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January 6, 2010

Manville library has new 'quiet room,' thanks to resident's $17K donation

MyCentralJersey.com
By PAMELA SROKA-HOLZMANN • STAFF WRITER • January 5, 2010

MANVILLE — Patrons searching for a quiet area to study, read a book or browse through historical archives now have a secluded haven in which to do just that, at the Manville Public Library.

The $17,000 "quiet room" was paid fo by longtime patron and resident Jerry Yadlowsky, in tribute to his late parents, Max and Julia. Yadlowsky's parents moved to Manville in the 1960s and lived in the borough until his father in 1973 died at age 75 and his mother in 2008 at age 101.

The couple also were avid readers, Yadlowsky said.
"I just wanted to pay the town an acknowledgment of all the good years I've had in town," Yadlowsky said of the donation. "It was for whatever the library needed."
Yadlowsky then said of his parents, "I think they (Max and Julia) would have liked it."
The room was dedicated last month when members of the library board of trustees and Mayor Lillian Zuza thanked Yadlowsky publicly for his donation.

Existing space was used to create the quiet room, said Library Director Ed Smith.
Smith said the 140-square-foot room had been a vision of the library's trustees for about 30 years and was included in the library's original construction plans from 1978 before being scrapped by the architect at the time. Smith said the architect had wanted a more spacious look for the library.

"I think this room is something especially important for students doing their homework," Smith said. "Here, they can lay out the project or their notes on the table and have it in front of them to concentrate on."
Smith said the soundproof room can comfortably seat eight people and has three tables. It also is equipped with wireless Internet access and has outlets to plug in laptops. A plaque in front of the room states, "Let Silence Relax the Mind."

The back wall showcases historical photographs of the borough's first mayor, Gustav Boesel, who served in 1929, and an end-of-World-War-II celebration at the then Johns-Manville factory in 1945. The factory was the site of one of Central Jersey's great industries and employed thousands from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. It also gave the borough its name.
Yadlowsky, working with library board member Sandy Filippini, said he also wants to add plants and curtains to the room in coming weeks.
"We want to make it look homey," he said.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann:

908-243-6615;

Posted by tumulty at January 6, 2010 9:23 AM

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