Expanding Service

For a long time we have provided home delivery of materials to people who are unable to come to the Library and have no family member or friend who can help. In the beginning we used a small but willing core of volunteers. Then we began to use our bookmobile staff. Requests have grown to the point that our staff is unable to cover all the home deliveries. We've begun to use a new group of volunteers. The volunteer is matched one-on-one with a homebound person. Together they set a time for the visit, and discuss the materials for the volunteer to bring. For as little as one hour a month, a volunteer brings a welcome diversion and a new wealth of material to a shut-in person. Here's a feel good opportunity with the added benefit of sharing the love of reading with another person.

Moving Along

The winter weather has been most kind to our construction project. The floors on both the north and south sides have been successfully poured. The steel for the south side will arrive next week. When completed, the true skeleton of the youth services expansion will emerge. North side steel is a few weeks behind. And so on it goes.

Just Rain

As we began the construction process, we hoped we could get the utilities in the ground before the snows came. And so far we have been fortunate in that regard.
But the rain is another matter! After the Contractor painstakingly compacted the soil on the north side of the building, the rains came. They've pumped out the largest collection areas twice! Mud has become a constant companion; mud on our cars, mud on our shoes, mud...
Not that we're complaining. At least it's not snow.

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The Trees

Perhaps the most painful change the Library staff has felt so far in the expansion process is the loss of the trees. It might have been less traumatic if the trees had already lost their fall glory. But the leaf change was late this year, and well into November colors were vibrant. We mourned as the trees were removed, all too large to replant elsewhere. The oldest trees, those in the area we've cleared for additional parking, were at the end of their natural life. Many of them were already dying. However, they had to go now so we could clear the land.
We'll plant new trees, young and limber. We have been planning for that from the beginning. But for now, we mourn the loss.

And So It Begins...

Inside the fence surrounding the Library on three sides, earthmoving equipment has been busy moving dirt and delineating the outline of the future expansion areas. With steel delivery expected in January, footings will be set and concrete poured during the months of November and December. Library visitors are able to look out the windows and observe the progress.

Because parking has had to be reduced during this time, Library programming will be geared to smaller audiences. Programs with significant attendance will resume after construction is completed.

We do not anticipate closing, but have been notified that there may be an occasional day when water lines need to be rerouted or power lines moved, and the Library will have to close for a day. We will give our users as much advanced notice as we can.

No one has stolen the Nalitt playground! We’ve moved it to the other side of the parking lot. And the Contributors Courtyard bricks have been moved off-site and stored in a safe location.

We invite you to stop by and enjoy our progress.

Ground Breaking Day

As we break ground for the expansion of our Library, I find myself reflecting on what value we add to our community.

On any particular day, a visitor to our library
may ponder public policy and current issues,
discuss a variety of book topics,
listen to a lecture on art, music or literature,
view a film,
learn computer skills,
bring a child to Storytime, a craft program or to be tutored by a volunteer.

If a person cannot visit the library,
we bring the library to them,
with our Bookmobile or homebound delivery.

Trained professional librarians help residents
use the discovery tools and materials
on every subject,
from all perspectives,
in a full range of formats
that enrich their lives
and contribute to an information-smart community.

Let the Bidding Begin

The long awaited moment is here. The bid documents for the Library expansion are completed. Advertisements inviting bids have been placed in the Home News and the Star Ledger. Deadline for receipt of bids is September 12, 2007 at 11 AM. So, we have forward movement on our project.

We expect to hold a Groundbreaking Ceremony on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 3 PM.

Let us hope for a mild winter.

Little Children

Today my granddaughter told me that she asked Mommy to go to the Library and she said "yes". The inflection in her voice was as excited as if she was on her way to meet Mickey Mouse. Of course, my daughters grew up surrounded by library talk. But trips to the library were routine visits to Mom's workplace. This little one finds her library a place of wonder and discovery. She couldn't wait to show me the details on the stair railing, the special seating in the Children's Area, and even the place to look up a book on the computer in her San Jose, CA branch library. Whenever we drive by she points out the building from her carseat perch.

It is that world of wonder that brings Monroe youngsters running into the Library everyday. The colors are bright, the furniture is welcoming, and the people they meet are so glad to see them. And this is before we add the layer of stimulating programs for all ages.

My granddaughter, Tillie, is only 3, but she's been given the gift of a lifetime of fulfillment by visits to her library.

