the merchant
the educator
Every Single Day Stories of lives enriched by Princeton Public Library
the coders
the volunteer
2022 IMPACT REPORT
the employee
the readers
the actor
the author
the listener
Jennifer Podolsky
As we were discussing the people whose library stories we’re telling in this year’s Impact Report, I was impressed with the variety of experiences: the author who found our Princeton Room indispensable to her research; the little girl who loaded up on books ahead of a snow day and her parents, who use Museum Passes to save money on family outings; the employee, the actor and the coders, who grew childhood library experiences into professional connections as adults; the merchant who devours contemporary fiction in our store; the power user who covers hundreds of miles in a car accompanied by our audiobooks; and the woman for whom the library was important as a parent, educator, environmentalist and artist. It struck me that our community uses library resources, inside or outside the building, every day. This got me wondering if there are people who use the library every single day, even when the Sands Library Building is closed. So I checked the stats. I started with Christmas Day, when most everything is closed, and was surprised to see that the statistics for digital use were comparable to when the building was open: 1,690 people
searched our catalog (the daily average for 2021 was 1,848); e-book and audiobook downloads from Overdrive and Hoopla totaled 397, higher than the daily average of 371; and 172 people used our public Wi-Fi, which covers all of Hinds Plaza. Thinking that maybe the Christmas Day stats were padded by people downloading to devices they received as gifts, I checked the stats for the seven other holidays we’re closed — please see the chart on Page 23 — and the results confirmed for me that not only was the significant increase we saw in e-library use sustained as we worked our way through the pandemic, but we truly are serving Princeton every single day. As you enjoy the stories we’re sharing here, remember that our every-single-day service is only possible through a combination of consistent municipal support and people in our community whose private contributions make the difference between an adequate library and an excellent one. Remember, too, that for every story told here, there are hundreds more we’d like to hear, including yours. Share yours at stories@princetonlibrary.org. — Jennifer Podolsky Executive Director
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Liz Cutler, a parent, educator, sustainability advocate and artist, puts it succinctly:
“The library has been the center of my life in Princeton.” A literature teacher at Princeton Day School, Liz was a voracious reader when she moved to town; her first stop was Princeton Public Library, where she found not only enough books to meet her appetite, but films of the plays she was teaching and documentaries that supplemented her instruction. Liz is sustainability coordinator for PDS and in that role partnered with the Princeton Environmental Film Festival on activities with and for young people, such as a Trashion Show and the Next Generation Fair. The library partnered with OASIS (Organizing Action on Sustainability In Schools), which Liz founded, to organize sustainability workshops for educators and the community. As each of their three children were born, the library took on increasing importance for Liz and her husband, Tom Kreutz. “We read aloud as a family until they were well into their high school years,” she said. “The librarians, from Jan Johnson all those years ago, to the most recent ones, were fabulous about giving suggestions. We borrowed books on tape
to play in the car on long rides. Each summer, we’d vacation in Michigan, where I grew up, and I’d arrive home the night before the 13-hour trip with a bag of book-on-tape options from which they could choose.” While important to sons Sam and David, the library was a special place for son Isaac, who was disabled by a stroke as a toddler. “As he gained independence, the library was the only place in town where he could go on his own,” Liz said. “He volunteered there. He would meet me there, on the Third Floor, and read until I came. Sometimes he and his mentor would research a project or just read there together. It was a safe space where he was known and accepted for who he was. He had friends amongst the staff. Everyone watched out for him.” When Isaac died at 26 in January after complications from pneumonia, library staff joined the community in grieving a young man who Liz said “lived a very rich, happy life, and was both ever-loving and deeply loved by all who knew him.” While the library has a special place in Liz’s heart — it hosted the first public exhibition of her artwork earlier this year — she is quick to point out that hers is but one of many lives so enriched. “The library is at the center of many lives in Princeton, not only my own,” she said.
