As stores like Blockbuster and Barnes and Noble shut down in Hoboken, one city establishment in the book and entertainment industry manages to stay open. Organizations like the Friends of the Hoboken Public Library ensure that book enthusiasts still have a place to go in the mile-square city.
Through the month of February, the organization is hosting a new fundraising idea called “We Love the Hoboken Public Library.”
“One of our co-presidents Roseann Rana, came up with an idea to raise awareness of the library’s funding needs,” said Ruth Charnes, member of the Friends of the Hoboken Public Library. “On the first and third floors, we have beautiful hearts to collect money, and Lepore’s Chocolates was kind enough to donate the hearts.”
The fundraiser goes up to March 8.
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“Obviously February has Valentine’s Day, so that’s where the ‘love’ scene came from,” Charnes said last week in an interview. “[The fundraiser] goes up to March 8, through the first Saturday program, which is not totally coincidental.”
Saturday programs for the family
The Friends of the Hoboken Public Library sponsor Saturday programs at the library.
“They’re family oriented programs on the first Saturday of the month during the school year,” Charnes said. “And they’re any kind of program to appeal to people of all ages. We have puppet shows, musicians, etc.”
In addition to Saturday community programs, the Friends also pay for English as Second Language (ESL) classes for adults. The ESL program has been in existence for more than a decade, according to Charnes.
The Friends also purchase passes for area museums for the library so patrons can go to one of six museums for free. The funding also goes toward purchasing “clamshells” for historic materials that need preservation. Clamshells are packaging trays used to protect the books.
“We also cosponsor ‘Vanishing Hoboken,’ ” Charnes said. “It’s an oral history program cosponsored with the historical museum.”
The Vanishing History project is designed to record, through interviews with long-time residents, business owners, and workers, aspects of local life that have disappeared or are threatened because of continuing physical and demographic changes in Hoboken, according to the Friends website.
The month long fundraising is something new for the Friends.
“We traditionally do an end of the year holiday giving tree in which people can donate and buy an ornament in the lobby,” Charnes said. However this year, they’re trying to do a little more.
Fundraising for the library
The biggest fundraiser of the year remains Novel Night, an event held annually in the fall in which residents open up their homes for dinner and cocktails as part of a library event. Each home has a different themed book, and guests are encouraged to read the book beforehand (though summaries are provided at some dinner parties).
The planning for Novel Night is already underway, Charnes said.
Although there is an additional fundraiser this year, Charnes said it’s not an indication that the library is in danger.
“There’s always good and bad,” she said about the current funding. “The city is primarily a supporter of the library. The city is working hard to fill its mandated obligation. But the library is especially needed in this [tough economic] time.
Charnes said that circulation numbers have increased over the last few years.
“Friends of the Library exist to support the library by buying things the budget doesn’t cover,” Charnes said. “Such as the first Saturday program, the clam shells, which are actually expensive, and the basic budget won’t pay for that.”
The group was founded in the mid 1980s by who were concerned about the library.
“The library had a lot of needs and a group of concerned individuals formed to help address the concerns,” Charnes said.
The group is “always looking for more members.”
“We have book sales and other activities throughout the year so we’re always looking to help,” she said.
While the group is not the policy-making organization, the organization contributes to programs that members believe make the library special.
The group publishes a quarterly newsletter that is available at the library and on the organization’s website.
Donations during the month to help the fundraising efforts can be made at the Hoboken Public Library in the heart donation boxes donated by Lepore’s, or by mail.
To learn more about the Friends of the Hoboken Public Library, visit www.HobokenFOL.org.
Ray Smith may be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com