Victoria Hurley-Schubert

By: centraljersey.com
A towering glass and brick building, the new Plainsboro Public Library was officially opened at its new home on Van Doren Street in the Village and dedicated Tuesday.
Jinny Baeckler, library director, handed out shards of glass from the second-to-last pane of glass that shattered upon installation as tokens of gratitude to key people who helped with the fundraising, community support or design of the building.
"It’s a glorious day," said George Schieferdecker, a partner at BKSK, the architectural firm that designed the library, and recipient of a shard. "This is what it’s been about all along, the energy of the community and what Jinny has created."
The library took about 17 months to build and doubled the size of the old facility that was located next to the police department.
Everyone who attended attributed the success of the library to Ms. Baeckler and her passion for the library and the community.
"When we interviewed her and brought (Jinny) on as the director of the library, I think it was the best thing that happened to libraries in New Jersey, but certainly in Plainsboro," said Carol Butler, first president of the Board of Trustees. "It was such a pleasure to watch her creative mind envision these very unique, unusual ways to approach her vision of what a library should be.
"Lo and behold, 10 years later, and here she is with this brand new wonderful library. Even today, as she thought to take shards of glass and to present those to people as special gifts, is representative of the creative thinking that she does."
All present had a special connection to libraries in some way, even Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, who mentioned that as a girl she was determined to read every book in the library beginning with "A," an idea she got from reading "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
"The community is interested in learning and this makes it easy," said Howard Becker, treasurer of the library’s board and a library foundation member for the past four years. Always interested in libraries, Mr. Becker’s first job was at a library in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn.
"I used to work behind the desk and check in books and restack them," he said.
His wife, Carol Becker, reminisced about the growth of the library from it’s first location by Wyckoff School. "It was tiny," she said, and run by volunteers. "We thought it was a big deal when the other one (by the police station) opened."
Many people in attendance stressed the library’s importance to learning and the community.
"Education is an important aspect of town, and the library is important to that process," said Richard Gould, a member of the library’s board. He also said the library helped one of the local retirement centers begin its own library collection. "The library runs on volunteers, it works because so many people volunteer their time and effort," he said.
Not only is the library a place for learning, it is an attraction and an economic driver for the Village Center.
"It’s not only an outstanding library, it’s an outstanding gathering place for the community," said Mayor Peter Cantu. "The activity generated by the library is already providing ome 1,100 visitors a day for the new town center."
Calling the growth of the town "deliberate and visionary," Congressman Rush Holt heaped praise on the design of the library and the new Village Center. "What other town do you know that has a library as the center of it’s center? It is truly admirable; a library nowadays contributes to the educational life of the town, but also to the cultural, the artistic and the aesthetic life of a town and very importantly to the economic life of a town."
The library will host additional dedication celebration days between Christmas and New Years, when all ages will be welcome for programming that focuses on the new rooms and capabilities. Activities may include such things as Tchin raising a teepee and offering Native American stories; The Franklin Institute will present science shows and the planetarium will be running; an all-day health fair with Wii Fit demos and fun; and an indoor Fall Arts Festival, with break dancing, hip hop, bands, and hands-on art.