Pulse of the Peninsula: Library fails as steward of history

Karen Rubin

You may have seen the display on view at the Main Library about the Great Neck Historical Society, a group that for years now, has worked to inspire appreciation and preservation of our rich heritage – our architecture, our documents, our people. I have been a  member of the board of directors of the Great Neck Historical Society since its founding, so I can reflect from an insider’s perspective.

The library has also been the venue for many of the Society’s public functions – the popular Attics of Great Neck, and just this week, a program by local history enthusiast Matthew Moshen about the 175 North Hempstead residents who fought in the Civil War including the “U.S. Colored Regiments” and the renowned “Willis Brigade.”

Much like the Great Library of Alexandria, throughout civilization, people have always relied on the library as the storehouse of history – in some ways a conscience of the community, in other ways its cheerleader. It is living history – not merely what we read in history books (which are inevitably colored by perspective), but the first-hand documents that enable future historians to ponder, probe and reinterpret. 

Here you should find minutes of early meetings, old photos which show why Polo Road was named Polo Road (it is where the wealthy played polo). 

The Great Neck Historical Society has been working hard to fulfill its mission – namely, of helping our community appreciate and preserve its heritage. 

And one of the reasons is to build and reinforce a sense of community. After all, the Great Neck Peninsula, largely because of our proximity to New York City, has been a magnet for waves of immigrants. 

Each generation of Great Neckers reinvents itself. But that constant flux, that constant state of change is also what binds us just as links in a chain – that is, as long as we can perceive the chain and not just see the links. 

The efforts of the Great Neck Historical Society and other important institutions in our community – the school district, the library system and the parks – reinforce the awareness that we are all part of this unfolding Great Neck story.

It is not just the people who are the storytellers, but the structures that say so much of the values and the culture of our forebears. The story is also told through the ephemera, the documents, photos and objects that were bestowed to us and continue on beyond our own time. They are the means for those who have come before to speak to us now, guide us perhaps with the wisdom of experience. Being able to handle the original items produces an almost electric connection to the creators.

Each generation, each wave of culture, tries to tell its own story. And each generation confronts the push-pull of progress and preservation. 

Great Neck’s story goes back more than three centuries. A century ago, Great Neck was completely different, just being established by millionaires and their estate workers and middle-class merchants. Fifty years ago, it was a suburban community of commuters. They built the Main Library, at the time, the pinnacle of modernity, reflecting the pride in the community and the value they placed on learning. It was a gift of that generation to us.

And each generation will say, often with grumbling, “Great Neck isn’t what it used to be.” That is absolutely true, and the way it has to be, because communities are living organisms. 

But as we push forward into the fourth century of settlement, we need to preserve something – hopefully the best – of our past. History instills humility, knocking down any false notions of being “the first,” or “unique,” or “exceptional.” It is easy to make such statements when you only live in your own bubble. Libraries – and our history collection – burst that bubble and let us see beyond our parochial present.

That is what the Great Neck Historical Society has sought to do and it has often been a frustrating task. A band of a few dozen stalwarts have come together month in and month out for years now, working on programs that will inspire and motivate, engage our residents in a shared appreciation of the value of what we have.

The society has gotten surprisingly little support from the various villages, but one institution in our community that has an absolute obligation to be an ally in preserving our local history is our library.

The connection between a library and a community’s historical society is well established – our Historical Society has among its board members several former library presidents of the Great Neck Library (Mischa Schwartz, Linda Cohen, David Kahn), as well as long-time reference librarian Leila Mattson (now retired but who continues to be active in the society), and former library professional, Valerie Feinman so there is a deep appreciation of the role and the connection between the Library as an institution and local history.

Indeed, the American Library Association’s Reference and Users Service Committee offers recommendations for a local history collection, which include:

Locating the collection in an identifiable place in the library, separate from other collection;

Create a separate area on the library’s web page for the local history collection

Digitize fragile items for access on the local history web page.

Provide an environment that is conducive to the preservation of materials.

Designate a secure space for the local history collection with proper provisions for monitoring materials.

Provide a clear and visible access policy.

Provide equipment and workspace sufficient to use the collection.

Utilize professional staff to collect, process, maintain and provide access to the local history collection. Professionals may be assisted by trained paraprofessionals and volunteers.

Understand copyright implications that may affect access

 But that alliance – that strong connection – seems to have been put to the wayside as the library pushes forward with its renovation plan. 

In the renovated building, the local history collection will  shunted to some back room on the lower level, is being treated like some sort of bastard child, rather than something to be cherished or promoted.

What is more, during the entire year-long planning process, the Building Advisory Committee that basically set the parameters for the renovation, never reached out to the historical society to ask suggestions for improving the Local History Room.

