PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY
PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE NEWS
The purpose of this page is to provide the public with a fair appraisal of the facts based on the information available. In cases where the newspaper article runs juxtaposed to the opinion of the Library Director and Board of Trustees you will see a highlighted box.
Library holds quiet meeting
Monday, September 24, 2007 By MEREDITH MANDELL HERALD NEWS |
PASSAIC -- When library officials proposed shuttering Reid Memorial Library this past spring, dozens of angry residents flooded the library board's meetings to criticize the plan.
But hardly any of those residents, who for months bitterly protested the closure of the library, came to listen to the board's annual report to the public on Sunday.
The three residents who attended -- former Mayor Marge Semler, Lazlow Kerkay of the Hungarian Museum and resident Frederick Kormann -- sat among a sea of empty chairs.
Library officials acknowledged the ill timing of the meeting, which fell on the same day as the Mexican Independence Parade -- an event they said they were unaware of prior to the meeting. The library sits in the heart of the Mexican community on the city's east side.
"We are a little bit disappointed about the turnout, obviously," said Library Board President Craig Miller. "We had a pretty good presentation, and we will find other forums to present it."
Miller and Library Director Alan Bobowski outlined both the accomplishments and the challenges the city's library system faces -- noting the library has been flat-funded over the past three years.
Miller said the library would be asking the city government for a $1.2 million budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year. Miller said the request for a $265,000 increase would go toward both the library's capital and operating budgets.
Miller gave the board an update on the Reid Memorial Library. In February, library officials first proposed closing the library in the historic building on Third Street and moving a portion of the collection to the Boys & Girls Club of Passaic. They said the 104-year-old building had a "failed roof," and it would be too costly to replace, pointing to an architect's estimate of $155,000.
But months of public outcry put a stop to the plan.
"The community has made it clear that they want this library to remain," Miller said Sunday. "Fine. We have to find the resources to do it."
Miller said during the summer he had conversations with city Business Administrator Greg Hill about how much money the city would pay for repairs at the library. Hill said he would give library officials a written agreement from the city for repairs to the library's roof and to add a ramp to the building so that it would be handicap accessible, Miller said.
But Hill canceled a meeting with library officials unexpectedly earlier this month, Miller said. Miller did not know when that meeting would be rescheduled.
Hill was unavailable for comment Sunday.
Contrasting Miller's comments at the meeting, Mayor Samuel Rivera said Sunday that there will be no written agreement between the city and the library because the nonprofit foundation he promised to form will do all the repair work. In May, with much fanfare, Rivera declared that he would "save the library," getting a friend who is a local contractor to patch the roof for $13,500.
"Hopefully we will get it off the ground this week," he said Sunday.
Meantime, reference librarian Mildred Ventura will be extending the Reid Library's hours to 1 to 6 p.m. on some days. She also will be teaching an English as a Second Language class on the second floor.
Bobowski, the library director, said that the library needs to update its collection to be in accordance with state requirements.
He said the state requires annually one new item for every 10 people -- more than 6,000 books -- and the library has added only 5,000 items.
Bobowski also noted librarians' efforts to reorganize the Julius Forstmann Main Library collection to make it more user-friendly.
"Libraries across the country are finding that they have to market their materials -- just putting things on the shelf is not going to work anymore," he said.
Bobowski said part of the reorganization meant increasing the budget for world languages to meet the demands of the large foreign-born population in Passaic. Additionally, the library has tried to purchase more CDs and DVDs, which are also in high demand. He said new policies were put in place regarding unattended children at the library, and this year the library launched an Internet safety program for teenage cardholders. The library will also begin hosting an after-school teen drop-in program.
Library officials said that the recently purchased bookmobile will start making biweekly stops to public and parochial schools. The vehicle, which is wheelchair accessible, will also make weekly stops to senior citizen centers.
"Library services in the neighborhood is essential -- not optional," Bobowski said of the decision to purchase the vehicle.
Library officials paid $32,900 for the bookmobile, using some of the library's endowment funds. The library has $223,479 left in endowment money. Miller said he would like to hold another meeting for public discussion about how those funds could be best used.
Reach Meredith Mandell at 973-569-7107 or mandell@northjersey.com.