Authors! Authors! Authors!

I got a chance to be part of the audience for out latest Authors at GNL program.  We invited Oscar Hammerstein III (AKA Andy) back for another talk  In his first appearance at GNL, in October, 2010, he focused much of his talk on Oscar Hammerstein I, the theater impressario who was instrumental in the building of much of Time Square. This time, he focused on his famous grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein, the great lyricist for such shows as "Showboat," "Oklahoma" and "The King and I."  Both of these remarkable men are profiled in Andy's book, The Hammersteins : a Musical Theatre Family. We have several copies in our collection.  Check it out!

It's clear Andy has the show-biz gene in his blood in his wonderfully enthusiastic presentation, complete with video clips of favorite songs, of the classic musicals that made Rogers & Hammerstein a duo that set the bar for musicals that told a story. And such stories they were, too.  They covered issues like race relations, culture clashes and always, the wonder and tragedy that comes with love found, lost and found again.

Andy told us that his grandfather insisted, from the time he first met Richard Rogers that he must always write the lyrics first and Rogers wrote the music to fit them.  I found that to be a fascinating tidbit.  He talked about the opening song for "Oklahoma" when Curley comes out and sings, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," breaking the mold for "typical" opening numbers from musicals in the 1930's that always featured a chorus of dancing girls.

Audience members uniformly praised the program.  It was a celebration of music, family and the American Musical Theatre.  We were happy to have you back, Andy.

Next Sunday, October 9, we are gearing up for another wonderful program.  We are pleased to welcome Jimmy Breslin, Murray Polner and Robert Lipsyte who will be "Talkin' Baseball, Branch Rickey, and Journalism".  This event will be held at Saddle Rock School at 2pm.  We hope to see you all there.

Almost One Month Until Referendum

The proposed renovation and expansion project for the Great Neck Library will be put to the voters for approval on October 25, 2011 from 7 am to 10 pm.  Voter information is on our website or available by calling the Library.  If you are unsure where, when or how to vote, please call me.  Since it is the objective of the Library to disseminate accurate information, I would like to clear up some inaccurate information that is floating around the community regarding our referendum.

When you vote, and I sincerely hope you do, you will be voting on two amounts of money.  The first amount is $20.8 million – the maximum amount of the bond issue.  If construction prices continue to drop as they have over the past few years, we may not need to incur the full amount of this debt.  Approximately 2/3 of these funds will be used to renovate the existing 47,125 square feet of space, and the balance to construct an addition of 8,645 square feet.

You are also voting on the maximum debt service (i.e. total annual principal and interest payments) in the amount of $1,760,000. The actual debt service will depend on the interest rate at which the bonds sell, but is expected to be considerably less.  Although our Financial Advisor, out of an abundance of caution, advised the Library to use a high interest rate of 5 ¾.%, we in no way expect the rates to be that high.  In fact, tax-exempt interest rates have recently dropped to under 4%, and are not expected to rise any time soon.  So although there is an annual debt service amount included in the referendum, there is absolutely no intention to incur that level of debt. The actual number is expected to be closer to $1.5 million.

If the majority of our voters approve the referendum, the Library will seek out a temporary fourth branch. This location will not be as big as our Main Library is because there are no empty buildings with 47,000 square feet that can be easily transformed into a library.  So we will try to find something near Main, with as much square footage as possible.

We are not going to look for that space until the referendum is over.  Why? If the referendum fails, it would be imprudent to spend time looking for a rental space we would not need.  So while some of our residents might criticize this decision as a lack of planning, rather it is – and has always been – part of the Library’s step-by-step  plan.  In fact we are following every step of the plan the Board very carefully and clearly laid out over two years ago:

• Step 1:  Hire an architect.  Dattner Architects were hired in 2009. 