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As a resident for four years, Shalu Naso is a relative newcomer to Princeton, but the connection she feels to the library is as strong as if she had been here all her life. “The library holds a special place in the hearts of our family as it served as our home base for many months upon our arrival to Princeton from Singapore — well before we had a home or friend in town,” she said. “We spent many of those early days on the Third Floor — doing homework, exploring the stacks and checking out more books than we could carry.” As her family became settled in Princeton, their ties to the library continued to grow and Shalu began to volunteer as part of the Friends of the Library, where she served as assistant treasurer. “Our relationship with the library evolved,” she said, “and it continues to serve a central role in our lives.” Shalu plays a central role in the life of the library as well, having been elected as vice president of the recently formed Friends and Foundation of Princeton Public Library. “I serve on the Friends and Foundation Board in the hopes of making an impactful contribution to my community while also participating in the variety of events the library hosts,” she said. “I am truly excited about the newly combined Friends and Foundation entity and the ability this gives us to streamline our strengths and
efforts,” Shalu added. “I look forward to not only hosting many of the events the community has grown to love, but also being able to provide the fiscal support the library needs in order to meet its ever-growing needs and programs.” Shalu’s children, 14-year-old Izzy and 12-yearold Hudson, both of whom attend Princeton Middle School, continue to be regular library visitors also and “can often be found using the space to gather with their friends to work on a project or play video games; sometimes they even check out a book or grab the day’s crossword.” When it comes to the overall Princeton community, Shalu believes the library plays a fundamental role. “The library, and its central location in town, serve as a physical and symbolical embodiment of community,” she said.
“In addition to offering numerous books and media, the library serves as a welcoming space for all those looking for a quiet corner, bite to eat, sunny spot to sit on the terrace, meeting area, place to learn a new skill, view art and so much more. This allows the library to serve so many and provide a place where everyone can belong.”
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For homegrown merchant Jon Lambert, Princeton Public Library has been a constant throughout his life, becoming increasingly important during his 331/3 years at Princeton Record Exchange. “Not only have I worked around the corner from PPL for decades, I grew up in this town and spent many hours in its earlier incarnation,” Jon said. “It has been one of my favorite places for as long as I can remember, and I have always been impressed with its friendly professionalism and welcoming vibe.” Jon is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and can be found browsing the shelves at the Library Store. As a business owner — he bought PREX in 2015 — he recognizes the longtime symbiosis between the library and the business community.
“I think that to thrive, every town needs its cultural anchors. Galleries, museums, movie theaters, and libraries, among others, encourage both residents and visitors to participate and enjoy, along with a great assortment of restaurants and retail stores (including PREX, of course!), Princeton has excellent high-quality organizations delivering great service.”
“It is the town’s ‘living room’ for many residents, providing a wide, diverse selection of circulating media, and a top-notch line-up of programs designed to educate and entertain. And it is a lifeline to the community, offering a place to gather and voice political concerns, a harbor for shelter in storms and a space to meet your neighbors.” Some of the programs are collaborations between local partners such as PREX. “I have very nice relationships with many of the staff and it has been a pleasure to work on many interesting collective projects,” Jon said. “One of my favorites was the summer of 2019, when we set up a vinyl listening station behind the Welcome Desk celebrating Woodstock’s 50th anniversary. It was such fun to see parents exposing their children to the joys of LPs and the great music of those times. “But the most exciting event, the largest I have ever had a hand in, was They Might Be Giants, who offered to play for free celebrating Record Store Day. Our store was not large enough to handle the crowds, and PPL stepped in to help us coordinate a concert in Hinds Plaza. The weather turned out great, and over 1,300 folks crammed into the space to enjoy the free show. To our knowledge, this was the largest musical event since the plaza was built.”
Jon pointed out that the library, the cultural anchor of Princeton’s principal downtown public area (Hinds Plaza), is “many things to many people.”
Jon’s love of libraries extends into his home life. His wife, Cynthia, is a reference librarian in the Law Library at the NJ State Library and worked briefly at PPL while in grad school.
“It is a welcome center in many ways, giving advice, directions and help to visitors,” he said.
“I look forward to many more years of collaborative projects, both small and large, to come.”
