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January 31, 2011

County system adds two city libraries

http://www.courierpostonline.com
By EILEEN STILWELL • Courier-Post Staff • January 29, 2011

The Camden County Library Commission voted unanimously Friday to take over Camden City's insolvent, two-branch library system effective Feb. 11.

The decision -- made with the consent of the city and county -- makes Camden the 27th of 37 municipalities in the county to join its library system.
About 20 employees from Camden's two operating libraries will be laid off on Feb. 11 and invited to apply for jobs within the county system.

Like all residents living in towns that participate in the county library network, Camden residents will pay an additional tax, calculated at 4 cents per $100 of assessed value on their homes to support the system. The new levy is coming at the same time City Council voted to increase the property tax by 23 percent.

Under the three-party, five-year agreement, the Camden County Library Commission will own all assets at the Ferry Avenue and downtown library buildings. In return, the panel will pay all operating costs, including staffing, property maintenance, Internet access and library materials.
Camden City brings two functional libraries to the county system, which now owns libraries in six towns. In other towns, the county may operate a local library or provide some level of service, but the municipality owns the building, said county spokesperson Joyce Gabriel.
County officials expect only a three-day shutdown of Camden's Ferry Avenue branch in the transition from city to county ownership.

John Langan, owner of Townsend Press in Berlin Township, and writer Judy Nadell have donated $100,000 to help fund start-up costs for the Ferry Avenue branch.
Transitioning Camden's downtown library on Federal Street is more complicated.
Rutgers has agreed to hunt for space in the lower level of its Paul Robeson library to accommodate a downtown municipal library, but neither a budget nor timetable has been finalized.

"We're still looking at space to make sure our own services to students and faculty are unimpeded," said Rutgers spokesman Mike Sepanic.

The Camden County Library Commission consists of seven unsalaried members appointed by the freeholders. The newest member, Susan Bass Levin, spearheaded the construction of Cherry Hill's premier library when she was the township's mayor. She will be sworn in later this month.

Frank Fulbrook, a member of the Camdem City Library Board for nine years, called Friday, a sad day.

"It's a sad day for Camden when you lose a municipal library system that has been operating since 1905 before a county system even existed," he said.
The takeover, said Fulbrook, was not inevitable.

"Mayor Redd created a library crisis by cutting funding by 70 percent to justify a county takeover. The county has wanted the library's main building at 418 Federal Street to expand the Hall of Justice to ease overcrowding for years."

"What will happen to the children's downtown library, the chess club that meets there regularly and the job seekers who need computers to file applications?" asked Fulbrook.

Freeholder Jeffrey Nash said residents will benefit from the county's expanded services.
"I believe libraries are one of those services that the county should control," he said.
Reach Eileen Stilwell at (856) 486-2464 or estilwell@courierpostonline.com

Posted by tumulty at 7:52 AM | Comments (0)
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New Warren County Library branch to receive $185,000 in new furniture

http://www.express-times.com
Monday, January 31, 2011
By BILL WICHERT
The Express-Times
County officials will move some of the existing furniture at the Northeast branch of the Warren County Library down the road to a much larger facility in the coming months, but it won't be enough to fill a space nearly three times bigger.

With renovations under way at the new branch location, library officials will spend about $185,000 on new furniture for the former farmers market building on Route 46 in Independence Township.

"There's a lot of furniture that will be needed in the new building," branch manager Cindy Seelig said. "We don't have a lot to take with us."

The county purchased the building in 2009 for $900,000 and approved spending $890,000 in August 2010 on renovations. County freeholders signed off last week on purchasing the furniture from Ocean County-based Library Interiors Inc.

The move will likely take place in March and the new branch would open in April, Seelig said.

County Freeholder Rick Gardner said during last week's meeting that the "public excitement is really tremendous."

"The project is coming along very, very nicely," Gardner said.

The interior of the new branch is slated to evoke the agricultural history of the building. The ends of most shelves will look like crates, tractor-seat chairs will be placed in the young adult area and the kids department will have chairs featuring cow prints, officials said.

A local artist also has agreed to paint two murals, including a pasture scene in the kids area and an orchard scene behind the circulation desk, according to a Dec. 16 memo from county library Director Maureen Baker Wilkinson to County Administrator Steve Marvin.

