photo by ArtChick
May 31,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog has been quiet so far on the $6 million plus ,plus renovation proposal by the Ridgewood Public Library . Seems to us that we have heard all this before ,especially “the performing arts center ” part. A performing arts center has been a dream of the Ridgewood library for years , but what about the books ? After all for most of us , the library is a respite,a sanctuary for readers and a place to do quiet research . Books offer a vast store of knowledge ,ideas and opinions. Past civilizations were often judged by the quality of their library’s.
The new proposal comes complete with a sweeping staircase, an open floor plan to host events ,and the Ridgewood public library could be closed to the public for up to 14 months ,but what about the books?
Mark Twain once said, “In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.”
li·brar·y
[ˈlīˌbrerē, ˈlīb(ə)rē]
NOUN
a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to.
“a school library” ·
[more]
a collection of books and periodicals held in a library.
“the Institute houses an outstanding library of 35,000 volumes on the fine arts”
a room in a private house where books are kept.
synonyms: study · studio · library · sanctum · retreat · sanctuary · hideaway · snuggery · snug · cubbyhole · cubby · hidey-hole · sanctum sanctorum
a series of books, recordings, etc., issued by the same company and similar in appearance.
a collection of films, recorded music, genetic material, etc., organized systematically and kept for research or borrowing.
“a record library”
computing
a collection of programs and software packages made generally available, often loaded and stored on disk for immediate use.
You can’t learn everything from attending events and we hate to admit ,reading blog posts. The experiences, perspectives, and knowledge of other entrepreneurs , historians, scientist ,athletes and dreamers can help shape how you think about the world around you. The best place to get knowledge from the source is from books, especially if you have a tight budget. When you read a book, your attention is focused on what you’re doing– you’re not distracted by a smartphone or a computer screen. An author can tell you their whole story with all of its moving parts.
Yes, it’s scientifically proven that books are good for your brain. Reading can foster and improve all three types of intelligence and is good for your memory, too. According to research in an online version of Neurology, people who participated in mentally stimulating activities (such as reading books and completing math problems) had better memory retention later in life, no matter if they read as children or adults.
Even if you read to someone it expands their vocabulary, and increases their concentration span.In March 2013, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research introduced research that showed that children four to five years of age who are read to three to five times a week are six months ahead of their peers in terms of reading acumen. Those children who are read to daily are a year ahead of those who are read to less frequently. ”It does appear to be the case that children who are read to more often keep doing better as they age than other children,” Guyonne Kalb of the Melbourne Institute told The Age newspaper when the study he co-authored was released.
Educator Jim Trelease notes that there is a clear difference between conversing with a child and reading to him or her. As he points out in his book “Read-Aloud Handbook,” speech is full of jargon, colloquialisms and truncated sentences. Literature, on the other hand, is much more intricate and therefore vastly more educational. “The language in books is very rich, and in books there are complete sentences. In books, newspapers, and magazines, the language is more complicated, more sophisticated. A child who hears more sophisticated words has a giant advantage over a child who hasn’t heard those words,” Trelease says.
The last time the Ridgewood Public Library was renovated , the Library seemed have forgotten about books . The renovation was followed by ominous flooding and great cost to the taxpayers. All these years later the lessons have still not been learned . A Library is a Library , what about the books?
Nancy Greene has lost her mind, if she ever had one. the library is fine just the way it is. This is like someone who has a wonderful kitchen and for the hell of it decides to gut renovate. No, Nancy, we are not in favor of your expensive ridiculous project.
Lets put all the books online and make it “virtual” with access via a pretty tree lined website.
Then we can build a Ginormous Garage on the library site with luxury suites for tutors.
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problem solved.
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Crazy Eddie must be running the show over there because this renovation plan is simply insane.
Who decides if she get it, the council, or who the planning board? Or both? Poster on the blog, do they decide.
