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October 31, 2008

Library's fate rests with town residents

Jamesburg facility's future in referendum
Friday, October 31, 2008
BY CHRISTOPHER DELA CRUZ
Star-Ledger Staff
The public library in Jamesburg, like many small towns, has been a community gathering place for 78 years. But during Tuesday's election, residents will have the opportunity to vote on whether to close the library, with a shared service agreement with Monroe's library in its place.

Some see Jamesburg's library dilemma as an example of the tough choices municipalities, especially small towns, will have to face in the coming months in the wake of state budget cutbacks and a looming national economic melt down.

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Library's fate rests with town residents
Jamesburg facility's future in referendum
Friday, October 31, 2008
BY CHRISTOPHER DELA CRUZ
Star-Ledger Staff
The public library in Jamesburg, like many small towns, has been a community gathering place for 78 years. But during Tuesday's election, residents will have the opportunity to vote on whether to close the library, with a shared service agreement with Monroe's library in its place.

"There are tough choices that are going to be made by mayors and government bodies," said William Dressel, director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. "Every service and program is being looked at critically. This is a turbulent time that we're in."

The town council agreed to place the library's future up for a referendum vote this year because of dwindling state aid to small towns. Town officials expect no state aid in next year's state budget.

A number of residents are dismayed by the idea of getting rid of their library and the library is wag ing a campaign to stay alive by put ting up lawn signs and going door- to-door. For them, a small library in walking distance for children and adults alike is non-negotiable in keeping the small-town feel of Jamesburg.

"There's got to be a way to cut something else besides something important like libraries," said Rorie Holman, a resident who plans to vote against the referendum. "I'm disgusted by it."

But other residents said the economic circumstances are be yond the control of local officials.

"There is a sense that the town needs to make some sacrifices," said Amy Pratico, a member of the Jamesburg Revitalization Commit tee who is undecided on the vote. "I guess you have to bite the bullet sometimes and make hard choices."

Grimes said that if the library is kept open, the town would probably be forced to make deep cuts in next year's budget that include funding decreases for recreation and opting for private garbage pick up.

Mayor Anthony LaMantia said while the decision was tough, residents are getting access to a bigger, better library in Monroe while keeping the town fiscally responsible.

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Library's fate rests with town residents
Jamesburg facility's future in referendum
Page 2 of 2
"We're trying to give our residents the best possible service they can have for the least amount of money," LaMantia said. "We just can't afford it as a small town."

But Cindy Yasher, library direc tor, said the small library is irreplaceable.

"You'll just lose that small town feel," said Yasher. "We have a very friendly atmosphere. We know all of our patrons on a first name basis."

The library cost about 3 percent of the town's $5.4 million budget in 2008. Because of a mandated state regulation that links funding for municipal libraries to property values in the town, funding has increased over the last several years without any local control. This past year saw an 8 percent increase, and 2007 saw a 17 percent increase.

Borough officials said cutting the library would save about $30,000 to $70,000 in this year's budget.

But sharing a library with the larger neighboring town may sig nify the town's identity eroding with the increase in shared services, said Holman.

"Jamesburg is this town that people look down upon," said Hol man. "Monroe has taken so much of Jamesburg that we have the right to have our own library."

But Grimes said he fears pressure for small towns to consolidate would intensify in the current economic climate, and municipalities have to make smart decisions to survive.

"Unless we can find ways to share services in every aspect of our budget with our surrounding communities, what is going to happen is exactly what (Gov. Jon) Cor zine wants," said Grimes. "Towns are going to go bankrupt and be forced to merge with certain communities."

Christopher Dela Cruz may be reached at cdelacruz@starled ger.com or (732) 293-4931.

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October 29, 2008

Wait continues for Washington Twp. library programs

By GEORGE MAST • Courier-Post Staff • October 29, 2008

Courier-Post Online
WASHINGTON TWP. — John Jardel supported his 18-month-old daughter, Morgan, with one arm while holding up an umbrella to ward off the rain with the other. He stood in line Tuesday morning with about 30 other parents outside the Margaret E. Heggan Free Public Library.

The line of parents and their children waiting outside for the library to open at 10 a.m. wove from the locked front doors around the side of the building.

The long line is a monthly ritual for some of the parents. They show up early the last Tuesday of each month to sign up their children for the following month's children's programs at the library.

"My son loves these programs so he would be upset if he couldn't get in," Jardel said about his 3-year-old, Jacob.

Jennifer Seligsohn held down her spot at the front of the line for more than 20 minutes to ensure her two youngsters would be able to go to some of the November children's programs.