"We are very excited about the design we have worked on for the building," Wilkinson wrote in the memo. "In keeping with the exterior of the building and its history, we have sought to keep a farmers market flavor to the building,"

The new branch also will provide more parking, more computers for public use and a break room for employees. Without a private space in the current facility, staff members have to eat at their desks or in their cars.

Shelving at the existing branch will be transferred to other county library branches because reconfiguring it at the new Northeast branch would be costly and problematic, Seelig said.

Library furniture is expensive because it's built for heavy use, Seelig said, adding that the existing furniture has been in use since the Northeast branch opened in 1993. The new furniture will include desks valued at about $2,000 each, according to county documents.

Friends of the Warren County Library Northeast Branch held fundraisers and sought donations from library users, raising $15,000 to help offset the county's furniture costs, Seelig said.

At a library branch where circulation rose by about 10 percent last year, Seelig said, she anticipates the branch will continue to see higher circulation and serve as a prime gathering place for the community.

"It's a very strong community around here," she said. "It really has a family feel about it."

Reporter Bill Wichert can be reached at 610-258-7171, ext. 3570, or bwichert@express-times.com.

Posted by tumulty at 7:35 AM | Comments (0)
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January 30, 2011

After steep municipal aid cuts, Montclair library board closes branch, lays off staff

http://www.nj.com
Published: Sunday, January 30, 2011, 8:00 AM
By Richard Khavkine/The Star-Ledger

Steep reductions in municipal aid has obliged the Montclair library to shutter its Bellevue branch, lay off nearly a quarter of its full-time staff and cut hours at its main branch.

With township funding expected to drop 24 percent this year, the library’s budget will take a similar hit, dipping to $2.7 million from $3.5 million in 2010.

The funding cut was much steeper than anticipated, said Frank E. Lawatsch Jr., the library board’s president. The trustees had expected the library would lose $400,000 as recently as a few weeks ago, he said. But since the vast majority of the library’s budget – 94 percent in 2010 and 92 percent this year – comes from the town, Lawatsch said the board had few options, all of them difficult.

"Since 2008, our municipal appropriation has been cut by nearly 45 percent," he said. "This is devastating."

But although shuttering the Bellevue – which was open just Mondays since last year – had been under consideration for months, some residents have criticized the library board for what they called the trustees’ lack of transparency.

Ilmar Vanderer, who said he learned to read at the Bellevue and later worked as a library page and then in a public relations capacity at the main branch, called the board’s action shortsighted and without sufficient rationale.

"Closing the library branch is not going to help one little bit," he said. "Our taxes are going up regardless. That begs the question: What are we paying for?"

Residents also complained that the board did not give adequate advance notice of the meeting earlier this month at which the trustees voted to close the branch. Although the meeting was advertised well ahead of time, the agenda did not list a discussion topic, as the state’s public meetings law says it must. Lawatsch acknowledged as much, and said the board would rectify what he called a miscommunication at a February meeting.

Montclair has historically allocated significantly more to its library system than is required by state law. New Jersey’s dedicated library funding formula mandates that 33 cents of every $1,000 in assessed property values goes to local public libraries.

But the township administrator, Marc D. Dashield, said the cap on property taxes, combined with steep increases in mandated costs, has carved a $3.3 million gap in the town’s budget.

"This is not a cut we wanted to do," Dashield said. "But based on what our statutory obligations are and those to our taxpayers, we just had to make these cuts."

The executive director of the New Jersey Library Association, Patricia Tumulty, said the minimum allocation was traditionally understood as a base funding formula by both municipalities and libraries.

"The statutory minimum was not enough, clearly, for them to give good service," she said of libraries. "We’ve always looked at it as the floor for libraries, never the ceiling."

Although libraries in Newark, Camden and Trenton had already taken sharp hits, Tumulty said Montclair’s was among the first suburban libraries to suffer drastic service cuts.

Montclair’s library director, David Hinkley, said administrators and trustees would keep fighting for its budget. But, he added, this year’s decline to the minimum possible amount meant the funding freefall had reached rock bottom.

"We have reached a floor. That’s why I think we can reconstitute ourselves," he said. "Montclair has historically been a library leader and we will be again."