To the contrary, the renovation – because space is at such a premium, calls for an even smaller Local History Room, which also means less storage space for the collection.

The rebuilding plan – now fixed with the adoption of the $10.4 million bond resolution – is a leap into that notion of “progress” that says we live in a digitized world with little need of actual books and documents, and that the library’s role is more of a gathering place. 

We have been highly critical of the plan – that the new building is too small, with every square foot requiring a trade off between providing space for materials or for people.

They are under such tight budget constraints that there is concern about not spending extra for high-density shelving, but rather repurposing the existing shelving.

You might think this is good stewardship, good fiduciary responsibility.

Now, in the interest of saving money (so far, the bond won’t even cover all the refurnishing and the library trustees are moving to fundraising and tapping into reserve balances), the board decided to not open a temporary facility for the year or so that the Main Library is undergoing its rehab. 

How ironic, since one of the reasons the bigger plan was defeated two years ago was that the Main Library would be closed and people were horrified they might have to go to a temporary facility in addition to the three branches (and I will remind people here that the more expensive plan received 50 percent more yes votes than this plan, which passed with 940 votes – the difference was it didn’t have the organized opposition of the prior plan.)

So now, the library is busy discarding as much of its collection as it possibly can.

In all of this, the library did very little to arrange for accommodation for the local history collection. 

Meanwhile, it was the Great Neck Historical Society’s president, Alice Kasten, who frantically, and on her own initiative arranged a meeting with our new town Clerk, Wayne Wink Jr. and town archivist Jack Binder (also a member of the Great Neck Historical Society) to see how much of the collection the town could shelter, and went out of their way to invite a representative from the library, Jonathan Aubry. 

Also at the meeting were a representative from Judi Bosworth’s office, gentlemen who work in the town archives storage department (where the material would be stored), Leila Mattson. 

Aubry, who has been the Library’s chief custodian of historical records and has been responsible for the series of excellent displays in the Library lobby, came to the meeting having prepared an exhaustive list of what needed to be stored, and how many square feet each of the types of items – vertical photo files, books, microfilm, maps – would take up.  

Library President Marietta DiCamillo, in response to question I posed, .stated, “I personally contacted Supervisor Bosworth’s office and requested assistance, Mr. Aubry advised me after I had made the contact that he would be meeting with Wayne Wink.  All parties involved are now up to date and we will try not to duplicate efforts again.”

The library also agreed that if the Historical Society could broker the arrangement with the town, they would go along with it – but that is after the fact. “We are the heroes,” Kasten said in relating what transpired. “We left feeling very positive.”

 “We are ever aware of the history collection and its significance in the history of Great Neck and the library.  We will find a suitable location for the collection,” DiCamillo stated in her e-mail.

It appears that no thought has been given as to whether the collection will be available to the public during the time the library is closed. “We will look into this suggestion and see what’s palatable,” she responded. 

And what about after the renovation? What will be the Local History Collection’s status in the renovated building?

“After renovation, presumably the material will go back to the library to the new, much smaller Local History room. We will continue to try to find a place for the real estate records.”

But the practical reality is that the new library will be place a premium on storage space, so while we are told it will be taking back most of the collection, it has no interest in retaining the Friedman Real Estate Records collection – 30 cartons worth – and is perfectly willing to toss them out altogether. 

The town can’t accommodate them either, so Historical Society President Alice Kasten has been frantically appealing to society board members to take them at least during the renovation; what the future will be is anyone’s guess.)

At best, somebody would digitize the records but that would involve years-worth of man-hours (and who would do it?)

But digitizing is not the same as being able to handle the original documents, even if it could be accomplished.

DiCamillo’s off-hand comment aside, the Library has not demonstrated that it appreciates its role and responsibility as the guardian of the community’s heritage.

And while looking to how the Library is our guardian of our past, it should properly look to the future as well. Because of budget constraints, the library has had to forfeit a once in two generations opportunity to create a sustainable building.

Now, a couple of years ago, we had to shell out about $500,000 on a new cooling tower – indeed, the failure of the library’s ancient heating and air/conditioning systems caused the library to shut down altogether for some days. The plan is to re-install the tower in the renovated building.

But the library could have embraced geothermal pump system – tapping into the constant 55-degree underground temperature – to heat and cool the building. 

Combine this with photovoltaics and the library could have been a municipal model for eliminating all carbon emissions, as well as saving on operating expense. We could have used our flat roof for solar panels. And I’ll bet the Library could have gotten a grant from New York Power Authority to fund the installation.

The library committee and trustees have worked hard on the renovation plan, but unfortunately, they have cornered themselves into a very narrow box so that they have turned their back on the past, are blind to the future and can only see the immediate present.

Share this Article