John C. Hart Memorial Library Raises Money for its Children's Room Facelift

The planned makeover of the Children’s Room will keep book pages and heads turning. Fundraising efforts are on the runway without burdening taxpayers.       

The Children’s Room, which caters to more than 8,500 children ranging from kindergarten to seventh grade as well as summer programs for 2,700 children (and caregivers), is in need of more space.

Library Director Pat Barresi and the Friends of the John C. Hart Memorial Library brainstormed the idea of renovating the Children’s Room, which was originally created when the library opened in 1920 but had not been renovated since 1990.

“When Pat [Barresi] approached the Board of Trustees with the idea, she enlisted our immediate and enthusiastic support,” said Catherine Wald, President of the John C. Hart Memorial Library Board of Trustees.

Though it is a public venue, planners have decided they don't want the library to have to raise residents’ taxes. Of the total projected cost of $140,000, already $45,000 was received from a fund given four years ago by former Senator Vincent Leibell. The remaining $95,000 will be raised entirely through private donations and potential grants.

“In difficult economic times, families rely more heavily on free public resources such as libraries, to provide education and activities and access to computers, DVDs, and yes, books,” Wald said.

Physically, the current plan for the renovation consists of expanding the story-time room, installing a self-checkout machine, consolidating computers to one efficient area, and adding more bookshelves.

“The demand for our children's programming has consistently increased to the point that we are not able to meet the demand, and we have to use a lottery system to decide who can attend some programs,” Wald said.

An inviting palette of colors on the walls and carpet combined with new displays of materials will make the room more aesthetically pleasing. Responding to parents’ concerns, the children’s media center will be relocated to the main room so that when entering the Children’s Room, books are seen first. The intention is to foster children to borrow more books instead of DVDs.

“The children get a subtle message when a space is well designed, comfortable, updated, and inviting – libraries, books and learning are important and fun,” Wald said.

The Hart Library is working with Belfior Architects, which has experiences with children’s libraries. Shelves will be moved so that the amount of natural light streaming into the room can be maximized and furniture will be reused as much as possible.

Families don’t have to be concerned about their reading time being interrupted during construction. The library plans to utilize idle periods for remodelling, and only minor demolition is involved. The Hart Library hopes to have a grand reopening in September 2012 or earlier depending on the progress of fundraising.

Three fundraising events for the Children’s Room will be taking place. On Sept. 17, a benefit concert with children’s musician Kurt Gallagher will be held at the . Yorktown Stage is renting out the space to the library for free except for the cost of lighting and custodians. A golf tournament will be held on Oct. 24, and a wine tasting event is being planned.

The money raised from these events will contribute to a library transformation that will attract little bookworms hungry for more books.

For donations, checks can be made out to the Friends of the John C. Hart Memorial Library Children’s Room Fund.