Seligsohn said the key is to show up early on sign-up days.

"They are great programs but the space is limited," she said.

The township's undersized library is well known to municipal officials and talk of purchasing a larger facility has been circulating for years.

The effort seemed to finalize late this summer when the township's library board reached a purchase agreement with the owners of the 20,000-square-foot Educational Information & Resource Center building on Delsea Drive.

However, the township council has not yet approved the purchase or authorized the nearly $3 million in bonds to cover the expected cost of the facility.

Council initially put the decision off until after the prolonged effort to approve the 2008 budget was wrapped up in late September. A resolution authorizing the purchase was left off of council's agenda Thursday.

Council president Michelle Martin explained Tuesday, that some council members are reluctant to buy the EIRC building before having a buyer for the existing library building.

"There is no one here that is not in favor of doing this," she said at the council meeting on Thursday. "I just think we need to be responsible and be able to get some money for the building before we move forward."

Martin said she had been under the impression that the Washington Township School Board wanted to buy the library on East Holly Avenue but found out early last week they couldn't afford it. In addition, she said it was discovered that a resolution approved in May authorizing the township to pursue selling the facility had yielded very little action.

On Thursday, a similar resolution was approved, authorizing the township to pursue sale of the building with an auction company.

While some have said there are plenty of municipal purposes for the current library building, Martin said on Tuesday with the budget crunch and expected tax rate increase next year the municipality needs to either sell or lease the building.

Councilman Robert Timmons, who serves as a liaison to the library board, doesn't think the purchase of the EIRC building should be contingent on the sale of the current library.

"I see people disappointed because they can't get into the programs and I think that's what we should be about -- servicing the needs of the community and not worrying about filling an empty building," he said.

A meeting with two township council members, representatives from the library board and EIRC to continue the discussion is planned for Friday. Representatives from EIRC did not return a call for comment on Tuesday.

Timmons has proposed using the library for the high school's wrestling team.

He has also said the new facility would not cost taxpayers any additional money as the library has built up a surplus of around $1.2 million over the years. Last year the library received about $1.7 million in funding.

The surplus would be used as seed money for the bond and the remainder would be paid off through the library's annual municipal allotment.

A larger facility with more programming space was a welcome thought for Seligsohn.

"I am definitely looking forward to that," she said.

Reach George Mast at (856) 251-3345 or gmast@camden.gannett.com.

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October 28, 2008

Perth Amboy invites input on changes to library

Courier-Post Oct. 28, 2008

PERTH AMBOY —Suggestions and ideas are being sought for plans to change or expand the deteriorating Perth Amboy Public Library.

A focus group meeting conducted by Dennis Kowal Architects, will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, at the library, 196 Jefferson St.

Library board members and staff can come anytime between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. while senior citizens are asked to come from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.,; volunteers, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.; friends 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.; public officials 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.; students 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.; staff suggestions, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and parents, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

City Council members recently authorized the library Board of Trustees to enter into a contract with Dennis Kowal Architects of Somerville to conduct a feasibility study to renovate or build a new library.

The $30,000 study will be paid for from library trust funds. Kowal was selected because he has previously done library renovation work.

The study will examine whether to rebuild the existing library, a 1903 structure financed by millionaire Andrew Carnegie, who funded libraries throughout the country, or if it is more cost effective to build a new library.

The study will include a detailed inspection and cost estimate for improving and preserving the library and possibly expanding it. The library is in need to repairs to the leaky roof as well as more space.

Refreshments will be served at the focus group meeting. Those who cannot come during their scheduled time can feel free to attend at another time.

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October 26, 2008

Library question at issue on Haddonfield ballot

By LAVINIA DeCASTRO • Courier-Post Staff • October 26, 2008

HADDONFIELD — For Haddonfield voters, the big question this election is the question itself.

The November ballot includes a referendum question asking voters if they support an ordinance prohibiting the borough from building a new library unless the expenditure is approved by voters via a referendum question.

"Because it's a large expenditure, it should be put to the voters first," Stephen Griffey said.

Griffey was one of five residents who collected 729 signatures on a petition to place the question on the ballot.

Under New Jersey law, only 443 signatures were needed -- the equivalent to 10 percent of the number of voters who cast a ballot during the last election.

"We wanted to set up something so that you have to go to the voters to get approval for a new library," Griffey said.

For years, the borough has considered whether to replace or repair the Haddon Avenue library.