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An open and welcoming community hub. That’s how Kyara and Valeria Torres-Olivares describe the library. Residents of Princeton and regulars at the library since early childhood, the sisters are co-founders of Code Equal, a non-profit organization which provides free coding classes and other computer science resources to girls and under-represented minority students. Through Code Equal, Valeria, a junior at Princeton University, and Kyara, a senior at Princeton High School, conduct Girl Code and gender-inclusive Code It classes at the library. “The library was our first stop,” Valeria said about the early days of Code Equal when the sisters were looking for places to teach and create more diversity in STEM spaces. “We emailed (then Executive Director) Brett Bonfield and asked if we could teach free coding classes in the new technology center. He and the staff worked with us and we began teaching classes every other Thursday.” Valeria recalls that in her first computer science class, where she was one of few girls and the only Latina, she felt underestimated by her male peers. But after joining the all-girls coding camp Kode with Klossy, Valeria and Kyara felt supported and inspired. “My sister and I applied together, Valeria said, “Because I wanted her first coding experience to be in an all-female environment in hopes that she would have a better first experience learning to code than I did.” When the coding classes began at the library, demand was higher than anything the sisters expected. In that way, the classes were not unlike the Spanish language story times their mother,
Veronica Olivares-Weber, established at the library when the family first came to Princeton. “Our mom noticed the lack of diversity in those using the library programs and resources,” Kyara said of that time. “With the goal of creating a space for Spanish Latin American speakers to join the library community, she began to volunteer to host story times in Spanish.” Before long, Kyrara said, the Spanish story times became full of local Latino families. “I was only 3 years old and Valeria was 7 when (our mom) started storytelling,” she said. “Each week we became her little helpers.” The library has also been instrumental in another event facilitated by the Torres-Olivares family. “My family also created Festival Cultural Latino, an event meant to celebrate and provide space to Latin American creatives,” said Kyara. “When looking for a space to host this event, the library graciously opened its doors and plaza to us so that we could celebrate Latinidad in the center of Princeton.” In addition to teaching at the library, the sisters have created New Jersey’s first Congressional App Challenge Hackathon, created coding tutorials, attended speaking engagements and taught workshops in the Bronx and Trenton. And they credit the library with helping to make it all happen.
“Without the library, we would have never gotten the chance to teach over 4,000 students both in the library and out,” Valeria said. “That support has allowed us to provide computer science education to thousands of students and to grow as individuals.”
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As an employee in the Lending Services department, library and information science student Jay Warner can often be found creating timely displays, processing returns and merchandise purchases, or shelving library materials. But there’s another role she takes seriously at the library. “Oftentimes, I am among the first staff people see when they enter the building,” she said. “So I create a welcoming environment by greeting customers and providing excellent customer service when my help is needed.” Jay’s ties to the library stretch back to her childhood when she would check out as many books as she could during family trips from Brooklyn to Princeton to visit her great-aunts. And after she moved to Princeton at the start of middle school, the library became a place where Jay could access information that supplemented what she was learning about health and puberty in the classroom. “The library became more than just a place to retrieve information,” she recalls of those years. “After school, the library was the main place I would go to spend time with friends.” As a student studying for a master’s degree in library and information science, Jay considers herself fortunate to be working in a library with a reputation for being “one of the best libraries in the country. “PPL is often referenced throughout my coursework because this library is great at listening to community needs and adapting when necessary,” she said. In addition to improvements to the library building, which better meet the evolving needs of the community, Jay has appreciated changes she has seen to the library’s collection over the
years. “I was fortunate to witness the increase of diversity within the library’s collection,” she said. “Seeing a more diverse collection made me feel safer and welcomed.” Jay also appreciates the benefits of the library that go beyond its collection. “The library provides so much more than books,” she said. “It is a place where people can learn new languages or skills. The library also offers access to streaming services like Kanopy for movie lovers. The library can also be a place to meet people with similar interests. In sum, it is a place for socializing, education and entertainment.”
“Without the library, some people lose access to a safe space, internet, technology needs and educational materials,” Jay said. “For a lot of young people, especially children, the library is one of the only places in town where they can socialize without the need to spend money.” As a source of reliable information and a safe place to be with friends, the library served an important role in Jay’s early life. And now, at the start of her professional life, Jay can see that her role as a library staff member has an impact on library customers, too. Like all library staff members, Jay enjoys exceeding their expectations. Customers may arrive at the library stressed about needing to find specific information or needing to understand a library policy, but “they are often surprised by how accommodating my colleagues and I are,” she said. “They know that we are here to support them in any way we can.”
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Connie Escher buzzes around the Princeton Room on the library’s second floor, each topic in a wide-ranging discussion of Princeton history igniting a burst of energy toward a new resource. It’s a room she likely knows better than anyone except library staff since it played a key role in her research. During her years as an educator in Princeton Public Schools, teaching history wasn’t the only thing on Connie’s mind. She was also cultivating a dream of publishing a biography of freed slave, educator and missionary Betsey Stockton. With this year’s publishing of “She Calls Herself Betsey Stockton: The Illustrated Odyssey of a Princeton Slave,” Connie has realized that dream, and she credits the library with helping to make it happen.
“Embryonic books in writers’ minds demand discipline, courage and faith from others to enable the literary birth of the published book to see the light of day,” Connie said. “Alas, many writers have abandoned manuscripts for lack of institutional support, which, through its exemplary help, Princeton Public Library gave me.”