No property tax money can be spent (via the municipal bonding process) without a super majority (minimum 4 affirmative votes) approval of the Village Council. If she can raise all of the money she needs privately (donations), she may still need the Village Council to approve expansion beyond her existing building footprint.
Arrogance…yet the powers that be wonder by public support is waning….
And you all know who the Council rep to the library is……drumroll please…….Jeffrey D.B. Voigt.
The budget hearings in town are gross.
Library goes first and gets glowing yessssss to everything they want. Particularly where Voigt stands. All of them tho frankly.
Every other section gets questioned and told to cut back. No smiles no cute conversation.
Also the library admits they can belt tighten and they’re never asked to.
Yet try to get your leaves picked up, or any other number of services.
Need a good look at their financials, which are hard to find. Make their entire financial statements public. Anyone who opposes is seen as un-American, who doesn’t want a library? Library trustees influence council members.
First Nancy Greene and trustees needed the income from 911 at the Pease to “survive”,because they claimed to be the busiest library in Bergen or NJ; then they needed the Pease itself “to survive and thrive”; then they wanted the Elks Club building, but thank goodness not. Take a look at the percentage of your tax bill and the budget. Sure we love a library, but go to other towns: GR, Paramus, FairLawn, you don’t need to leave your i.d. to use their computers. Copies are not 15cents, they are 10c. Its a power play and It will never be enough. Let their trustees and supporters build the library with their own money.
you lost me at “quite”
This would be the worst time in history (or close to it) for another multimillion-dollar building project that is completely unnecessary. NO.
What is that young lady holding and where did she get them? Not at the Ridgewood “Library.”
When the present members were re- elected to the Council, they sold themselves as capable and “cost conscious”. The only “Cost conscienceness” that the residents of Ridgewood have seen has been in the “spend, spend, spend” column. They were elected to direct the Village and help it balance the budget and control expenses. They were not elected to grant all the wishes they or anyone else with power ever had. But that is what they are doing. I don’t think any of them are stupid and they must realize how much this will raise their taxes, but they don’t seem to care. “We have millions of dollars, what can we spend it on next?” seems to be their attitude. We had to elect two people this year, and all the candidates trailed problems behind them. Two were basically do nothings, except to spend. Of the other two, one reeked so badly we couldn’t elect her and the second had already proven she was a dedicated follower and that we did not need more of. The present council have consistently refused to listen to any other people’s opinion so I don’t know how the residents will be able to break through their “hear no evil, see no evil, but definitely DO the evil” stance.
9:10 Hello to one of the sore losers. Shut up. Log off. We are sick of you. Didn’t you get the message on election day?
At some point we’re going to have to cut costs. This seems like the perfect place to start.
9:10 Sorry, I have never run for any election so I am not a sore loser. I just think it is time that Ridgewood realizes that “a budget” means a budget. Try to conserve the tax payer’s dollars. Our outflow is becoming more than our inflow unless taxes are raised again and again.
7:17 When you buy a $100 watch on sale for $50 have you cut costs? No. Spending nothing on the proposed $6m library renovation saves us no money, it only avoids spending it and raising costs. If you want to cut, you have to say no to the existing things we spend too much money on. For example: contracts for teachers and police are up for renewal. Want to cut costs? Those would be good places to start.
If there is any money lying around – Fix the ROADS!
Who gave the power to the library so that they can build the”Scarlett O’Hara” staircase? Other than children running eagerly up and down it, with the accompanying shrieks and screams, who will use it? The purpose of the new performing arts center is to use for bridal receptions? We will have a perfect setting for a rental. This whole overblown library expansion would make a nice joke if it doesn’t look like our “hurry up and spend” council will go through with it. I’m now certain that no future council will be able to match the gleefully spending group that we now have. Unfortunately, it will also mean that many of the current residents will not be able to afford the huge tax increase that all this building will incur. I guess that means that the town will only consist of Trump’s type of “acceptable people”–ie. white millionaires.