Fall Looks Good

Fall is a time of cooler weather, planting spring bulbs, autumn leaves and breaking ground for the Library Expansion. With a mild winter, we could be well on our way to the addition we've been working on for the past several months. The added time has allowed us to fine tune new areas, and work on some access road improvements. As we wait for the major work, we'll be improving our lobby area. With an average of 1000 people passing through daily, it's time for some new paint and other improvements.

An expansion tidbit

April 1st we celebrated the 18th anniversary of opening the library. In an earlier post I expressed hope that we would have a groundbreaking for our expansion around April 1st. We will go to bid very soon, with groundbreaking in June or July. That time of year will certainly offer warmer weather. Our construction documents are over 90% complete.
No matter how many times we roll out the plans, we still find them awesome. There are so many exceptional features in this expansion. One area that has evolved into something greater than we planned is the Fine Arts Gallery. We never expected to be able to incorporate a gallery in our expansion, because so many very pressing needs seemed to take precedent. Then, an architectural feature started going in that direction, and we encouraged it. There is a need for such display space in the community and now we are able to offer that and more.

When You Need a Good Suggestion

It's not rocket science, how we library staff help you find a good read (or listen). Most of us are readers, so we can easily pull some of our favorite titles from our memories. We even post some to our other blog: staff picks. Other times, we're not sure of your likes, so we ask some key questions about what you've liked in the past, what kind of story you prefer. We can then draw upon the reading preferences of our co-workers, since we really do talk books to each other. Or we have tools like Novelist. You can easily access Novelist through our webpage. Novelist is most useful for listing all the works by a particular author, with brief summaries. With some time you can delve deeper into the depths of Novelist and find read-alike lists for authors you have read everything by, or for titles you just loved. Sometimes, you need to provide more information, since often it's not the locale or the plot that you loved, but rather the characters who were developed so finely that they became your friends and you regretted the ending of the story. There are several very good websites where even more suggestions are provided. Even Amazon lists other books customers selected when you look up a particular title. But we're here, and we just love talking with you about books. All you have to do is ask!

The People We Meet

There's something so very valuable about providing library service in a community with one half of the population older adults living in planned retirement communities. Early on in my tenure, I was given an extremely useful piece of advice:for many people here you may be the first person they've talked to today. This was brought home again to me as I read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. In the book we meet Leo Gursky, a retired locksmith who immigrates to New York after escaping Nazi SS officers in Poland, only to spend his twilight years terrified that no one will notice when he dies. He makes a point of being seen when he's out, like buying a juice even if he's not thirsty, or when he buys something and feels the clerk hasn't noticed him, he'll drop his change and make a small commotion so he'll be remembered. So, too, with our library users. They just need some words in return that say you've noticed them. I need to remember that. I entered this profession because I recognized a field where I could have a positive impact on the lives of the individuals with whom I come in contact. Each day I'm given the opportunity to acknowledge someone, with a simple smile, a book recommendation, a few minutes to listen to a personal story before they go home, perhaps to an empty house. And it's not only the older folks. With so many people working at keyboards remotely, face to face conversation may be a rare commodity in their days as well. We all need a portion of that human contact. When you call our library your call is not answered by an automated system but by a library staff member. We acknowledge the profound importance of personal contact, be it in person or over the phone. We make it personal to say we value you.

Cliffs Notes, Acceptable Uses

Back in August 1958 an enterprising man developed a series of small, yellow and black striped books that summarized several Shakespeare plays. Known as Cliffs Notes, they soon developed a reputation among students as the place to go if you hadn't read the book. So then teachers began forbidding the use of Cliffs Notes. That certainly did nothing to impact sales, and over the years the line has continued to expand. Barnes & Noble, seeing a good thing, publishes Spark Notes with the same intent.
A brief survey of our Library staff confirmed what I knew to be true: in our Library the primary usage is from older adults who wish to refresh their memory of a book read years ago, read something about a work they will just never get to, or brush up on some facts for an upcoming book discussion.
As I prepare for a book discussion of The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, I picked up the Cliffs Notes for Dante's Inferno. There are so many references in The Dante Club to sections of the Inferno, that I just needed to expand my knowledge. I certainly intend to disclose my source to my group, and they too will be pleased to know of these gems of materials on our Library shelves.
For the web savvy, the companies that offer Cliffs Notes and Spark Notes have websites
CliffsNotes.com and Sparknotes.com that offer expanded serivces through their websites. You may view the particular book, purchase for download a PDF version, or order the actual book version.

