By Eileen Moon
SEA BRIGHT – Generations of beachgoers have enjoyed taking a book to the beach for some second-hand romance and adventure in the sunshine.
But the Borough of Sea Bright has taken that a step further by bringing an entire library to the beach.
Mayor Dina Long, council members, longtime library supporters and residents new and old came out last Saturday, March 16, to celebrate the rebirth of their library which, along with many structures in this seaside borough, was a casualty of Super Storm Sandy in 2012.
The Sea Bright Library and Cultural Arts Center occupies the second floor of the new Sea Bright Pavilion, which also houses borough offices, council chambers, community space and beach badge operations.
The Pavilion rises three stories above the municipal parking lot, with glass doors on the library level opening to an expansive outdoor deck offering cruise ship views of the beach, sea and sky.
Photos by Patrick Olivero
Like its predecessor, the new library will serve as a crossroads for the community, with up-to-the-minute features like a “cyber bar” where visitors can plug in to recharge their devices, work at computer stations, and space for meetings, like the knitting club local artist Megan Gilhool hosts on Monday nights. There are also reading nooks with comfortable chairs and a children’s room with an ocean motif.
For a town that didn’t have an official library until 1993, the new facility is a treasure that many Sea Brighters look upon with personal pride.
“Everyone in this town came together and supported this,” said Charlie Rooney, a councilman whose father, also Charlie Rooney, was mayor when the first library was dedicated.
The borough held a referendum on construction of the new facility in September 2016, approving a total of $5.3 million toward a $12.73 million project that would include construction of a new municipal, fire, police and first aid complex. The borough anticipated covering the remainder of the costs with FEMA reimbursements and insurance coverage.
“The town of Sea Bright came together and voted 2-to-1 to move forward,” Rooney said. A contract for the construction of the pavilion portion of the project was awarded in the spring of 2018.
Like grains of sand piling up to make a dune, the journey to a town library was a long one for Sea Bright. Nearly four decades ago, local artist Sarah Hilton, who had a studio in town, decided to do something about the fact that the town lacked a library.
Lance “Chick” Cunningham, who owned the snack bar by the beach, Chick’s Dogs, and another small building nearby, got involved on one of his stops to chat with the women at Hilton’s studio.
“The kids needed something to do,” said Cunningham, who is now head of the borough planning board. “Sea Bright needed a place to go.”
Cunningham offered space for the library in his building, where he’d already put in a few games to keep the kids busy. The library project soon gathered steam. Volunteers lent their time and residents donated boxes of books.
Hilton, who is a friend of The Two River Times founder Claudia Ansorge, also arranged for the first art exhibit in the small building, which featured the profile photos that photographer Danny Sanchez shot for the paper. It was a big success.
“Sarah is the grandmother of the library,” Cunningham said.
Then things took a turn that would sound fictional, but file it under nonfiction: a Monmouth Beach philanthropist named Jay Ross offered to build the town a library.
Ross donated $100,000 for the project. “Jay was not easy to deal with,” Rooney recalled. “But my father could deal with him.”
The JW Ross library and cultural art center was constructed in a southwest corner of the municipal parking lot. “People asked, ‘Why is that library in a corner of the parking lot?’ ” Rooney recalled. “Because that was where Jay wanted it.”
After Ross’s death in 2007, philanthropist Franz von Ziegesar funded the expansion of the library in his memory, increasing its size by 30 percent.
Five years later, the library was heavily damaged as storm tides and heavy winds swept across Sea Bright, destroying much of the town.
“When we lost our library, it was devastating,” said the mayor, who said her son learned to read there as a preschooler. “It truly was devastating for this community.”
For the crowd of supporters gathered for the ribbon-cutting last Saturday, the long road to recovery from that loss made the celebration extra special.
“We are here to celebrate Chapter Two of the Sea Bright Library,” Rooney said.
“We have a library that is worthy of our amazing community,” said Long. “Congratulations, Sea Bright!”
The library is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
This story originally appeared in the March 21-27 print edition of The Two River Times.
