There are none so blind as those who do not wish to see.
I moved to Great Neck almost 10 years ago and since I’ve been here, the fight about the library has been turbulent. And through that time the Watchdog Group seems to be carrying a vendetta against the Main Building.
No matter what aspect of the library is raised they automatically shift into belligerent gear and all I hear are negatives in vociferous voices. Whenever I researched it they omitted an important aspect.
No matter how rational or appropriate the pro-library rebuilding and expansion plan’s points are they either do not wish to hear it or twist and balloon the financial aspects.
1. I cannot believe that for a mere increase of $34 in property taxes, per year, per family, and that estimate is only if your home is valued at a million or more, otherwise the tax is less, the Watchdog group fights it. Yes, Watchdog is against $34 a year, against a library that is second to none. That is one of the reasons parents want Great Neck, the schools and the library. They are entwined. The schools and library raise the value of our property.
2. Watchdog claims that the visionary meeting at Great Neck South high school a few years ago resulted in the fact that we needed “better use of space.” That is their interpretation. I was there and spoke. The visionary committee’s results clearly stated that the library did need more space which was doubly difficult because the first floor book stacks also operated as support columns and could not be moved as they supported the floor above them. Therefore since they could not be moved, they could not create a different space plan. Did Watchdog reveal that?
3. When Watchdog states we have 59,552 feet of space they forget that once upon a time we built and expanded Parkville and created other satellites so that it would be more convenient for parents and children if they had a library close by. Now that they’ve gained the space and the convenience they sought, they are using the measurement of 59,552 feet against the expansion of Main as a weapon.
4. The idea that young adults, (teenagers,) wouldn’t want a section of their own and “be labeled” is a myth. I’ve taught over 20 years and if they had their own space where they could “hang out” doing homework or reading or research, they would love it. Look at the success of Levels and how it draws them. That kind of room is a magnet for that age level.
Young adult programs and books are in such demand today that we have a young adult librarian. Most libraries do. It is a highly specialized field. In fact, Young Adult books are the hottest books on the market today. I know as I write children’s fiction. Again, Watchdog gives their interpretation. Anything to kill the rebuilding and expansion plan.
5. Watchdog reacts as if the expansion went past its footprint. In no way does it go past its exterior footprint. Please go to a meeting so that you may see the blueprints. Read them yourselves. Ask Jane Marino any question. She is accessible, transparent and eager to explain. The expansion does not go past the exterior footprint. Again, Watchdog does not reveal that.
6. It was Watchdog that said our a/c was salvageable and claimed that the library was exaggerating about the a/c. I was at the library meeting that night. This is not hearsay. And look what happened this summer. It broke down and we had to close the library for two days to repair it. So much for Watchdog’s technology expertise. They want to use band aids for every repair, for every need.
7. New York City’s library chief, on Public Radio last week declared that libraries are evolving into community centers where many different types of activities occur. Therefore, New York City which has to guard their finances is moving ahead and expanding their main libraries.
The digital age has turned them into such centers. And yet Watchdog claims that a library is not and should not be a community center. When we have meetings where political leaders speak, where films are shown, where authors talk about their books, where Socrates discusses aspects of life with an interactive audience, where poets read their work, where Shirley Romaine gives superb performances of writers’ and artists’ lives, where art is shown and where prose and poetry are read, where artists and photographers show their work, where computer lessons are given, where magicians show young students the mystery of magic.
What else is this if not a community center?
And I must emphasize what else can you get in education for $34 a year that amounts to the value of what our library brings to us? It opens a world that triggers our curiosity and often creates new interests, new questions. If the doors to our library were closed then our minds, our hearts, yes, our souls, would become arid.
In closing , while I do not know Naomi Feldheim, I must quote her. Her words resonate. It is how my heart feels when I enter a library. “The town without a library is a town without a soul. The library card is a pass to wonders, miracles and glimpses into other lives, religions, experiences and the hopes and dreams of all human beings.”
Be a visionary. Think of how you will be helping your child and other children as well as yourself . All of Great Neck will thank you.
Be a visionary and vote yes on Oct. 25.
Muriel Harris Weinstein
Great Neck
