February 7, 2010

Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

2/6/2010, 11:40 p.m. EST
The Associated Press

(AP) — MCT REGIONAL NEWS

By Maggie Creamer

Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.

(MCT)

Feb. 6--On Feb. 12, Carnegie Forum will be decorated with American flags and a picture of Abraham Lincoln to celebrate the former library's 100th birthday.

The building was dedicated as the library in 1910 on the same day as Lincoln's birthday, which explains the former president's face being included in the dedication.

Before it had an actual library building, Lodi had a reading room that a person could rent for free to look at books, said Ralph Lea, a local historian.

''It was to get the kids out of the pool hall," Lea said. "I don't think it worked." Around the turn of the century, a group of people started petitioning for money from Andrew Carnegie, who was making donations to construct libraries throughout the country. He required that there was someone who would be responsible for the money.

Two of the factors that helped lead to the Carnegie donation were the city's incorporation in 1906 and the Rev. W.P. Grant's decision to step forward. He was the first library board president and led the effort to construct a building.

The Board of Trustees, which is the equivalent of the today's City Council, established the library on Feb. 25, 1907, after receiving 157 signatures from residents. Because there was no money to construct an actual building or run a library, Rev. Grant assembled 10 people who pledged a total of $109.90 to run the library from March to December 1907.

The city then received $9,000 from Carnegie for the $10,000 project to construct the library. At the dedication ceremony, Feb. 12, 1910, Library Services Director Nancy Martinez said it was a family affair because baby strollers are visible in the pictures.

Martinez said about half of the Carnegie libraries have been bulldozed, and very few have remained libraries.

''The library community really appreciates that that building is still being used," she said.

Besides the decorations at Carnegie Forum, residents can receive a commemorative library card for free at the library while supplies last. Martinez said they made them for the anniversary of the library's founding in 2007, but still had some left over.

Contact reporter Maggie Creamer at maggiec@lodinews.com or read her blog at www.lodi-news.com/blogs/citybuzz.

Fun facts about the library

-- 171,545 items are in the library's collection.

-- About 300,000 items, which includes books, CDs, DVDs, and other items, are checked out every year.

-- When you see your librarians on the street, they are not eyeing you suspiciously about those overdue books.

''I don't know or care," Library Services Director Nancy Martinez said
She said the librarians just want to see the books returned. Even librarians are sometimes overdue.

''We are the worst culprits," she said.

-- Book drops sometimes receive interesting items. In other cities, there have been snow, bombs and ice cream cones.

In Lodi, there was a Lodi High School student who took some type of paging or walkie talkie device, Martinez said. The school asked simply for its return, no questions asked. The student decided the library book drop would be the perfect place to return it.

Three things you might have missed in the current library

-- John Muir's autograph: The library has several autographed books from John Muir. Celia Crocker Thompson donated the books to the library. She knew John Muir when she grew up at Crocker Station, which was a stagecoach stop in Yosemite Valley. She moved to Lodi with her husband, Henry Thompson, who was a library trustee for 50 years.

Celia Crocker Thompson donated books Muir signed for both her and her mother, and a book Galen Clark wrote and signed called "Indians of the Yosemite."

The Muir books include "The Mountains of California and Our National Parks," which is autographed "To Miss Celia Crocker with best wishes -- John Muir."

She also donated family photos that included Muir. The library has been looking for a home for the historic pieces in a museum, Martinez said.

-- Lodi, the horse: There are many legends about how Lodi received its name, Martinez said. One of them involves a painting of a racehorse named Lodi that hangs high on one of the walls in the library. Both the artist and date are unknown.
-- Old microfilm: The library has microfilm records of several newspapers and magazines. The library has the Lodi News-Sentinel since July 1881, Time since 1923, U.S. News and World Report since May 1933, Life since 1950 and Newsweek since 1933.

Five ways the library has changed over the years

1. Technology replacing technology: As technology has increased, the library has had to constantly be updating material. For example, records to eight-tracks to cassettes to CDs to DVDs to digital. As technology has changed, they have had to get rid of old items to make room. Librarian Sandy Smith said people still ask for records, but the library does not have them anymore.

''The only thing that lasts is if it is set in stone," Supervising Librarian Andrea Woodruff said.

2. Card catalogs, no more: Librarians no longer have to spend at least an hour in the morning filing cards into the catalogs. Every time a book was returned, they had to replace five cards for the books based on author, title, usually three subject headings, and a master card for each book.

The work decreased when librarians could type the cards on a typewriter and no longer had to write them. Then, with the introduction of computers, they were nixed completely.

And where did those big card catalog cabinets go? Most were sold as surplus, and some found a home in the Public Works department, Martinez said. They use them to store a variety of nuts, bolts, screws and other small items.