When Connie’s 2018 lecture on researching Stockton’s life, which she remembers was “enthusiastically supported” by then public humanities coordinator Hannah Schmidl, was attended by a standing-room-only crowd, she knew there was interest in a written biography of Stockton. Connie spent countless hours conducting research at the library, often working in the Study Rooms she calls “havens of quietude where thoughtful self-analysis and companion critique can occur on a regular basis.” Connie considers the personal computer guidance she received from staff “consistent and invaluable” and said she benefited from additional library resources also. “My published bibliography is studded with entries from JSstor, the online access to scholarly articles,” she said. “In addition, countless Interlibrary Loans, such as Lord Byron’s account of his voyage to the Sandwich Islands, were expertly processed by library staff.” Also consistent was the ongoing support Connie felt from library staff. “For decades (Adult Programming Manager) Janie Hermann’s cheerful, ‘Let us know when you are ready for a book launch here at the library’ was the capstone for believing that ‘someday’ would manifest itself with a calendar date,” she said. And now, with copies of her book shelved in the Princeton Collection, the author extends her “heartfelt gratitude to the library who endorsed it before it came into being.”
Peel/Bunting
Sam with, from left, Moses, Maeve and Zola.
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Nina Peel and Sam Bunting are heads of a library family on the move, figuratively and literally. The biology professors and researchers — she’s at The College of New Jersey, he’s at Rutgers — can be seen wheeling around town with their children, Zola, 7; Maeve, 5; and Moses, 2. One of their favorite destinations is Princeton Public Library. Sam’s Double Dutch cargo bike has a large container on the front for carrying kids. The bike rolls to the library with Maeve and Moses in the cargo hold and returns (uphill) to their home in north central Princeton significantly heavier because it’s loaded with books. One such ride in January was extra heavy since Zola used an anticipated snow day to load up on books, borrowing 45, including every book available about rabbits. While Sam was concerned with ensuring there would be an adequate supply of bunny books for all kids, he couldn’t help but applaud Zola’s devotion to reading and the library’s policy of ending extended use fees for children’s materials. “The library is one of their favorite places is town and they usually borrow more books than they can carry,” Sam said. “Last time (in March), we got out a lot of books,” Zola said. “I wasn’t allowed to tell Daddy how many books we took out. (It was 52.) I would say the library is one of the top two places in the world. The other one is my bed.” Maeve quickly adds, “The library is the best place in the world and the other best place in the world is all the rides at Ocean City!”
For Nina, the library provides essential resources for a growing family.
“We’ve got out books about pregnancy, caring for babies and baby food. Then we have all kinds of different books for kids at all ages. We also downloaded e-books for the car for trips, and use the library’s tickets to visit attractions like the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. It is great that there are no late fees on books anymore, because the kids get so many books out that if you are one day late, it can add up quickly.” Sam is well known in Princeton for his advocacy for both multimodal transportation, with an emphasis on safe bike and pedestrian routes, and for expanding the town’s housing stock, increasing the availability of affordable options. The library, with its location in the heart of downtown and with a mission to expand opportunities to all, is central to Sam’s passions. “We go to the library all the time and I’m always impressed at all the different kinds of people who use it,” Sam said. “Clearly the library is like a living room for a lot of people in Princeton, of all different ages and income levels. When I was growing up in Ireland, I used to go to the Belfast Central Library every week, and it’s great that we have a library in Princeton that is so central and accessible. It has been a bit quiet recently as we’ve emerged from the whole Covid thing, but I have no doubt the library will soon be really busy again.”
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The drive from Princeton to Burlington, Ontario, Canada, takes about seven hours on a good day and it seems Kate Newell knows every milepost and rest stop along the way. It’s a drive she makes many times a year to attend to family matters and the trip is made easier by Princeton Public Library. Kate and her husband, Steve Kruse, are what some at the library refer to as “power users,” a designation for those who most frequently borrow materials. Kate knows the library’s audiobook collection inside and out and its physical CDs and digital downloads are constant companions on her trips north. “No one likes to spend hours at a time in a car. I don’t think I could make it through these drives without audiobooks from the library,” Kate said. “When our daughters were in college in Canada and later when Steve’s father took ill in Montreal, one or both of us would drive north even more frequently. Thankfully, the library’s collection is pretty big and I always have something new to listen to on these drives.” Digital audiobooks came in particularly handy on a trip last year, when Kate and one of her daughters were stopped at the border because COVID-19 testing requirements changed. “We ended up having to spend a few days in Buffalo while we were waiting for results from
our tests,” she said. “Being able to download audiobooks from Overdrive and Hoopla and stream movies from Kanopy really helped while we were there.” Kate loves contemporary fiction and makes her selections based on a combination of familiarity with the author, reviews by other listeners posted on the library’s BiblioCommons catalog and who is narrating. That last factor is key. “A great book can be a not-so-great audiobook depending on who’s reading it,” she said. “I’m willing to take a chance on a new author if the book got good reviews, but I’m always careful to check to see who’s narrating. There are definitely narrators I’ll avoid.” Having lived in Princeton for three decades, Kate and Steve have a special appreciation for the role Princeton Public Library plays in their lives.