Posted by tumulty at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
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January 28, 2011

Camco library system to absorb city library system Friday

nttp://www.c-n.com
By LUCAS K. MURRAY • Courier-Post Staff • January 27, 2011

The Camden County Library Commission will meet Friday in Voorhees to accept an agreement that will absorb Camden City's public library services into the county system.

About 20 employees of the 105-year-old city system were given layoff notices late last month. Their last day of work is slated for Feb. 11.

Officials with Camden County said an effort is underway to transition the city's Ferry Avenue branch hopefully by the middle of February. The status of its downtown branch on Federal Street is uncertain at this point.

Reach Lucas K. Murray at (856) 486-2476 or lkmurray@gannett.com

Posted by tumulty at 7:19 AM | Comments (0)
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Library may pay price for business fee

http://www.northjersey.com
Thursday, January 27, 2011
By MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST
When you open a public library, you take a risk.

The customer walking through the door may be searching for a book to complete a homework assignment. Or he may be homeless and just trying to keep warm. Or he may be meeting a business client or tutoring someone in math.

How do you know?

Ridgewood wants to know more about the people walking through its library's doors. And if they come to the library to run a business and make money, Ridgewood wants to charge them for taking up space.

Are they kidding?

This is the kind of legal Pandora's box that no town should open. It's as if Ridgewood is asking to be part of a civil-rights court case.

It needs to be said here that library usage has risen across America, in part because of the recession, according to the American Library Association. At the same time, the association says, more fiscally strapped libraries are charging fees for the use of meeting rooms.

Ridgewood's story is more complicated. The new village library, which was rebuilt only a few years ago, is a dazzling place with inviting rooms, warm lighting and comfortable seats. The basic design makes you want to come and stay for a while.

And that's a problem.

A few years ago, Ridgewood's library staff noticed that more tables were being taken up by people running for-profit businesses. Some were selling insurance. Some were offering investment advice. Others were tutors.

As a public service, the library even set up a "Private Business Center" — a collection of tables where people can talk. But what began as a public service became something of a public nuisance, according to library director Nancy Greene, around the same time that $77,000 was cut from the library's $2 million budget.

In short, the library was no longer a quiet place to read. It had become a meeting ground. And it needed some extra cash.

So an idea was born. Why not charge library patrons who are running a business? Seems simple and fair, right?

In a nutshell, here is the problem: How does Ridgewood determine who is running a business and who is not?

Ridgewood's proposed fees are not extravagant. Greene said the library board is considering imposing a $10 charge for a day pass and higher fees for renting out meeting rooms. That's hardly an imposition on tutors who make $50 an hour, or a financial adviser handling seven-figure stock portfolios.

But suppose a patron refuses to disclose why he is meeting with someone. Why does Ridgewood have the right to ask?

"Our staff walks around and can see what's going on at the tables," Greene said.

Really? Should a librarian be turned into a traffic cop?

You don't need to be a legal scholar to see the dilemma in such a situation. But libraries have become victims of their own goodwill.

Across America, some free library computers have been used to access child porn. And let's not forget that several 9/11 hijackers researched commercial flights on computers at the William Paterson University Library in Wayne.

Ridgewood's problem is not about child porn or terrorism. It's about privacy.

While the fees are being discussed, Ridgewood has asked anyone running a business to register and ask for a "table pass." In the first week, 26 people registered, some from Surf City, Hoboken and Paterson.

"So far, it's going great," Greene said.

So far. That $10 day pass may turn into a million-dollar lawsuit.

E-mail: kellym@northjersey.com Blog: northjersey.com/kelly

Posted by tumulty at 6:24 AM | Comments (0)
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January 26, 2011

Perth Amboy takes first steps toward restoration of landmark library

http://www.c-n.com
By SUZANNE C. RUSSELL • STAFF WRITER • January 25, 2011

PERTH AMBOY — Work to replace the roof and seven large windows at the Perth Amboy Public Library on Jefferson Street is expected to begin this spring.

The work will be first step toward a planned $10 million restoration and expansion of the 108-year-old Carnegie library. Final designs for the library restoration and expansion are expected to be presented to the City Council as soon as next month.

