PRINCETON: Sunday a perfect 10 for Princeton Public Library

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   Ten-ten-ten was a $10 million day for the Princeton Public Library.
   On top of celebrating the library’s 100th birthday, library officials announced they had reached their fundraising goal of $10 million. The trustees and foundation were presented with a $10 million check for its endowment fund to help the library’s operating budget.
   With a perfect day for a party, hundreds of Princetonians turned out to celebrate the library, which is a cornerstone of the community.
   ”It’s so easy to get books; it’s a luxury — some countries don’t have libraries,” said Princeton Township resident Sandra Brown. “You come in and go through the stacks and find what you want and there is something life-enhancing about that.”
   She credits the library with instilling a love of literature in her daughter, who is now passing it onto her children by taking them to the library weekly. Ms. Brown and her daughter were in the children’s section with her grandson looking at picture books.
   ”The librarian when my daughter was little — Dudley Carlson — whatever the age, she took my daughter under her wing and helped my daughter fall in love with books,” she said. Her daughter, Claire Brown, a Princeton Borough resident, completely agreed, saying the library is important to her because of her love of reading.
   ”I read fast and it’s expensive to feed that habit,” Claire Brown said. The third generation of the Princeton family is learning to love the library as well. Eighteen-month-old Benjamin was looking at the same picture books his mother, Claire Brown, loved as a child.
   ”Now when we go through town if we don’t pull into the library he gets very upset,” she said, mentioning that library, or “libaby,” was one of his first words.
   The crowd, filling Hinds Plaza almost to capacity at times, was a testament to the importance of the library. Activities from face painting to crafts to performances from the American Boychoir School and local bands were taking place on all three floors of the library and outside on Hinds Plaza throughout Sunday afternoon.
   ”To come here and find a library where you can borrow all the books you want, it’s a blessing,” said Grace Onyango, a Princeton Township resident originally from Kenya. “Back home there’s a library, but it’s not as well equipped, there’s one library for the whole city.”
   Ms. Onyango and her three children borrow lots of books from the library and she reads three books a week.
   ”In Kenya you can’t borrow books, it’s not like here,” she continued. “There it’s very strict. People borrow books and never return them — people don’t bring them back. (The library here) is a place I really appreciate. I tell my husband if I go home, I wouldn’t have this.”
   In the age of the Internet, keeping the library relevant for residents is a challenge. “We realize we are not the only game in town,” said Leslie Burger, library director. “We engage people to explore new ideas and engage in topical conversation. We’re reading and keeping ahead of trends and keeping our fingers on the pulse of the community.”
   The 10-10-10 date was chosen because the library moved to it’s first home, Bainbridge House, sometime in October 1910. The library was initially organized in 1909 and incorporated on Dec. 30 of that year as the Free Public Library of Princeton, according to “A Narrative History of the Princeton Public Library,” by William K. Selden. Copies were handed out on Saturday.
   The library has had just one other home over the years, 65 Witherspoon St. The library called 65 Witherspoon St. home from December 1966 to 2004 when the current building was opened.
   People searching for knowledge can also look beyond books to classes and workshops for information.
   ”It’s not only where you get books, my seventh grader took a creative writing program here over the summer,” said Elizabeth Samios, from Princeton Township, whose children participated in the library’s summer reading program.
   The next library event is the annual book sale that will take place from Friday, Oct. 22 to Sunday, Oct. 24. Books will be sold inside the library and under tents on Hinds Plaza.