"The library is not properly handicap accessible," Borough Manager Sharon McCullough said. "In order for us to make our current building handicap accessible, we would lose a tremendous amount of space."

A borough-hired consultant, Library Solutions, concluded in a study released last year that a new library was needed, McCullough said.

The study details how much space is needed and what services should be provided to serve the community, McCullough said.

Commissioners are now weighing their options and looking for funding, McCullough said.

"It is very, very early in the stages right now," McCullough said.

No decision will be reached without extensive public input, she added.

Griffey said the ordinance would give voters more control over what is built.

"Potentially, this new library could be the borough's biggest expense," Griffey said. "Right now, the power to spend the money rests solely with the commissioners. We're not against the library. We just want to know how much it's going to cost and what the impact is going to be before we decide."

Reach Lavinia DeCastro at (856) 486-2652 or ldecastro@courierpostonline.com

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October 23, 2008

Children’s Room renovation celebrated

Courier-News OnLine Oct. 23, 2008

BERKELEY HEIGHTS —The public is invited to celebrate the opening of the renovated Children’s Room at Berkeley Heights Library from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25. Visitors can tour the newly designed space which includes a Teen Lounge and a Parenting Section with comfortable seating for adults.

Local young musicians will perform a variety of instrumental School students will be on display and a variety of handouts and mementos will be handed out.

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Council to vote on WT library moves

Gloucester County Times

Thursday, October 23, 2008
By Jessica Beym
jbeym@sjnewsco.com
WASHINGTON TWP. The township council will be voting Thursday on whether to borrow more than $4 million to puarchase a new building for the municipal library, and whether to put the current one out for sale.

There's been talk among township officials and library board officials for the past few weeks ever since the budget passed about finally taking action on the possibility of purchasing the Education and Information Resource Center, located on Delsea Drive.

The library board presented its plans to the township council in May to purchase the 2,000-square-foot building and renovate it to be the new municipal library at no additional cost to the taxpayers.

However, township council members were reluctant to take action on it until they resolved their own budget woes. With that now behind them, Council President Michelle Martin said they're ready to move forward.

"We are going to start proceedings for the library" during Thursday night's council meeting, Martin said.

Under the plans presented to the township council by library board chairman Mike Allen, the township would need to bond about $4.3 million for the purchase and renovation of the EIRC building.

Allen said and the township auditor Nick Petroni confirmed that the library board has enough money in its reserve and enough money left over from its allocated budget every year to make the annual debt payments on the borrowed money. They said they would not need to raise any additional taxes to pay for the purchase of the building on the cost of renovating it.

Councilman Bob Timmons said he spoke with all the council members and "no one indicated they were not in favor of it."

"I really think it's clear sailing from this point," Timmons said. "Other than a new sprinkler system, this is really going to be a turn-key operation. It's something we can hang our hats on and all be proud of."

Township officials, in prior months, have showed concern about purchasing the building before selling the existing one, which is about 10,000 square feet and located on East Holly Avenue.

Mayor Paul Moriarty estimated the property could be worth about $1.2 million. However the township is obligated to sell its property at public auction. Martin said the council will be voting on that Thursday night during the council meeting which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. It will be held in the municipal building, 523 Egg Harbor Road.

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New library could cost $7M: Tinton Falls council concerned about price

Asbury Park Press

By Keith Brown • Staff Writer • October 23, 2008

TINTON FALLS — Building a new library of the size and scope necessary to keep up with the population of the borough will cost nearly $7 million, officials were told at a recent Borough Council meeting.

Dennis Kowal, the namesake of the Somerville-based architectural firm that authored a study to determine whether the borough needed a new library, told the Borough Council that the current 4,000-square-foot library is insufficient.

It was no shock. Borough officials have been talking about building a new library for years. Kowal's assessment of what a new library should be, however, seemed to surprise some council members.

Kowal recommended a new building of around 27,000 square feet — or roughly 10,000 square feet smaller than borough hall. All told, it would cost about $6.8 million, he said.

"What the borough has to do is decide whether it's the library's turn," Kowal said. "You have upgraded other municipal structures — the police station and borough hall. It's the library's turn to be brought up to that level."

The library, which has occupied the same space since 1961, last year lent out 70,000 items to the borough's nearly 18,000 residents. Library use since 2001 has increased 63 percent. The library receives well more than 100 visitors each day, and has accommodated up to 400, Rosemarie Tunnicliffe, library director, has said.