• Step 2: Hire a Construction Management firm.  Park East Construction was hired in 2009.  The Board made a conscious decision not to hire a separate firm to act as an “owner’s rep” since they are confident in Park East’s ability to represent the library and its best interests with all construction and other subcontractors.  Park East has earned their outstanding reputation in the many public library and school construction projects they have overseen to their successful completion. One of Park East’s jobs will be to supervise and scrutinize the budget on a continuous basis so that there are no overruns and to handle whatever surprises and problems crop up so they can be brought to our attention immediately and a solution can be obtained. The Board has every confidence they will both represent and protect our interests.  It is in their interest to do so.

• Step 3:  Adopt a concept design to be used as a basis for necessary approvals and preparation of a schematic design.  After much discussion at public meetings, the concept design was adopted in January, 2010 and immediately posted to our website.  To say that the library has no plans is inaccurate.  In my recent community information groups and visits to various Village Board meetings, I have presented those plans, complete with square footages for each function.

• Step 4: Obtain pre-referendum site plan approval by going to first the Board of Zoning Appeals to obtain our variances, which was completed in December, 2010.  Once the variances were obtained, the Library went to the Town Board for site plan approval.  That was granted in July, 2011.  The Library Board wanted to assure the public that our site plan was approved before they asked you to vote on the project.

On the subject of the site plan, the Library’s design is not disturbing wetlands or other green areas since we are building only on what is currently hardscape.  In fact, the site plan includes a redesign of the entire storm water runoff system to collect most of the oily and sediment laden surface water from the parking lot that has been running into and polluting the pond all these years.

The new library project has been designed, from its inception, with environmental stewardship in mind, by not encroaching on undisturbed portions of the site, and by incorporating modern, up to date storm water management techniques.  The project is an opportunity to anyone who is concerned with the long term ecological balance of the site to cheer out loud! 

• Step 5:  Referendum.  On October 25, you will be asked to vote on a not-to-exceed price: $20.8 million.  The Library must work within that budget, which has contingency amounts built into it, to complete the project.  If there is an overrun on one aspect of the job, another aspect will be scaled back.   

Once the referendum is approved, the architect will work within the approved budget to develop a schematic design.  The architect’s ideas will be brought to the board and the public for timely input.  Neither the architect nor the library board is asking for blind trust.  They are asking for your honest input.  The project will enhance our collections and programs; give us space to provide the services you deserve and retain the beauty of the present building and grounds.

While the architect is hard at work, the library will be hard at work too.  We will be finding space to rent for a temporary fourth location.  We will decide what books and other materials we will move to there, to other branches or to storage.  We anticipate expanded hours at the other locations during this transition time.  We will work with partners in the community to find space for children’s and adult programs as well as Levels.  Be assured that our active, vibrant teen programs at Levels will continue in a temporary home in the community.   

What will happen if the referendum fails?  We will go back to the drawing board, as the saying goes.  The building needs work, which no one disputes.  The board can decide to go back to you again with a vote on just a renovation or a smaller expansion than the 8,654 feet currently proposed.  Either way, you will be involved.  We are not asking for a “blank check” from you nor are we asking that you “trust” us.  We are asking for you to be involved and active in the project so that will give you the library you deserve and of which can be proud. 

The Future of the Library – Your Library

In his thought-provoking article, The Future of the Library, Seth Godin* describes the history and value of libraries over the centuries, and their future. A few highlights:

§         Before Gutenberg, a book cost about as much as a small house … only kings and bishops could afford to own a book of their own. This naturally led to the creation of shared books, of libraries where scholars (everyone else was too busy not starving) could come to read books that they didn't have to own. The library was a warehouse for books worth sharing.  

§         Post-Gutenberg, books are finally abundant, hardly scarce, hardly expensive, hardly worth warehousing. Post-Gutenberg, the scarce resource is knowledge and insight, not access to data.

§         Just in time for [today’s] information economy, the library ought to be the local nerve center for information … There are one thousand things that could be done in a place like this, all built around one mission: take the world of data, combine it with the people in this community and create value.  