3. More intellectual freedom: While intellectual freedom has always been a cornerstone of the library, it has grown throughout the years. The collection is much more diverse and must carry topics on a variety of subjects.

4. No longer knowing what your neighbor reads: Gone are the days of looking in a library book and seeing who in the community has read it previously. The record of what people check out is highly guarded and requires a court order, Martinez said.

The self-check out machines add another layer of privacy because people can check out books without ever interacting with a librarian.

5. Not a stuffy, silent place: To be clear, the library is still a quieter than your local coffee shop. But it is also a meeting place where people can gather for events or study in groups. The children's area allows kids to read out loud to their brothers or sisters while sitting on cushy book-shaped furniture.

''We have to give them some reason to come," Woodruff said.

A letter from Carnegie

On Dec. 19, 1907, Andrew Carnegie's secretary wrote to the Rev. W.P. Grant, who was working to construct the library:

Dear Sir,

Responding to your communications on behalf of Lodi. If the city agrees by resolution of Council to maintain a Free Public Library at a cost of not less than Nine Hundred Dollars a year, and provides a suitable site for the building, Mr. Carnegie will be glad to give Nine Thousand Dollars to erect a free Public Library Building for Lodi.

Respectfully yours,

P. Secretary
_____

(c) 2010, Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.

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February 5, 2010

Somerville to join county libraries?

nj.com
By Amanda Peterka / Messenger-Gazette
February 04, 2010, 2:28PM

George PaccielloIt's the friendly and helpful staff, including longtime reference librarian Jim Sommerville, that makes Somerville Library special, patrons say. But some look forward to also having access to county library programs and materials.SOMERVILLE — As part of Mayor Brian Gallagher’s plan for leaner government in the borough, Somerville is exploring whether its library should become the ninth branch in the county library system.

The idea has been tossed around for years, but this time Gallagher has formed a board to weigh all aspects of the decision and come up with a yes or no answer.

The mayor expects the board, made up of what he termed a “good cross-section of folks” — library board members, council members, borough employees and residents — to come up with an analysis of possible savings to the borough and effects on current library employees and services provided.

“It’s a hot-button topic,” Gallagher said. “It’s been talked about in the past, but unfortunately it’s been broached as more of a political discussion. The time we’re in now is forcing it to be an economic and service question as opposed to a political question.”

If the board decides that becoming a county library branch is a good idea, it will recommend the move to Borough Council.

In 2006, Bound Brook became the most recent addition to the county’s library system.
“We did a lot of training,” said Somerset County Library System Director Jim Hecht about getting the Bound Brook Library staff familiar with personnel and operating policies.

Evelyn Silverstein, head of the commission that oversees the county system, said that sometimes it can be a tedious and costly process to switch over because all of a municipal library’s items need to be added to the central database.

Hecht, however, gave an example of long-term cost savings.

“We probably spend more than $150,000 a year on electronic databases,” said Hecht, explaining that when the county system purchases access rights to an online research database, patrons at any of its current eight branches have access to that database.

An independent library usually pays about the same price for the same service, he said. “The cost savings is tremendous.”

Not everybody is convinced that bringing Somerville’s library under the direction of the county is an entirely good thing, though the consensus seems to be there is currently not enough known about what the move would bring.

Kara Wilson, director of adult programming at the borough library, said she and other employees fear for their jobs. She also said she did not know what kinds of constraints might be imposed.

“What they think is important to bring to Somerville might be different on a county perspective rather than on a local perspective,” Wilson said. “Somerville is unique from different towns in the county. If we feel a certain program might work here but might not work in Bridgewater and Bound Brook, how would that affect the creativity we can have?”

Hecht emphasized that although they all operate under a single administrative structure, the eight branches run very much like individual entities.

“We still maintain that each branch have its own identity,” Hecht said. “I think that is one of the reasons for our success over the years.”

“We don’t order centrally,” he said. “As far as what’s purchased throughout the year, that’s done on a community-by-community basis.”

According to Hecht, staffing has also been stable within the county system, with little turnover. “Some large library systems rotate staff between branches. We don’t do that,” he said, noting that staff at each library branch gets to know the community it serves.

Hecht also said that in addition to hiring almost all of Bound Brook’s library staff back in 2006, the change actually created a few new positions as the branch expanded its hours.
Housed in its current building since 1902 adjoining Somerville’s Borough Hall, the library is centrally located in downtown Somerville.

Melissa Banks, borough library director since 2002, said that the library’s gift to the borough is more than just books. It’s the slew of programs and the ease of walking to the library that makes it unique.

“I do think Somerville needs and deserves a public library,” said Banks, who added that she doesn’t know enough about the benefits of joining the county system to have an opinion on it.