The donated house that serves as the library has long since run out of storage space. Its only two Internet-connected computers are so in demand that staff has set a 20-minute time limit per person on each, and its burgeoning children's summer-reading program routinely has to be held outside — weather permitting — under a borough-donated tent for lack of space inside.

"I'm amazed that it accomplishes what it does," Kowal said.

Council members agreed that a new library was a necessity, but balked at the cost.

"There's no question that we need a new library," said Councilman Paul Ford. "But at what cost?"

Linda Zucaro, a member of the library's board of directors, asked that the Library Committee — a group of residents, library users and borough officials — be reconvened to study what cost-saving modifications could be made to the study's recommended building.

Mayor Peter Maclearie agreed with that idea. Zucaro said she hoped recommendations could be made by early 2009.

Keith Brown: (732) 643-4076 or kbrown@app.com

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October 16, 2008

City studies options for branch libraries

The Times of Trenton
:
City studies options for branch libraries
Thursday, October 16, 2008
TRENTON -- City council members plan to weigh proposals that would keep neighborhood branch libraries open at least part of the time.

A three-member council committee has been formed to make recommendations to the entire council.

South Ward Councilman Jim Coston, who previously said he would introduce a measure to increase funding for the library, said he would wait until the committee makes its recommendations.

Council president Paul M. Pintella said he is looking for the library to complete audits for the past three years and for the two nonprofits dedicated to the library to commit to increased fundraising.

He also said the library board may benefit from a feasibility study on the branch libraries.

Pintella noted that the library is paying $30,000 more per week to continue staffing the branches.

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October 9, 2008

Library: Don't take no for an answer

By SUSAN LOYER
Staff Writer
• October 9, 2008
Asbury Park Press On-Line

OLD BRIDGE — Librarian Tim Niland sat patiently in front of the computer screen awaiting his next assignment. A short time later, he was alerted to an incoming message.

"I'm looking for a Web site with articles on Greek theater," a client named Alex wrote.

"Did you mean theater in the past or present?" Niland typed on the keyboard.

"Past," Alex replied.

"Like ancient times?" wrote Niland.

"Yes," Alex replied.

Niland immediately began a search on the Internet and forwarded two sites to Alex for investigation.

Niland mans the New Jersey Library Network's Q & A service on Mondays at the Old Bridge Public Library. The free service allows Internet users to chat live with librarians as they seek answers to questions 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Managed by the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, the service was started in the fall of 2001, said Karen Hyman, executive director of the cooperative.

"It was the first statewide service in the United States," she said.

Originally available from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., the service was expanded to a 24/7 schedule in January 2002, she said.

"We went from 100 questions per week to 100 questions per day," she said. "In a busy month, we might have about 5,000 questions. When school's in session, we get quite a few more questions from students.

The questions run the gamut from inquiries about taxation, health, job hunting and landlord-tenant issues to helping with homework assignments, Hyman said.

"Sometimes it's a question that will simply settle a bet," she said.

The site, which can be accessed through participating libraries' Web sites and by visiting www.qandanj.org, is staffed by more than 300 librarians from 49 libraries throughout the state, Hyman said.

Residents have access to the service, even if they are away on vacation or on a business trip.

"In most cases, the system will recognize a client's computer as being located in New Jersey," said Hyman. "In those cases, a library card is not needed to access the service."

At the Old Bridge Library, Niland is one of the eight librarians who staff the service twice a week.

"We typically get between three and five calls per session," said C.L. Quillen, the library's director of public services. "When schools are in session, it may go up a bit."

Clients range from students to senior citizens.

"A lot the questions come from older folks, who may not go to the library in person any more, but are working on things from home," Quillen said. "A lot of people are looking for consumer-health information. Some of the questions are more personal, and because of the confidentiality of the service, they are more comfortable doing it on the computer than coming in and asking face to face."

"We also get a lot of calls from students who need help with homework assignments," Niland said. "We can't do the homework for them. We just kind of give them a shove in the right direction, so they are able to get good solid information. That's what makes it fun. The variety of it. You'll get some really in-depth questions and then — "What should I name my dog?' "

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October 8, 2008

Cramped Swedesboro Library seeks a better booking

Gloucester County Times
Saturday, September 27, 2008
By Lucas K. Murray
lmurray@sjnewsco.com
SWEDESBORO It's one of the oldest libraries in the state, with one of the highest circulations among all Gloucester County Library System branches Ð but it's also housed in a space that can barely contain its stacks of books, DVDs and reference materials.

Quite frankly, the Swedesboro Public Library needs more space.

