at eye-level to display the full cover of a volume.

"Turn a book title outward and put it on the shelf and someone will take it out," he said.

- Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 901-4074 or akaye@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.

Encinitas Community Library Grand Opening

- 8:30 to 9 a.m., opening ceremony with Doug Miles, Scots piper.

- 9 to 10 a.m., ribbon-cutting ceremony, outdoor lobby.

- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Esteban Veratti, Paraguayan harpist, guitarist.

- 2 to 5 p.m., Rebecca Keller, classical harpist.

Children's Area

- 10 a.m. to noon, High Seas Adventures with Captain Book.

- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Make a Dolphin Finger Puppet.

- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Frazzle Dazzle Face Painting.

- 12:30 to 1 p.m., Encinitas author Gretchen Wendel reads from her "Becka and the Big Bubble" books.

- 1:30 to 2 p.m., Sea Life Story Time with Margo Smart, regional children's librarian.

- 2:30 to 3 p.m., Sea Life Story Time with Margo Smart, regional children's librarian.

- 3:30 to 4 p.m., Encinitas author Gretchen Wendel reads from her "Becka and the Big Bubble" books.

Study Rooms

- 10 to 11 a.m., "Guitar Hero" and Wii.

- Noon to 2 p.m., "Guitar Hero" and Wii.

- 3 to 5 p.m., "Guitar Hero" and Wii.

Special Collections Area, The Ocean Around Us

- 11 a.m. to noon, Chris Ahrens, local surfing legend and author.

- 2 to 3 p.m., California Surf Museum and Friends.

Computer Lab-Architect Discussion

10 a.m., Manuel Oncina, principal, Manuel Oncina Architects Inc., La Jolla.

11 a.m., engineering discussion hosted by Manuel Oncina Architects Inc., La Jolla.

Community Room

- 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Neils and the Peanut Butter Cookie Band.

- 11:30 a.m. to noon, Jimmy Patton.

- 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., Moonlight Beach Ukulele Strummers.

- 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Superstrings.

- 2:45 to 3:45 p.m., Peter Sprague Trio.

- 4 to 5 p.m., Jack Tempchin and Rocket Science.

Featured artists: Jim McConlogue, Roy Soravia, Mary Fleener.