"Rehabilitating the library has been a long-time dream of mine and many others in the community. This is the first step in realizing our goal," said Mayor Wilda Diaz.
The city has received a $100,000 grant from the Middlesex County Sustainable Economic Growth Improvement Fund to support the library renovation.

"It's a start. We hope to make a lot of progress in 2011," said Jim Woller, chairman of the Library Board of Trustees construction committee. Woller was not sure if the $100,000 will be enough to cover replacing the seven windows in the front of the building.

The city sought the funds to replace the large windows with energy-efficient windows to reduce heating costs. The new windows will also improve public reading spaces, reduce glare and improve acoustics, while also beautifying the downtown.

Work is also scheduled to begin this spring on replacement of the leaky roof using $130,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds and $325,000 from Middlesex County. The funds will cover the architectural contract and the roof repairs, according to city officials.
Barbara Sottilaro, president of the Perth Amboy Library Board of Trustees, said roof was last replaced about 15 years. The roof leaks and plaster on the walls is crumbling.
Woller expects the library will remain open during the roof and window work, but city officials said there may be some minor disruptions.

With some grant funds in and work scheduled to begin this spring, Sottilaro sees more progress being made than in years past.

She's hoping to schedule more fundraising events for the restoration project. Last year, about $50,000 was raised from a variety of sources and events, with funds from the library trustees, a Celebrate Perth Amboy event, the Save Our Carnegie Library Committee, private and corporate donations, and school fundraisers.

Another Taste of Perth Amboy event is being considered for June and jugs have been placed at businesses and organizations throughout the city for donations, Sottilaro said. About $173 was collected when the jugs were last checked.

"We need lots of money," said Woller. The restoration and expansion is expected to cost $9 million to $10 million. He said grant funds and private donations are being sought, and some funds may have to be borrowed.

"We're finalizing the design at this point," said Woller, who said he hopes to present it to the council next month.

"We're working on three fronts, the roof, windows and the whole project," said Woller, who is eager to get started on the renovation and expansion of the library, which has no elevator and many steps, and does not comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Work also needs to begin on expanding the children's library to provide window views, while also preserving the rotunda.

"We have a lot of things we're working on," Woller said.
Anyone interested in making a donation to the library restoration project is asked to contact Patricia Gandy, library director, at 732-826-2600.

Posted by tumulty at 9:48 AM | Comments (0)
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January 25, 2011

Library Board say that closing the Bellevue Branch was unavoidable

http://www.northjersey.com

Monday, January 24, 2011
BY TANYA DROBNESS
The Montclair Times
of The Montclair Times

An estimated $800,000 cut to the Montclair Public Library's 2011 budget was mostly to blame for closing the Bellevue Avenue Branch, library board trustees said in a statement released today.

The trustees also point to reductions that have been made to the budget since 2008, along with increased fixed costs.

"The Trustees were unanimous in their conclusion that these measures had to be taken," the trustees said in the statement, which was emailed by Library Board President Frank E. Lawatsch Jr., who took office at the beginning of the month.

"It was with profound regret that the Board of Trustees of the Montclair Public Library voted last week to severely curtail hours at the main Library and to indefinitely close the Bellevue Avenue Branch," they said, according to the statement.

The trustees stated that their decisions were "complex and interrelated," and it elicited them to review services and staffing, as well as the cost structure of the library.

They stated that library officials "evaluated several budgetary scenarios early on."

But because in recent weeks it became apparent that the cut would be twice what was anticipated, the trustees had to "act quickly to make difficult decisions in order to preserve the viability" at the library.

"Every passing day would only put the Library further and further into the hole if cuts were not made quickly," the trustees stated.

They also stated that they are seeking to continue providing "meaningful services to the community, even with such limited means."

They also said they want to work with the Montclair Public Library Foundation, as well as other institutions and individuals interested giving private donations.

The trustees also are hopeful for "an eventual return to previous levels of municipal support."

According to the statement, the trustees acknowledge residents' "distress and sadness" because of the new hours and closing of the branch.

"We could not agree more," the trustees stated.

"The Trustees encourage constructive dialogue with all the constituents of Montclair and we welcome your presence at our meetings."