"We need it so desperately," library association member Ann Zayac said of a proposed 3,000-square-foot expansion. "It's so frustrating for the people who work in there. They want to offer so much to the kids and they just can't do it."

The additional space would be tacked on to the rear of the existing library. Zayac's grandfather donated the old Swedesboro Trust Company building to the borough. At that time the books were transferred from its space in borough hall to the former bank.

But now technology and programs that were unimaginable in the 1940s are among the library's services. Books now fill where the vault was located. Computers are wedged into small corner offices once occupied by bank managers.

Library Branch Manager Marge Dombrosky said it's difficult fitting everything in.

"It's difficult, but we're trying to do the best we can," Dombrosky said.

Many of the adult and children's programs that are run by the library are held across Kings Highway at the Bethesda Methodist Church because of the lack of meeting space in the library's current space.

"There's no room to have meetings in there," Zayac said of the library. "We have so many kids coming in. They have storytime for 3- to 5-year-olds and 20 have signed up already. There's no way you can get that many in there.

The church does not charge for the use of its meeting rooms.

If we weren't able to use the church, we wouldn't be able to have most of our programs," Zayac said.

Estimates for the cost of the expansion come in at approximately $902,000, with $823,000 in construction costs and $78,000 for shelving, furniture and equipment.

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October 6, 2008

Kenneth F. McPherson, husband, father

Daily Record Online Oct. 2, 2008

Kenneth F. McPherson, former director of Morris County Library from 1967 to 1986, died peacefully at the Mid Coast Senior Health Center in Brunswick, Maine, on Sept. 18, 2008.

He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1947, and the McGill Graduate School of Library Science in 1949.

He started his career at the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he became the director of personnel. He moved to New Jersey, in 1954 to be the assistant director and later the director of the Bloomfield Public Library, in Bloomfield. In 1967, he became the director of the Morris County Library, in Whippany. He retired in 1986. He worked as a library consultant in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, assisting boards of trustees in their plans to build new libraries. Several of his buildings won national awards. He was a life member of the American Library Association and an honorary member of the New Jersey Library Association. He oversaw the expansion of the Bloomfield Library and the move to the Morris County Library's new building, in Whippany. He introduced the sharing of resources in Morris County Libraries, and computerization of member libraries.

He was active in and an Honorary Member of the New Jersey Library Association, and served as its treasurer and president and served on many committees for the American Library Association, of which he was a life member.

He moved to Mendham Township in 1968, and to Phippsburg, Maine, in 1991, where he and his wife built a home on the Kennebec River. He was a trustee of the Patten Free Library in Bath, Maine, and a volunteer at the Totman Library in Phippsburg, Maine, and had been active in local affairs.

He was an addictive golfer and was a member of the Glen Ridge Country Club; the Mendham Golf & Tennis Club, of which he served as president and governor for many years; and the Bath Country Club in Bath, Maine. He spent many summers at Lac Tremblant Nord, Quebec, where he was a member of Gray Rocks Golf Club in St. Jovite and the Mont Tremblant Golf & Beach Club.

He is survived by his wife, Beryl Reid, whom he married in Westmont, Quebec, in 1951; and daughter, Caelie, and her husband, Derek Smith, of Woolwich, Maine.

Contributions in his memory to the Patten Free Library, 33 Summer Street, Bath, ME 04530, will be gratefully acknowledged by the family.

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October 2, 2008

Council: Library costly to taxpayers

Atlanticville Sept. 25, 2008
Boro officials seek change to state library funding formula
BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer

WEST LONG BRANCH — Borough officials are seeking the support of the state's 565 municipalities in an effort to change the free municipal library funding formula.

The West Long Branch Borough Council unanimously adopted a resolution Sept. 17, calling for the state to change its library funding formula, which Councilman J. Thomas DeBruin called "archaic."

Council members are also seeking to have the resolution placed on the agenda for consideration by members of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM) at its annual conference in November.

DeBruin said that he seeks change to the library funding formula in order to reduce what has become a heavy financial obligation on borough taxpayers.

"Hopefully our brothers and sisters in municipal government will agree with us that the formula to fund a library is outdated," DeBruin said.

The library funding formula was originally instated by a state statute in 1944 and revised in 1985. Under the 1985 revision, municipalities are required to provide an amount equal to one-third of a million dollars on every dollar of assessable property within the municipality, DeBruin said.

As a result, West Long Branch, with a total property valuation of approximately $1.35 billion, was required to budget approximately $500,000 for the public library this year.

"The average home in 1990 in West Long Branch was [assessed at] $208,153," De- Bruin said, adding that the average home in West Long Branch is valued at $476,713 today.

