The Bellevue Avenue Library in Montclair is open for business today, again. Amidst great excitement and a full schedule of festivities and fanfare, a staff of smiling volunteers stood ready and willing to take on the range of operational duties as the library opened its doors for the day.
In close proximity to three schools, the Bellevue Avenue branch’s hours have been sharply reduced over the last few years, but dozens of dedicated users rallied together to advocate for more funding to keep it open after the town’s budget was introduced at the state minimum funding level. “Children came to read letters about how important the library is to them,” said Mayor Jerry Fried.
After a six-month-long grass roots campaign, spearheaded by the volunteer citizens group Friends of Bellevue Avenue Library (FBAL), the reopening of the historic Carnegie library building represents an unprecedented public/private collaboration. “It’s the first time there has ever been an all-volunteer library in New Jersey, and possibly in the entire country,” said Ilmar Vanderer, one of the key players in FBAL (shown below buying ice cream). “Leave it to Montclair to be at the forefront of a cutting-edge trend.”
A lifelong resident who learned to read in this very building when he was 5 years old, Vanderer told Baristanet that “I’m ecstatic! This is one of the happiest days I’ve ever experienced in my 42 years of living in Montclair.”
According to information sent out by Fried, library professionals generally consider it extremely difficult to operate a conventional library using only volunteers. He said that to address these concerns, Montclair Public Library Director David Hinkley developed a detailed plan involving extensive preparation and technology upgrades, and The Library Foundation donated money specifically for this mission.
Mayor Fried:
Foundation funding will supply scanners and barcodes for self-checkout and provide a security system to deter theft. With these resources, the Bellevue Branch will be able to be open at least ten hours a week with virtually no professional staff on-site. Volunteers have begun barcoding the books and learning how to maintain the collection and operate the branch. These dedicated library volunteers are committed to keeping the Branch open.
Want to join the celebration? There’s live music and other events going on until 8 p.m. tonight. There’s also a vintage ice cream truck, brought in from Pompton Lakes for the day and operated by Montclair High School graduate (class of ’86) Paul Narvaez. He’s donating 25% of today’s proceeds to the library. “I wrote many term papers in this building [the library], and am glad to give something back.”
Oh, and of course there are books inside. Let us know what read you picked up, and how it feels to be back in the Bellevue Avenue Library.
Performing in the video below is The Dirt Band.
Top photo by Chanda Hall.
Congrats to the volunteers. They’re doing all of us a great service.
Book ‘em
It was a great ribbon-cutting. Congrats to the committee and volunteers!
i got a dvd there today
Congratulations on your reopening!!!!!!