In response to the branch closing, dozens of residents are planning to protest during the Library Board's meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Supporters of the branch are expected to execute a "huge action" during the meeting, and plan to make a "bombshell announcement," Ilmar Vanderer, a resident and member of the a citizens committee, "Save Our Bellevue Avenue Branch," told The Times.

There are no plans to sell the building, trustees said.

With an estimated 2011 budget of about $2.5 million, the library trustees are anticipating a $1.4 million loss in revenue since 2007, according to Library Director David Hinkley.

The libraries saw a $450,000 reduction in municipal funding in 2010.

An estimated $800,000 cut to the Montclair Public Library's 2011 budget was mostly to blame for closing the Bellevue Avenue Branch, library board trustees said in a statement released today.

The trustees also point to reductions that have been made to the budget since 2008, along with increased fixed costs.

"Every possible scenario was reviewed in detail. Among several unpalatable options taking into consideration the interests of the whole Township, as well as to maintain the Library's state certification, the Trustees concluded that closing the Bellevue Branch was unavoidable."
The trustees stated that their decisions were "complex and interrelated," and it elicited them to review services and staffing, as well as the cost structure of the library.

They stated that library officials "evaluated several budgetary scenarios early on."
But because in recent weeks it became apparent that the cut would be twice what was anticipated, the trustees had to "act quickly to make difficult decisions in order to preserve the viability" at the library.

"Every passing day would only put the Library further and further into the hole if cuts were not made quickly," the trustees stated.

They also stated that they are seeking to continue providing "meaningful services to the community, even with such limited means."
They also said they want to work with the Montclair Public Library Foundation, as well as other institutions and individuals interested giving private donations.

The trustees also are hopeful for "an eventual return to previous levels of municipal support."
According to the statement, the trustees acknowledge residents' "distress and sadness" because of the new hours and closing of the branch.
"We could not agree more," the trustees stated.

"The Trustees encourage constructive dialogue with all the constituents of Montclair and we welcome your presence at our meetings."

In response to the branch closing, dozens of residents are planning to protest during the Library Board's meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 25.

With an estimated 2011 budget of about $2.5 million, the library trustees are anticipating a $1.4 million loss in revenue since 2007, according to Library Director David Hinkley.
The libraries saw a $450,000 reduction in municipal funding in 2010.

Last year, the library lost four fulltime and about 10 part-time employees who were laid off, said Hinkley. The unemployment budgetary reserve has been exhausted, he added.
Due to financial hardships plaguing the library, its branch had been open only on Mondays since May.

It had cost about $125,000 per year to maintain the branch's service for one day a week. Every additional day would annually cost an extra $50,000.

About 1,350 people came through the doors of the branch every month since its operational days were cut, according to Hinkley.

When it was open six days a week, prior to the drastic reduction in hours made to cope with the financial difficulties, up to 3,600 visitors every month had frequented the branch, he said.

Contact Tanya Drobness at drobness@montclairtimes.com.

Posted by tumulty at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)
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January 24, 2011

Pay to study

Editorial
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Record
.http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/editorials/114469119_Pay_to_study.html

LIBRARIES ARE places of learning. They are free. Not any more.

Enjoying the Ridgewood Library. Ridgewood Public Library has decided to go headfirst down a slippery slope of new user fees. At a time when municipal budgets are strained, it makes sense that library boards are looking for new or untapped sources of revenue. It makes sense within reason.

For-profit businesses using libraries as de facto offices can and should pay for use of space. In Ridgewood, fees range from $40 for two hours to more than $200 depending on the amount of space needed and the type of business using the space. There are lower rates for local non-profits than for an out-of-town non-profit organization. This also makes sense.

What makes no sense is the registering of tutors and the probability of making tutors pay to use the library with a client. It's one thing having two people conduct a business meeting at a desk or business owners using library computers as their own personal possessions, but tutoring in a library is as natural as, well, books in a library. And whether the person tutoring is being paid or has volunteered is nobody's business other than perhaps the IRS.

Libraries across North Jersey bristled when federal officials wanted to access the lists of users in a supposed search for would-be terrorists. Libraries stood their ground as places of intellectual freedom. In that respect, we disagree with Robert W. White, executive director of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System, who told Staff Writer Evonne Coutros, "The library is not a pure free speech area." He's wrong.

