NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - The folks at the Ruth Keeler Memorial Library in North Salem see themselves as good stewards of a critical town resource.
That means protecting, managing, and advancing the institution in order to serve the community’s evolving educational and cultural needs.
Part of that involves sustainability. In other words, the RKML has to use what it’s got in ways that not only fulfill its current goals but also ensure that future generations will be able to meet theirs.
That can involve everything from physical space, budgeting, and day-to-day services to accessible programming, diverse and relevant collections, and special events such as its beloved annual fair.
It also requires the library to promote its own value in order to build local partnerships and lay the foundation for long-term community support.
'Transformation' the Goal
A major mold remediation and restoration project had forced the library to close its doors on Titicus Road in February.
During the ensuing six-month hiatus, it offered digital services and hosted programs at off-site locations with the help of generous North Salem residents, civic organizations, and local businesses.
The work, paid for through the library’s own financial resources, was Phase 1.
Shortly after its recent reopening in early August, RKML announced that it was ready to move forward with Phase 2 of its “Build The Next Chapter” campaign, namely a community fundraising effort that, it said, will give residents “a direct way to support the transformation of the library’s public spaces.”
(The last box of stored books was happily unpacked by volunteers and stalwart staffers on Aug. 20. Programs were to resume in September.)
“Buy a Square Foot” will allow folks to purchase a symbolic square foot of the library for $135.
Donors may choose whether they would like their names included in campaign recognition materials.
(It probably goes without saying, but the purchase is purely symbolic and does not represent ownership of a particular area of the library.)
According to Library Director Cathleen Sulli and Assistant Library Director Jenn Gileno, who is also development lead, private donors have already contributed approximately $127,000 – or nearly 43 percent -- of the "Build The Next Chapter's" $300,000 goal.
Organizers are now turning to the wider community to help raise the remaining $173,000.
“The library has always been a place our community can count on. We need the community to stand with us now so we can continue to meet the way people use the library today and be ready to serve North Salem well into the future,” Sulli said.
“We wanted to create a campaign that makes it easy for everyone to be part of what comes next,” said Gileno. “At $135 per symbolic square foot, someone can sponsor one, sponsor several, or make a gift in honor or memory of someone important to them. Every gift brings us closer to creating the flexible, welcoming library our community needs now and for the future.”
The “Build The Next Chapter” project includes installing flexible tables and seating and movable shelving, which will help the library make better use of the public space that it has without having to increase its “footprint,” Gileno explained.
There will be new “nooks” and a private pod where folks can study or work in relative quiet.
Probably the “most impactful” change of the library’s planned transformation is the updating of its audiovisual equipment.
“We haven’t been able to keep up with technology,” Gileno told North Salem News.
RKML has hosted many virtual author talks, but specialized hardware can make those truly interactive.
The town itself utilizes a “ZOOM ROOM’’ to foster two-way dialogue during public meetings.
Programs such as workshops, readings, candidate forums, and concerts sometimes draw such big crowds that the main room is standing room only.
Movable/flexible shelving will solve some of that space crunch and installing ZOOM in the conference room will help handle the overflow and also allow small gatherings – think knitting and writing groups – to include homebound folks to participate virtually.
Because facilities like RKML can now reach out to authors and lecturers from all over the globe, they are developing ways to transcend both geographic and budgetary limitations and to become dynamic hubs for community engagement with the right AV models, technical setups, and specialized platforms.
'Huge Lift'
Sulli and Gileno emphasized that “Buy A Square Foot” was a “one-time” ask.
They thought it was important that the public knows that the campaign is separate and distinct from the library’s annual appeal, which supports regular operating expenses such as electricity bills.
Approximately 75 percent of its budget is funded by the town. The rest has to be generated through fundraising and community support.
“We’re trying to draw a line between the two, because we want the community to understand us as an institution where we are responsible for 25 percent of the budget,” Sulli.
“The transformative part is a huge lift for us,” she said, adding that they want “the library to be strong and able to meet the needs of the community 20 years from now.”
“We want to be good stewards of this place so we have something solid to hand off to the next generation,” Gileno agreed.
Good to Know
Ruth Keeler Memorial Library is a community association library serving North Salem and the surrounding area. The library provides books and other materials, technology, educational and cultural programs, meeting and study spaces, and services for children, teens, and adults.
It is located at 276 Titicus Road in North Salem, N.Y.
For more campaign or annual appeal information, visit www.ruthkeelermemoriallibrary.org, call (914) 669-5161, or email nextchapter@keelerlibrary.org.
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