“I think sometimes we take for granted how lucky we are to have such a great public library. The library exposes us to new authors and ideas, all for free. And that’s in addition to the phenomenal free programming, which I’m happy to see is returning in person as we head into a post-Covid world. I feel that for cardholders, the library is the best value in town.”
Your support enriches lives. Please make a gift today princetonlibrary.org/donate
During her childhood, when her mother, Elba Barzellato, was head of Adult Services, the library became a very familiar place to Vivia Font. She remembers a favorite children’s librarian who sent her home with stacks of books to read — and the “Girl with Bird” sculpture, which is still in the library. Her favorite memories, though, are the times “when the library would close and I would be there with my mother for those few minutes after closing time, wandering the stacks. The stillness of it. It was magical and full of presence, even in the dark.” These days, Vivia, now a mom herself, can often be found back in the library, where she continues to create memories with her son. “He absolutely loves it,” she said. “He is 3 and, of course, likes taking the elevator. He also loves looking through the books and being read to. He loves coming to the ‘librarian.’ ” As a performer, collaborator and educator who has been a lecturer in theater at Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts, Vivia launched last year’s “Playing on Air” play discussion program and “Among Trees: A Midsummer Theatrical Event” for the library. “They were really lovely community-building and keeping opportunities that nourished those who participated (and organized) greatly,” she said. “With ‘Playing on Air,’ it was so great to connect with others during this time when we were all avoiding being together in person. We engaged in conversation, meeting these wonderful participants from all over the country and were able to engage in some really interesting discourse.
I think everyone enjoyed our times together on those Sundays, not just for the connection, but the stimulating conversation and ideas. “‘Among Trees’ was such a great moment — right when numbers were low and we all felt safe to gather again. And gather we did, outside, sharing community writing with professional artists performing. There was so much joy to be doing this together, nestled in the beautiful nature at the Herrontown Woods. To me it felt quite magical. I had folks come up to me and say thank you for this. It was so wonderful to go experience some art communally again.” Like so many Princeton residents, Vivia considers the library a community center. “Beyond the books, and the technical offerings, which are top notch, there are so many workshops, presentations, discussions and groups which offer something for everyone, and keep people connected to a sense of the Princeton community,” she said. “I’ve attended presentations that have collaborated with McCarter Theatre, the Pride Picnic, the Juneteenth event, et cetera. Janie Hermann and the rest of the team at the library really provide such wonderful services and opportunities to all members, and nonmembers as well.”
“There is so much more to the library than people might think. There are services that support a huge array of things you might need help with. There are fun and amazing family events (including with DJs). There’s art to experience. And it’s all free.”
You
Every Single Day
Tell us
Holiday usage of Virtual Princeton Public Library in 2021
your
Holiday
library story
Website & Catalog visits
E-book/digital audiobook checkouts
Hinds Plaza Wi-Fi sessions
New Year’s Day
1,929
437
202
MLK Jr. Day
2,337
431
323
Easter Sunday
1,881
385
425
Memorial Day
2,345
397
495
story about how the library
Independence Day
1,686
367
393
is special to you and are
Labor Day
2,446
379
374
Thanksgiving
1,688
243
196
Christmas Day
2,095
367
172
2021 Daily Average
2,797
371
562*
12,152 digital checkouts
1,053 Study Room sessions
27,819 visits
Feb. 2022 Statistics
Includes bldg open dates
Like the people featured in this Impact Report, we know that the library transforms lives every single day. If you have a
willing to share it, please write to us: stories@princetonlibrary.org
Your Contacts Development Office 609-924-9529 Lisa Belshaw Development Director lbelshaw@princetonlibrary.org Ext. 1251
26,803 physical checkouts
Dawn Frost Development Associate dfrost@princetonlibrary.org Ext. 1284
17,416 Wi-Fi sessions
Addie Gordon Development Administrator agordon@princetonlibrary.org Ext. 1280
Princeton Public Library Sands Library Building 65 Witherspoon St. Princeton, NJ 08542
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