Board trustees are accepting of the Friends of the Woodstock Library’s plans to upgrade and modernize the children’s room, though some expressed concern they were left out of the loop.
As part of the program, the Friends purchased interactive computers and tablets that will be loaded with educational games and programs. A desktop computer will be installed for children ages 5 through 9 while tablets will be for ages 9 through 12. None of the devices will be connected to the Internet. “We thought it would be another way of engagement,” said Friends Vice President Michael Hunt.
Much of the materials and all the labor to build workstations for the computer and tablets will be donated, with a table provided by Catskill Art & Office Supply. Bookshelves will be made in a Kingston factory at a fraction of the $2200 cost of those purchased through a catalog, Hunt said. Tree trunks will be made of Sonotube forms used for pouring concrete piers with letters of the alphabet making up the leaves. “We may or may not paint the room depending on really the budget. We want to do this with rolling our sleeves up and doing most of the work ourselves,” Hunt said.
In an effort to engage the teenage demographic before they’re lost to drugs, the new children’s room will feature a lounge area for relaxing or doing homework. “There’s this foundation being built upstairs with the programs. And at some point, we lose them,” he said of teens. The new room will be a “dedicated space for that group that we can say you’re welcome here,” Hunt said. “We’re going to get a little sofa couch. They can just chill out after a long day at school. We’re going to get these beautiful little desks and they’re going to be able to do their homework there if they want, or do research and it’s promoting the academics of what this place is all about.”
The last time the children’s room was remodeled, the library had to close for a week, but not this time. Hunt said a team of volunteers will work on Sundays and Mondays when the library is closed until the project is done.
Friends President Claudia Gahagan said the project is really only an interim measure to provide better children’s services while trustees decide the future of the entire library property. “This is really a temporary solution to the bigger issue that you all have on your plate,” she said. “This is just to help bridge that gap. And we’re only doing it under the advisement of the library staff.”
Out of the loop
All trustees agreed it was a great project, like Selma Kaplan, elected to the board in September. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. I particularly like the idea of working with the kids who are just so threatened by the whole drug thing,” Kaplan said. “And if there’s a way of engaging those kids and getting them into the library rather than onto the Green, I’m all for it.”
But some expressed concern the board should have been informed earlier in the planning process. “Do you have anything to present to the board, anything to show, anything on paper?” asked trustee John Ludwig.
Hunt and Gahagan said nothing formal was on paper because it was still in the planning phase, but more would be available soon.
While saying he liked the project, trustee Jesse Jones asked if it was something that needed board approval.
“It doesn’t strike me that way,” answered President Doris Goldberg. “Since nothing structurally is going to be done, it’s a question of rearranging the furniture. I certainly remember this being done under Amy’s tenure. But if you feel otherwise, let’s say it now.”
Friends Secretary Sheila Isenberg asked if the library director communicated with the board. Director Janet Dymond said she hadn’t updated the board because nothing had been formalized.
Friends board member Eliza Kunkel said none of this should really come as a surprise to trustees. “The talk of the computers and needing furniture and rearranging dates back to our September open meeting, which several (library) board members attended,” Kunkel said. Details including the purchase of computer equipment and culling of book collections to make more room “has been shared with you as part and parcel of this project,” she added.
“I think the idea is fabulous. I’m excited about your energy and your enthusiasm about this project,” Trustee George Finsrud said. “Because the board is an elected representative of the community, having the board’s support would be analogous to having the community’s support.”
But Isenberg disagreed, saying the Friends of the Library doesn’t need input on every part of its efforts. “When we do something like the library fair and we decide what kind of games at the children’s area, what kind of food to have, we don’t have to get the board’s support in order to have the board represent the community,” Isenberg said.
“The elected officials hired the director and this is a project that the director has authority over and we’ve been consulting with her. How could that not be Democratic,” Kunkel asked.
“You should be saying thank you,” Isenberg told the board.
Finsrud again urged the Friends to keep trustees in the loop.
“I don’t want to be misinterpreted as being against or somehow opposed to your project. Because I am fully excited about it. I think it’s great,” he said. “But we are a board and we are responsible for the facilities and I think it’s important that we be in communication about this.”
Trustee Barry Samuels felt such decisions are best left up to the professional staff.
“I’m a little opposed to the board being a micromanager to all the events that happen,” he said. “We have a terrific staff and a terrific director and it facilitates all the good things that happen here.”
Samuels made a motion to approve the informal plan and it was seconded by Trustee Jill Fisher. The motion carried without further discussion. Goldberg said the plan has the board’s approval.
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