David Kilby, Managing Editor
JAMESBURG — The library in Jamesburg has made some little changes and big changes over the summer, the biggest change being the new mural in the children’s section downstairs that is bound to change the way children think of reading.
The new murals were painted by Monroe Township High School Class of 2011 graduates Louise Lebello, Camille Suarez and Stephanie Wo. It combines many children’s fiction book characters that can be found in the books in the newly designed children’s section of the library.
The library had an open house Sunday, the day after the mural was finished.
On the mural, starting to the right, Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey’s “Curious George” swings from the trees with the monsters from Maurice Sendak’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are.” Then the mural has “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” climbing up the walls of the library, while the Big Bad Wolf from “Little Red Riding Hood” lurks in the corner.
”Fancy Nancy” and Dr. Seuss’ “Cat in the Hat” grace the next wall while “Harold and the Purple Crayon” ride on “Clifford the Big Red Dog.” “Captain Underpants” flies across the wall past the “Magic Tree House” while a little further down, children can find “Danny and His Dinosaur” as well as Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.”
Finally, on the back wall, children can measure their height on the beanstalk from “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
”It’s above and beyond my expectations,” said Evalina Erbe, director of the library. “Every time I walk down here, I’m amazed.”
Funding for the project was in memory of Jamesburg resident Pauline Raso, an artist, teacher and book lover. When she died, her family asked for donations to the Jamesburg Public Library instead of flowers.
The family asked Ms. Erbe what she wanted to use the money for, and she said she has been planning to brighten up the basement of the library with a mural. Before the mural, there was only a bland beige wall.
It took Louise, Camille and Stephanie a combined 250 hours over the summer to finish the mural.
The mural took about three gallons of paint, and the three artists used only black, white, red, blue and yellow, mixing the paint to get all other colors they needed.
”So it really is an original work,” Ms. Erbe said.
The floor plan of the library also was changed. Movies are now where children’s fiction used to be, and adult biographies are near the front desk. CDs were moved to a larger rack.
The library also received two-sided shelving from The Friends of the Library, which retrieved the shelving from Borders in Freehold as it was closing down.
Also, the library received two more computers through a grant from the State Library in Trenton. Through the same grant, the library is receiving funds for four job-hunting classes with Middlesex County Community College professors.
The classes are free, and the first one was held Sept. 17. The next class, called Using the Internet to Locate that Job, will be Oct. 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
”We’ve rearranged things just enough so that longtime patrons are a bit confused as to where things are,” Ms. Erbe said.
She said the library has a very steady group of faithful visitors and volunteers.
”On an average week, we have six volunteers who come in to help out,” she said.
And those volunteers are needed in these times, she added.
”You need to be on top of everything,” she said. “Libraries tend to get busier when the economy is down.”
She explained that when Netflix separated its mail service and on demand service at the beginning of the month, many customers chose to just get their movies from the library.
”We buy one copy of every movie we can get on DVD,” she said. “We have a very loyal following for movies. For many people, the library is a very big part of their life.”
The library is at 229 Gatzmer Ave. and is open seven days a week from Labor Day to Memorial Day. Visit www.jamesburglibrary.com for more information.