If you still think libraries are obsolete today, consider these points:

§         Not everything is available on the internet; not everyone has Internet access

§         The internet complements libraries, but it doesn't replace them

§         Libraries and Librarians improve student test scores

§         Libraries can be surprisingly helpful for news collections and archives

§         Radio endures despite TV, film is in-demand despite video, telephones are increasingly popular despite email, and those who like paper books will continue to read paper books – despite publishers releasing so many e-books

§         Libraries are “less like warehouses and more like intellectual crossroads for working, learning, teaching, and new types of programs" [Source: U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, 2006 Symposium]

You may ask, “What has the Great Neck Library done for me and our community lately?” Ponder these 2010 statistics:

§         You gained access to 30,000 new books, 3,000 new DVDs, 1,400 new CDs, and 1,207 new downloadable ebooks

§         You accessed 770 new audio books via over 2,600 downloads

§         Adults and children borrowed 379,136 books, plus 190,846 non-book items

§         117 individuals attended one-on-one computer lessons and more took part in group computer lessons

§         5,657 children used library computers, and teens wrote 73 online book reviews

§         GNL presented 169 special family programs for 7,295 attendees of all ages

§         6,080 children (babies to second graders) attended 398 story times; 3,300 children in grades K-6 made 31 class visits to the Library; 1,073 children attended summer and winter reading

§         Our Levels teen group produced a made-for-TV teen discussion show, two musicals and a drama, and wrote and recorded original music; 9,949 teens

§         attended 881 program sessions

§         More teens than ever before took Levels’ free SAT Prep course

§         Over 8,000 adults enjoyed 326 cultural programs, including weekly matinees of recent and classic films, world-class performances chosen by our volunteer Music Advisory Committee, and monthly Bayview Book Club run by our librarians

On October 25, Great Neck Library patrons will vote on a $20.8 million bond. Its goal is to enable us to return our aging library to the levels of efficiency, comfort, safety and beauty that will support Godin’s vision for our community library. Based on current predictions, assessed home value and actual bond interest rate, this project will take anywhere from an extra $32 - $200 a year from your wallet. It’s for you to decide if the Library renovation is a good value for you and your family.

Polls are open 7 AM – 10 PM on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. If you live south of the LIRR, vote at Great Neck South High School, 341 Lakeville Road. If you live north of the LIRR, vote at Baker Elementary School, 69 Baker Hill Road. These may not be your usual polling places.

If you want to vote on October 25th but are unable to vote in person due to disability, vacation or work constraints, you can submit an absentee ballot. To obtain a ballot application, visit any Great Neck Library location, or call the Library (466-8055) or School District (441-4000). If you prefer to download an application, visit the School District website at http://greatneck.k12.ny.us (click Budget, then click Absentee Ballot).

If you have questions about the referendum or the future of the Library, please contact me at 466-8055 ext.200 or email at jbmarino@greatnecklibrary.org.

[* Seth Godin is the author of 11 books. Free Prize Inside was a Forbes Business Book of the Year in 2004, in its first two years of release. Purple Cow sold over 150,000 copies in more than 23 printings. The Dip was a Business Week and New York Times bestseller. ]

OOPS!

The Great Neck Library newsletter that most of you received today lists our referendum date in three different spots:  on Page 1, Page 2 and the Back Cover.  Unfortunately, on Page 2 the date is listed as "Monday, October 25" which of course is wrong.  It is on Tuesday, October 25, from 7am to 10pm.  We apologize for the error.  Let me assure you it was not intentional.  Our goal is not to confuse, but sadly, we did confuse some of you this time.

We now have the cost summary and cost estimate breakdown on our website on our Building Renovation Page.  As always if you have any questions, please let me know.  Shoot me an email or call and I'll get you an answer as quickly as possible.

It's finally September and the countdown to the referendum date has begun!  See you all at the polls.