Gallagher has been quick to point out, “We’re looking at enhancing the level of service in that location,” not moving, he said.

In his State of the Borough Address delivered on Jan. 1, Gallagher also promised, “Somerville will have a local library as long as I am mayor.”

The shift to the county, if it does happen, would only be a trial period of three to five years at first. The borough would then re-evaluate and see if it’s worked and if there’s been a savings, Gallagher said.

Somerville allocates about $700,000 a year to its library, said Borough Administrator Kevin Sluka. Much of that comes in the form of the building, utilities and benefits for the staff.

“We’re absorbing some of the health costs related to those employees,” Sluka said. “It’s a driving factor in a lot of costs. When that goes up 10, 12, 15 percent, the borough is picking that up.”

The county’s system has a budget of a little more than $14 million, with about $13 million of it coming from taxes. As to how the move would affect taxpayers, Silverstein said it’s only marginal.

County library taxes would be a fraction higher with the county system, “but the services we provide are exponentially larger than most municipal libraries on their own,” she said. “A municipal library may have one or two copies of a popular book and we might have 70 or 80.”

The county’s system has more than 800,000 items, including books, CDs, DVDs and other material, Hecht said.

“It would cut the time I have to wait,” said Iolene Hadley, a frequent patron. “I wait for books all the time here. If I can go to Bridgewater to pick up a book there instead of waiting a week here, that’d be nice.”

Hadley said she would also like to be able to participate in the craft and music programs in the county system — programs that aren’t available in Somerville.

She said, though, that she likes the friendly staff at Somerville.

“I would still come here,” said Hadley, who was at the library with her 2-year-old daughter on Monday.

“The people know me by my first name. I don’t even have to show my card here,” she said.

Wilson, the programming director, said that as a resident of Somerville she’d like to see the board spell out clearly how the move will help her as a taxpayer.

“No matter what way you look at it, it will help the borough, but will it also help the residents, the taxpayers?” she asked.

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February 3, 2010

Monmouth County Library System seeks input on programs

Coleen Dee Berry • Reader Submitted • February 2, 2010
app.com

MANALAPAN -- The Monmouth County Library System is beginning 2010 with a new initiative a survey that will ask county residents for their input on future programming.

To help formulate a new master plan for the Library System, the Monmouth County Library Board of Commissioners is undertaking a survey of library patrons and county residents. The survey asks patrons for their areas of interest, and what type of events and programming they would like to see at the library.

The 12-question survey is currently available on the library's website, http://www.monmouthcountylib.org/, and will be online through the month of February. In addition, visitors to library branches will be able to complete the survey using one of the library's computers, or complete a paper copy if they prefer.

The survey will run throughout the month of February. Results of the survey will be made public sometime in March, and will help the Library Commission plan future events and programs that will better meet the needs and interests of the residents of Monmouth County, according to Library Director Ken Sheinbaum.

As 2010 began, the Monmouth County Library System welcomed its 12th branch. On Jan, 4, the West Long Branch Library opened its doors for the first time as a county branch library. The library, which had shared services with the county Library System for the past three decades, now is a full-fledged member of the largest circulating public library collection in the state.

The change in the library's status will garner an estimated annual savings of more than $200,000 for residents of West Long Branch. The change from locally-run library to a county branch was overwhelmingly approved by West Long Branch residents by a 2-1 margin in a non-binding referendum this past November.

The Library System is also gearing up for the following programs in 2010:
-- The Library System will continue its emphasis on the Teen and Young Adult program, and will partner with the Monmouth County Communications High School in Wall to help with programming and collections. As part of this growing initiative, the library's Teen Advisory Board membership will be expanded.
One of the first major events of the young adult program will be the Sweet Seconds Prom Dress Swap, which is open to all interested Monmouth County residents. The dress swap will be held this March at the Hazlet and Howell branches, according to program librarian Stephanie Acosta. Other young adult programs scheduled include the Puzzle Project for teen artists, a Youth Guitar workshop and a Japanese anime workshop. The program is also in the planning stages for a series of science and technology-themed events for later in the year.

-- The Library System will continue to host cultural and ethnic events, such as a Black History Month “History Through Music” festival on Feb. 6, and Jewish Heritage Month in this May. The popular Jazz Month music series will return, as will the Beatles cover band, Strawberry Fields, for a concert.

-- The Library will also unveil a new program in April, Books for Babies, which would give participants in the Baby Storytime Series free books appropriate for young children aged 10 months to 2 years.

-- The Library System will continue to offer job-seeker services in these tough economic times. One-on-one job hunting assistance is available by appointment in the Career Information Center at the Eastern Branch of the Monmouth County Library on Route 35 in Shrewsbury. Call 1-866-941-8188 for an appointment. Career Information Center resources are also available online at www.monmouthcountylib.org/cic.htm At the Library headquarters in Manalapan, SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) provides free, confidential, one-on-one counseling for owners and would-be owners of small businesses by appointments on Tuesdays and Thursday; those interest can call 732-431-7220 for an appointment.

