Public library donates money to fill shelves
Two libraries in the same town are joining forces in an unusual move. Carlstadt’s public library has decided to give the public school’s library a $20,000 grant that would cover the cost of approximately 1,200 to 1,300 new books. A bit shocked and overwhelmed, but at the same time excited by the proposition, Carlstadt Public School principal and soon-to-be superintendent Stephen Kollinok broke the news to the board of education last week. Even more surprising, he told the members that there would be absolutely no strings attached.
"This is something that has come to reality now, that when we sat down with the library board, it almost appeared that this was something where there had to be a catch," said Kollinok.
Last year, when the new Carlstadt Public School opened, the new expansive media center was lauded as the optimal learning environment, but there was just one thing missing — an updated book collection. The libraries at the Lincoln and Washington Schools before they were vacated to make way for the new school’s Peace Library had hefty collections, but many of the books that filled them were nearly as old as the schools themselves.
"When I tell you we threw out or donated thousands of books, I mean thousands," said Kollinok. "Some of the most recent were from the 60s and 70s, book covers were falling off…we needed to get rid of them. We’re working on a new collection for our new library, but we want to do it right, it’s definitely going to be a multi-year process."
That’s where the town’s public library, the William E. Dermody Public Library, comes in. Library Director Mary Disanza said due to the size of the library, only about 5,600 square feet of optimal space, and an annual operating budget that far exceeds the needs of annual operations, money is usually left over at the end of the year. Last year as mandated by law, the library was issued approximately $700,000 for its budget, and even after funding salaries, benefits, capital improvements and specialized programs, the library board of trustees still had $20,000 to play with.
"We could spend the money on more expensive reference books and leave them in the library or get children’s books and put them in the media center," said Disanza. "Not many libraries can do this, but we’re small and there’s a minimum budget we are given and we have extra funds, so why not allow a brand new media center perform to its maximum utilization and benefit the kids?"
So Disanza and media center specialist Denise Cathro began formulating cooperative talks at the beginning of the year. The only catch, as Kollinok had wondered, would be that the new books procured by the public library would be cataloged under separate call numbers other than the Follet system, the school’s automated collection system. The school in turn would have to give a monthly report to the library board of trustees on the circulation numbers of the books provided by them.
"Will we do it to the amount that we are this year…maybe not. We are able to do it this year and we’ll have to see how well it works," said Disanza. "By no means is this a decision that should provoke the board to stop funding their own budget for new collections."
Kollinok and Disanza both agreed that one of the major catalysts for the cooperative effort was to not only get kids in the school library more often, but drive them to visit the public library. "We just want them to read, period. Even if this is the only way for them to take out library books, at a library that’s accessible to them," she said. Disanza has seen a desertion of a key demographic of children at the library, those in the middle grades. She said teenagers are still coming, but the middle age groups are usually in after care programs and are rarely seen at the library. She feels parents are too busy or tired by the time they get home from work to bring them there in the after school hours.
"It’s happening not just here, but everywhere…kids aren’t using libraries as much. Everything’s on the Internet now, everything you could ever possibly need," said Kollinok. "They’re [library board] not looking for the library to be open at night or have members of the community come in because of this, but it just may cause some of the students to use our library more."
Disanza said the move would enable the students to have a hefty collection of curriculum relevant books and also make the library itself more visible in the school system.
By June, Kollinok said he hopes to have the books in house. In cooperation with representatives of Follet, teachers at the school would add input as to what materials they would like to see, particularly for pet projects they undertake during the school year.
