« Librarian cooks up tasty treat ideas | Main | Corzine and Duncan's Fanwood Visit: A Look Back »

June 25, 2009

Where would we be without Bridgeton Library?

by The News of Cumberland County
Monday June 15, 2009, 4:19 PM
Letters to the Editor:

Bridgeton City Council will soon have to make a decision on funding the library for the next fiscal year and on a bond to finance repairs to the building.

Coming at a time when state aid has been drastically reduced and property taxes raised, and when the people of our town are struggling in a severe economic downturn, this will not be an easy decision to make. I hope that in their deliberations the council will consider the value of the library to our community.

The Bridgeton Public Library is extremely well-utilized. During 2008 it averaged over 6,000 patron visits a month. In spite of steady reductions in staff and budget over the last several years, our librarians have managed to hold things together on a shoestring and to maintain services that are especially vital in a town as poor as Bridgeton.

Any of you who visit on weekday afternoons will have seen how many school children come to the library to use the computers for their homework. Earlier in the day, the library is an informal gathering spot for seniors and retirees.

A little later, you will notice a group of young mothers and their children who have come for story hour -- offered now in English and in Spanish. Most afternoons you'll spot some young adults with laptops, taking advantage of the library's wireless connection. People come to the library to write their resumes and to search the Internet for jobs.

We have an extremely active and creative teen council -- you'll probably remember the wonderful floats they produce every year for the town Christmas Parade. Of course lots of people come to the library for the traditional reasons -- to look for a good book or to pose a question to the reference librarian.

But they also come to rent DVDs or audio books, to make copies, send faxes, pick up tax forms, purchase a yellow trash sticker, check the book value on a used car or to look up an article in The News -- all the way back to 1900 on microfilm.

And some people come in the library to get warm on a cold day or cool off on a hot one. It's a welcome refuge for folks who may not have many other resources. I sometimes think of the library as a kind of secular church -- a public institution consecrated to the dissemination of knowledge and the preservation civilized values -- a place where everyone is welcome. Libraries are not as quiet as they were when I was growing up, but they retain some of the peaceful and respectful atmosphere that has disappeared from much else in modern life.

I do not believe that, no matter how hard the times, anyone would propose closing the public schools to save money. And I think the library is the public school for the rest of us. Our roof leaks, our furniture is shabby and we don't have all the best-sellers. But I'm very proud of the Bridgeton Public Library and of the folks who work there. It's almost a miracle how much they manage to offer on such a small budget.

Council is faced with a very difficult choice. And no matter which way they decide the question, they will not please everyone. I hope that in their deliberations they will consider not just the current crisis, but the past and future of our city as well.

The Bridgeton Public Library has been operating on Commerce Street for more than 100 years -- through good times and bad. But it is in hardest times that we need this resource the most. I hope all of you will make it a point to spend a few hours in the library over the next week or two.

Pay special attention to the young people you see there. And ask yourself, where would these children be and what would they be doing if the Bridgeton Library should close?

Al Tugman
Bridgeton

Posted by tumulty at June 25, 2009 11:08 AM

Comments

Post a comment