"That's more than double," he said. DeBruin criticized the current formula, saying that it is has not been altered over the years to reflect changes in property values after municipal revaluations occurred.

Municipalities perform revaluations to ensure that property values reflect current market trends, DeBruin said. Following revaluations, property values can increase, decrease or remain the same. West Long Branch last performed a revaluation in 2005.

After the last revaluation, DeBruin said the borough saw an adjustment to its tax rate, but the way a municipality budgets for its public library has remained unchanged.

According to the resolution, the borough is calling for the state to cut in half the amount municipalities must raise for libraries.

"Since the evaluations have more than doubled, I think we should take this one-third [of a million dollars] and cut it in half, and make it one-sixth [of a million dollars]," De- Bruin said.

"And that is what we are going to propose to our colleagues who are also municipal officers in the state of New Jersey," he added.

The NJLM is a voluntary association consisting of members from each of the state's 566 municipalities. The league's goal is to better facilitate communication between towns by pooling information, resources and brainpower from each of the municipalities.

The cost of funding West Long Branch's public library became an issue during the borough's 2008 budget-planning sessions, according to DeBruin, who said that allocating over $500,000 for the library is asking too much from borough taxpayers.

At that time, DeBruin suggested making the borough library a branch of the Monmouth County Library System. The West Long Branch Library is a member of the county system but is operated by the municipality.

If the borough library became a branch of the county system, borough taxpayers could save $387,000, DeBruin said.

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October 1, 2008

Study to decide fate of Perth Amboy Public Library

By SUZANNE RUSSELL • STAFF WRITER • September 30, 2008
Courier-News Online Sept. 30, 2008

PERTH AMBOY —From the outside, the Perth Amboy Public Library appears to be a grand architectural structure.

"This building is a beautiful building," said Herschel Chomsky, principal library assistant, who has worked at the 13,500-square-foot library for 20 years.

The inside of the Jefferson Street building, however, tells a different story.

Portions of plaster walls and ceilings are cracking, peeling and falling due to a leaky roof that has not been adequately repaired. Many light fixtures don't work, possibly from water damage above. And when it rains, large plastic drums are placed in the reference section to catch the water that cascades down the wall.

"The first priority is the roof," said Chomsky, adding it would be waste to do other repairs without taking care of the core problem.

The roof may finally get the attention it needs.

Recently City Council members authorized the library Board of Trustees to enter into a contract with Dennis Kowal Architects of Somerville to conduct a feasibility study to renovate or build a new library.

The $30,000 study will be paid for from library trust funds. Kowal was selected because he has previously done library renovation work.

The study will include a detailed inspection and cost estimates for improving and preserving the library and possibly expanding it, a plan supported by several library board members. The study is expected to take about 90 days to complete.

In addition to repairing the leaks, the library needs more space.

In the fiction section, books are piled on top of other books and on top of shelves.

"We need more room," Chomsky said.

The computer reading room, where newspapers, magazines and videos also are kept, features large arched windows which are marred by water stained and crumbling walls also in the room.

"It's not going to get better," Chomsky said.

The room has seven computers for the public but could use many more. Patrons are allowed to use the computers for a half hour. Patrons waiting to use the computer sign a waiting list.

Downstairs, the bathrooms function, but are very old. They are not handicapped accessible. No bathrooms are located on the library's main floor.

A study room and community room also are needed.

The Children's Library, which formerly had been located in a separate building that burned in the 1970s, also is located on the lower level. A separate entrance is located off Jefferson Street.

Chomsky said the children's library is a former auditorium that was converted to be used by the children.

He said the basement, which features a large 1935 terra cotta rendering of The Three Little Pigs, used to leak so badly that children's librarian Melanie Bolick had to put on rubber boots to walk through four to five inches of water to get books. French drains installed underneath the children's section have helped with some of the flooding problem. The porch still leaks from the outdoor entrance to the children's room.

Space is tight in this section as well.

"I have to discard something if I bring in something new," said Bolick, who has served as children's librarian for 16 years. "We could have more books if we had more room."

Bolick said she has many books in Spanish. She said sometimes while a child may be reading a book like "Harry Potter" in English, the parent may want to read it in Spanish.

Chomsky said he'd hate to see the library building torn down.

"I think they can fix it. The problem is money," he said.

"It's a shame they didn't take care (of the building)," said Chomsky, noting that the library is probably used by more taxpayers on a daily basis than any other city department. "We were never a priority."

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