Reading, Roofing and Repairs: Rumson Library to Hold Fundraiser

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By John Burton
RUMSON – After serving Rumson and members of surrounding communities at the same location for more than 50 years, the Oceanic Free Library needs a little tender loving care.
Operating at its current location, 109 Avenue of the Two Rivers since October 1959, the library is worse for the wear, desperately in need of a new roof plus other repairs and upgrades, according to the library’s board of trustees members, who are planning a Sept. 14 fundraiser to do the repairs.
“It’s been through a lot,” said Carolyn Miller, board vice president.
The building survived Super Storm Sandy’s effects by and large but “previous and subsequent storms,” age and wear have taken a toll on the structure. The work done to remedy the damage “was all very temporary,” board member Karen Hyatt said.
The rear portion of the facility was closed off for about two years because of a leaking roof and windows but has since reopened, board president Ann Rossbach said.
The board is hoping its fundraiser will raise enough money to address the building’s needs.
Rossbach called the funds needed to be raised a significant amount.
“Estimates are all over the place,” she said but generally are in the $160,000 range for HVAC and electrical work and work on windows and roof.
An anonymous donor has pledged to give the library $10,000 if it collects $190,000 through its fundraising efforts, said Nanette Reis, the library director.
That $160,000 price tag mirrors the library’s annual budget. The Oceanic Public Library gets 40 percent of its funding from the borough. “Every year we have to raise about 60 percent of our budget to keep the doors open,” Rossbach said.
Because the library is not part of the Monmouth County Library System, the little library doesn’t receive any county aid. The library has something Rossbach called “a kind of friendly liaison,” with the county system that allows borough library members to access material from its county counterpart.
The appropriately named “Raise the Roof” fundraiser will be held at the Sea Bright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club, on Rumson’s Tennis Court Lane, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14. Tickets are $75 per person and the event will feature wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres, along with a silent auction highlighting the work of local artists. For more information call 732-842-2692.
The library has always and continues to serve a need in Rumson and for the surrounding communities, board members stressed.
“The library is really the center of this community,” Miller said. She noted the library’s free children’s programs, including one that allows youngsters to work with area artists, are well attended. The facility also sponsors regular activities like the knitting program, a book club and bridge game sessions.
The quiet space is used regularly by kids working with their tutors, Rossbach said.
“It’s really amazing the number of things that go on here for a wide array of interests,” she said.
“It really has grown” over the years, Miller said.
In 2013, about 22,000 people passed through the library’s doors, a number up from the previous year’s 18,648, according to Reis. The collection has 28,585 books, books on CDs, DVDs and other recordings, which can be accessed by 2,984 cardholders, she said.
Not all of the cardholders come from Rumson. The library has members living in neighboring communities who pay the small annual fee. “This is where they’ve always come and continue to come back,” Hyatt said.
Among the out-of-town members are 125 families from Sea Bright and 25 families from Monmouth Beach, who have been able to use the Oceanic Library for free since their libraries were damaged by Super Storm Sandy, Reis said.
The Oceanic Library was established in 1920 with a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Henry Eugene Meeker, a New York City couple who owned a summer home in the borough. The Meekers were looking for a way to honor their oldest son, William Henry Meeker, who was killed in World War I.
The library’s original location was on River Road, a site now used as a Bank of America branch. Its current Avenue of Two Rivers location was the site of the Hintelmann general store for many years in the early 1900s. That structure was damaged in a fire early on and then was destroyed by fire in 1934. The library trust, believing the local library needed a larger space, purchased the rebuilt structure for $35,000 and spent an additional $65,000 restoring and renovating the building to accommodate the library.
Tickets and additional information about the Raise the Roof fundraiser are available by calling 732-842-2692.
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