Timeline People Services

6:15 p.m.

Ken Richardson is 15 minutes into his post-dinner shift when the book return cart wheels by his place at the Checkout Desk, the larger of the two services desks on the first floor. The cart contains materials returned to the book drops on Sylvia Beach Way. Book drops are emptied around 9 each morning, then again at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Book drops at Princeton Shopping Center and at the Witherspoon Hall municipal complex are emptied once a day. Returned materials are usually processed within 10 minutes of being received and are ready for the next borrower a few hours later.

6:20 p.m.

A customer approaches the desk asking about a missing flash drive she left on one of the public computers on the second floor. Ken checks the Lost and Found cabinet behind the desk; unable to find the flash drive, he directs the customer to the second floor Information Desk.

6:26 p.m.

Ken answers a phone call from a customer inquiring about a play, “The Wanderers” by Anna Ziegler, which the Roundabout Theatre Company is performing off-Broadway. The play is not in the library’s collection and Ken offers a possible reason: the book was just released. Ken reviews with the customer how she can suggest a purchase, which could lead to the play being added to the collection.

(Editor’s note: About two weeks later, the compilation “Anna Ziegler Plays Two,” which was released March 9 and includes “The Wanderers,” is added to the collection. At publication time, the book was checked out and there was one hold on the next available copy.)

6:33 p.m.

Kyoungran Kim, a trainee working the desk with Ken, has the first traditional checkout of the shift: Leo Grenker, whose mother, Grace, wants him to do the interaction. Leo hands Kyoungran his red card and mother and son leave with three books.

6:36 p.m.

Gayle Geiger is next to approach the Checkout Desk. Gayle doesn’t have her card with her, so Kyoungran looks up the number. A cardholder since 1998, Geiger stops to comment how she “loves everything about this library” and, in addition to regularly borrowing, frequently scans the shelves of the Friends & Foundation Bookstore. She says she was

KEN RICHARDSON’s first chapter was in music journalism. He is a 10-year veteran of the library and in addition to duties at the Checkout Desk, he does data entry and maintains an internal website for the Lending Services Dept.

Lost And Found

The library collects items left behind by visitors and stores them at service desks until the items are retrieved. The main Lost and Found is at the Checkout Desk.

Suggest A Purchase

Princeton Public Library is one of a handful of libraries in New Jersey allowing customers, via a form on the website, to suggest that books be added to the library collection. The Selectors Committee reviews each request via a set of criteria and decides whether to proceed with the purchase. In cases where an item does not meet that criteria, customers are referred to the Interlibrary Loan program. Customers can suggest an e-book purchase through the Libby platform.

Friends And Foundation Bookstore

KYOUNGRAN KIM, pictured here with Leo Grenker, studied psychology and special education in her native South Korea and earned a doctorate in special education from Vanderbilt University. She came to the library in 2022 after volunteering in school libraries. Her training period ended while this Impact Report was being produced.

This volunteer-run bookstore is open during regular library hours, offering gently used books, CDs and DVDs for sale at bargain prices. Books and audiovisual materials on the shelves of the bookstore are carefully curated by volunteers from among the thousands donated each month to the library. New materials are added daily; some materials are saved for a three-day annual sale, which this year will be Oct. 13-16. Books that do not make the cut for the bookstore or the annual sale are donated to charity. Book sales managed by the Friend and Foundation raise thousands of dollars each month, money that supports collection development and programming.