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West Long Branch to get library windfall

app.com Feb. 2, 2010
By CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS • COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU • February 2, 2010
WEST LONG BRANCH — The soon-to-be-defunct West Long Branch Library Board of Trustees is dumping a potential windfall of more than a half million dollars into the municipal treasury, helping borough taxpayers.

The board, which ran the library for decades, is no longer required for that function after the Poplar Avenue facility was absorbed Jan. 1 by the Monmouth County Library system. Voters chose that path in a referendum in November.

While the board ponders its future — three members already have resigned — it has accumulated some $528,205 that its members and borough officials agree belongs to the residents of West Long Branch.

Mayor Janet W. Tucci said officials are researching how best to return the money to the people. While residents likely should not expect individual rebate checks, the money could mean less property tax would be required to fund municipal budgets, maybe even for the next few years.

"We've written to the state library board to see if there is a protocol for handling this," Tucci said. "The money belongs to the residents of West Long Branch and the board is trying to find a way to return it in a beneficial way."

Former library trustee Carol Herskowitz has resigned, joining outgoing trustee Marie Sorrentino and former trustee head Robert Faccone, leaving ranking trustee James B. Delehanty Jr. with part of the task of deciding how to return the money.

"It has never been done before, so we have to figure out how to do it correctly," Delehanty said. "My intention is to return the money to the town. Hopefully it will be used to lower taxes and to improve conditions at the library."

He said the money is the result of interest that accumulated on investments between 2000 and 2010. "We improved the library as much as we could" before the county takeover, he said.
Before her Jan. 14 resignation, Herskowitz said the library board had written to Victoria Rosch, associate state librarian, for guidance. "We want to do this in the most timely manner," Herskowitz said of returning the funds to the borough.

The windfall resulted after the borough found itself in a unique situation: out of all of New Jersey's towns, it was the only community whose taxpayers had become obligated to pay twice for library services.

Officials are not sure when this glitch first occurred. But each year, taxpayers forked over the equivalent of the standard municipal formula for their local library. Then they paid again when Monmouth County came calling, collecting its dedicated tax for the county library.
Borough Chief Financial Officer Gail M. Watkins said she does not know when the borough began the pricey practice, only that it has been in place for many years, and could date to the library's creation. The county system was established in 1922; West Long Branch started its library in 1927.

Councilman J. Thomas DeBruin said the library dissolution will likely save more than $400,000 in 2010, although the borough still must pay building costs, for newspapers and periodicals and the library's Internet connection. He estimates the borough's contribution at about $50,000 annually.
The borough's burden can be further reduced, DeBruin suggested, if the library's $528,000 is dedicated to library purposes. DeBruin said the bulk of it should go back to library costs, further reducing the borough's tax liability.

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Roselle Library has banner 2009, looks forward to 2010 improvements

By Suburban News
February 01, 2010, 3:20PM
ROSELLE --The Roselle Public Library had a busy 2009 - in fact, the busiest in almost 20 years. Circulation of books, DVDs, magazines, and other materials hit 62,552, a 7% increase over 2008 and the highest number since the late 1980's. Over 5500 residents have library cards, and the collection reached an all-time high of 60,290 items. New items added to the collection equaled 5234, the most ever.

Richetta Wilson Lobban recently joined the library staff as senior library assistant in our Technical Services Dept., replacing Helen Conway, who retired after 17 years of service. Ms. Wilson Lobban is halfway through her master's degree program at Rutgers, with coursework in archive management.

A long-time resident of Roselle and a former employee of the Summit Public Library, Ms. Wilson Lobban will also take on the task of organizing Roselle's local history materials. The Library recently received donations of the records of the "Sing Out Roselle" club from the 1960's, as well as some high school newspapers from the late 1930's.

The Board of Trustees of the Library reorganized in January for the coming year. Eudora Winston and Elaine Rittinger were sworn in to new five year terms, and Richard Villeda was sworn in to an unexpired term. Anthony Esposito was re-elected as president of the board, as were Maureen Donnelly as vice-president, Elaine Rittinger as secretary, and Eudora Winston as treasurer. Dorothy Mayner was elected to her first term as assistant treasurer. The Library board meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7:15 p.m. in the Library.

The Library maintains a variety of services, from the online homework help at the library website of www.lmxac.org/roselle, to in-person services such as passports, copiers, and notaries public. The Library is located at the corner of Chestnut Street and West Fourth Avenue. Library cards are free to Roselle residents. Visit us in person or on the web, or call us at 908-245-5809.

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