Create a Legacy

As we prepare for our expansion, we have designed a mechanism whereby you can be a part of this exciting project. We've created several donor opportunities, each of which provides a means for your name to be permanently placed in the Library. From pavers in our Contributor's Courtyard, to higher levels of giving, we invite you to take a look at this options, and select the one that most appeals to you. In addition to the specific donation amounts indicated in our promotional brochure, there are many other designated places that are able to be named and marked by a plaque or appropriate recognition. Specific areas within the building, study rooms, gardens and outside seating areas are being designed to provide larger donor opportunities.

Create a Legacy Pamphlet (PDF Format)

Happy New Year 2007

Our most noteworthy plan for 2007 is to break ground for our expansion. We are aiming for April. In fact, we'd like to see it happen on April 1st. On April 1, 1989 we opened the doors of the Monroe Township Library for the first time. Housed on the lower level of the Municipal Building, we crowded all our services into 4,000 sq. ft. Now, we are bursting out of 21,000 sq. ft.

While we are working on the bricks and mortar part of our Library, we will be spending a great deal of time this year in introspection. We are fine tuning our latest Strategic Plan and find that our focus, while we are building the structural framework for our expansion, is on our services. We've had retreats for both Library staff and the Library Board to discuss what we do well, what more we need to do and how best to do it. For a Library is far more than a building. We spent years planning the added spaces, and we need to determine that our service plan reflects the philosophy guiding all our decisions.

It's a great year ahead!

Book Discussions

Last week at the Director's Cut Book Discussion, we discussed DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. Although a small group, we had a really good discussion about a book I felt had been discussed far and wide.

The remarkable thing about book discussions is the dynamic of the group. Our small but mighty gathering found pieces in the story that others had missed, or had glossed over in our haste to find out what happened next. However you feel about the underlying premise of the book, it is a good read.

In November, we discussed Kite Runner. The discussion about friendship, and loyalty was profound. It opened great depths of feeling in our participants.

In January we will discuss a young man's search for his father in Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father.

Book Discussion groups are as varied as the mind can imagine. We have identified at least 90 groups meeting in homes and club houses in our community alone.

The Library offers many discussions, led by staff and a terrific volunteer, Sylvia Deutsch, formerly of NY Mayor Ed Koch's cabinet. Sylvia discusses non-fiction titles on timely topics. Her January 8, 2007 title is Survivor, about Bill Clinton's years in the White House. In March, she'll discuss The Worst Hard Times. Other staff members lead discussions of world fiction, YA, Children's books for various ages, and random other groups. Information on all of these can be found in our newsletters, on our website, or by just asking in the Library.

Essential!!

Today I met some family in Philadelphia and we did the tourist thing. It's been some time since I've visited Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Carpenter Hall and all those places where the documents that frame our freedoms were written. As our very knowledgeable and spirited National Parks Service docent spoke of the birth of our Nation, I found myself thinking of all those reasons libraries are so very integral to a free society. We are not just buildings to house documents. We are a cornerstone of a thinking, breathing society. We provide the resources that inspire an informed people. We provide the forum for the exchange of ideas. We offer access to ideas that people can agree or disagree with, not just in print but in multiple formats to appeal to all. And, we are able to do that and so much more, because we are guaranteed those rights but the foresight of our founding fathers.
I was reminded again of why I entered this profession, and why I am so passionate about what libraries are and can be--essential!!

Food for the Holidays

Traditionally the Holiday season inspires people to prepare festive meals, bake tantalizing desserts, and set inviting tables. The Library boasts an extensive collection of books that offer eye appealing decoration ideas, and elegant meal suggestions. A recent count of cookbooks alone reported an awe-inspiring 845 titles. Our cookbooks run the gamut from older, harder to find titles to popular TV chef offerings. They could be just the source to this year's winning menu.

Children's Book Week

Children's Book Week is November 13-19.
One of the greatest gifts we can give a young person is the love and skill of reading.
Our display in the Youth Services area invites youngsters to tell us their favorite book.
I remember the entitlement I felt when I got my first library card. I badgered my Mom to take me to the library; it was so liberating when I was able to ride my bike across town by myself.
With all the distractions in today's busy world, let's not forget to take a child to the library.