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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.

Posted by tumulty at October 8, 2008 4:23 PM

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