Libraries are all about free speech and intellectual freedom. The Ridgewood library intends to start imposing fees for tutors. They already ask tutors to register with the reference desk. There are a lot of problems with this policy. First, it is impossible to know who is tutoring for money and who is tutoring for free. As Coutros reported, a nanny accompanying her charges to the library was repeatedly asked to register. She eventually took the children and left. The mere appearance of tutoring is a trigger.

Yet in these days when we increasingly hear of children being deposited at libraries without supervision to fend for themselves, we are amazed that any library would want to target the groups of people who are in a library doing something more shocking: studying. Whether the tutors are volunteers or not, they are helping students learn and appreciate the process of learning. What better place for that to happen than in a library?

Parents already pay taxes for their public libraries. Are they now to pay a fee for having their child tutored inside a library as well? Is the local mall a better option?

While it is important to monitor library resources — from computers to desks to parking — it is also important not to see everything as a revenue opportunity. This is a library, not an amusement park.

We applaud library boards that are creative in raising new sources of revenue. Much of what Ridgewood is doing in that respect is smart. But we note that library revenue is used to increase collections and expand services. One of those services should be the free use of any library for studying.

Posted by tumulty at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
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Ridgewood library to charge fees for conducting business in public areas

http://www.northjersy.com
Friday, January 21, 2011
BY EVONNE COUTROS
The Record
STAFF WRITER

The Ridgewood Public Library is among the first in North Jersey to start imposing fees on tutors, agencies or other organizations that conduct business in the public areas of the library.

Fees range from $40 for the first two hours to more than $200 depending on the size of the space needed and the type of business using the space. For instance, a Ridgewood-based non-profit would pay $50 for a conference room for the first two hours, but an out-of-town non-profit would pay $75.

Fees for private tutors have not yet been set. However, the library has started asking tutors to register with the reference desk. The move is intended to provide more space for other library patrons and simultaneously help make up for cuts in municipal funding.

“What we are finding in recent years is that small business operators come to meet with their clients throughout the library and our residents have been complaining for some time about the lack of table space for families and students,” Library Director Nancy Greene said.

It’s a move that could spur additional libraries to follow suit.

“Other libraries are still discussing what to do about the tutor ‘situation’ in Bergen County,” said Robert W. White, executive director of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System. “It’s not surprising that Ridgewood is not going to let these entrepreneurs continue without some sort of response or let them seize the space without some sort of compensation to the library.

“The library is not a pure free speech area,” he said. “The Library Board has the right to declare the rules of conduct. It becomes a very real issue because Ridgewood is one of the most stressed libraries because of its limited parking.”

A fee for use of the new private business center for two-person meetings — designed for tutors and students — will be established in February, Greene said. Users must register and access the space through daily or monthly fees for passes.

“At this point we’re just registering tutors … the fee for pairs is under discussion,” Greene said. “We’re not charging anything until February.”

There are a number of tutors who use the library after school hours, she said

“On Tuesday between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. there were 11 pairs working together at the library,” Greene said.

Tutors working with a student are not likely to rent a $75 space for two hours.

“That’s why we’re looking at a reasonable day rate,” Greene said. “We just started this and we’re just getting our toes wet. We’re trying to accommodate the rights of our residents and set aside more areas for private businesses.”

Teaneck’s library board attempted to ban such entrepreneurship from the facility a few years ago but failed. After school, much of the library space — which is open and about half the size of the Ridgewood’s — was being taken up by private tutors.

“The library board felt this public space should not be used for public gain,” Teaneck Library Director Mike McCue said.

The move to ban failed because legal advisers told the library that the nature of business of two people sitting at a table could not be determined as entrepreneurial or tutoring, McCue said.

“The problem became enforcement,” he said.

Still, McCue knows that money is being made at the library by private tutors.

“I hear the cash register each and every time I walk by,” he said. “The general public probably thinks the person there is a volunteer or parent and doesn’t realize money is changing hands.”

Victoria Petrock, a librarian and Ho-Ho-Kus resident, sends her children ages 9 and 11 to the Ridgewood library once a week with the family’s homework helper/babysitter. Petrock was surprised when a Ridgewood library employee on Tuesday asked the young woman to fill out a form.