J. William Newitt, Milly Jagel, Jean Allured and Mary Ellen Soldavin
We strongly urge the residents of Lambertville to vote “yes” on the upcoming library referendum.
A “yes” vote will pave the way for enhanced and expanded library services for all Lambertville residents through membership in the Hunterdon County Library system.
We believe Lambertville deserves the same benefits that so many county residents enjoy through sharing the county library’s services, resources (books, media, publications, etc.), systems and expertise in the comfort of their own local community library.
All of these community libraries Bunnvale, Frenchtown, High Bridge, Holland-Alexandria, Tewksbury, Three Bridges and Whitehouse are independently owned and operated by their respective communities and are members of the county library system.
This has been so for many decades and, to the best of our knowledge, no community has ever sought to close or abandon its library.
Each member library has its own board of trustees, hires its own librarians, maintains its library building and decides on programs to be offered. Some, but not all, interact with county library staff to determine the books, periodicals, DVDs and special furniture or equipment that will be purchased and provided to their libraries.
All share in the collections of digital media, mostly DVDs, which circulate among the libraries so each will always have a selection of current releases available in-house.
In addition to providing the member libraries with books, periodicals, DVDs, etc., the county library catalogues each library’s holdings in its networked computing system. Each member library is provided with the computers, terminals, displays, printers and support required to access the system. The catalog includes holdings in all participating county libraries, and items may be borrowed from any library. A daily interlibrary courier service delivers and returns borrowed items.
The Hunterdon County Library subscribes to a large collection of current, historical and reference databases, which are available online and by telephone to cardholders in the library system. High-speed Internet access also is available via the computers in each library.
A local focus is the hallmark of every community library. The librarians are local residents. They know their borrowers by name, by their interests, their children and their spouses. They save items for them and watch for and recommend books they know will interest them. Many close personal relationships exist.
Virtually all the member libraries have special children and youth programs. All support student research and writing for school projects and papers.
Over the years, our Friends group has supported these projects by contributing reference sets covering American history, the states and the natural sciences. Several member libraries also have their own Friends group.
We urge you to call or visit any of the librarians at the seven member libraries for more information on what it’s like to be part of the county system.
It’s legitimate to be concerned that demunicipalization will increase costs and to hope the state Legislature will correct the tax imbalance it created. That seems unlikely given the Legislature knew of the problem and had time to correct it but didn’t.
Their dilemma is formidable: Either change the century old law requiring local library support or decrease the property tax relief they just enacted. Neither seems likely, and the library tax will probably remain.
We strongly recommend Lambertville residents vote “yes” Nov. 6 to “get connected” to the Hunterdon County Library system.
As past and present co-presidents of the Friends of the Hunterdon County Library, we look forward to welcoming Lambertville residents, the Lambertville Public Library and its Friends as members of the Hunterdon County Library system.
J. William Newitt
Milly Jagel
Jean Allured
Mary Ellen Soldavin
Flemington