Library’s Circulation Dips as Online Resources Grow

AVALON – The Avalon Free Public Library’s physical space is just the tip of a very large electronic iceberg. At least that’s how Director Norman Gluckman sees it.
Gluckman presented his annual “State of the Library” presentation to Borough Council March 11, placing great emphasis on the growing body of online services provided by the library to borough patron residents. Making sure council also understood that he feels the library still needs more physical space, the thrust of Gluckman’s presentation was on the implementation of applications that let patrons access magazines, music, books and a variety of databases online.
In December, the library even launched its own mobile app for the most popular mobile operating systems.
“The questions we get now are not about who was president 100 years ago,” Gluckman said. “Now people bring in a new electronic device and want to know how to use it.” Events organized by the library skew in the direction of children’s programs and classes on technology usage.
The library, which again in 2014 was awarded a prestigious five-star ranking, has seen circulation decline for the last few years and that trend continued in 2014. Gluckman pointed out that such declines are part of a statewide trend. However, strong growth in usage of online resources leads Gluckman to cautiously predict growth for 2015.
The library services residents wherever they may be, an important feature in a town with so many second homes. Gluckman showed statistics that demonstrated growth in the library’s borrow-by-mail program. Now that data collection has been improved, Gluckman was able to show that the library’s network had much heavier usage than earlier thought. The usage is coming through wireless connections.
As patrons of the library place a greater emphasis on electronic services and resources, the library is seeking to stay in step with demand.
Capital Improvements
Council introduced for its first reading a bond ordinance authorizing the issuance of $531,000 in bonds to cover the expense of various capital improvements. The improvements will also require almost $60,000 in additional funds which, in aggregate, will cover the borough’s down payments on the improvements.
The largest majority of the funds, $480,000, will be allocated to road improvements including paving and lighting improvements to the 28th Street parking lot. Other projected expenses were related to projects concerned with the removal of stone from the Inlet Drive beach and working with the Army Corps of Engineers on the use of access roads for dredging the Intracoastal Waterway.
Armacost Park
Several residents used the public comment period to urge council to forgo the next phase of the Health Forest Initiative which involves planting new trees in park areas which recently saw extensive removal of ivy and underbrush in phase one.
Martha Wright cited experts she had contacted concerning the value of understory, the brush and thickets which were cut away in pilot areas of the park. She said Elizabeth Smith, vice president of the Tropical Audubon Society and an Avalon summer resident, confirmed “that understory is critical to bird habitat, nesting, safety and survival.” Wright urged the council to “stop now before you do more harm.”
Wright also opposed the planting of seedlings in the park during the planned April time frame. She argued that the young trees would do much better if planted in the fall and that disruption to the bird habitat would be less when the birds had departed for the winter. “If you must plant seedlings, do it in the fall,” she said.
Frank McLaughlin, who was bitterly opposed to phase one, also urged that council stop now. McLaughlin proposed that the part of the park that is off limits to humans should be renamed in such a way as to make clear that it is a bird refuge. “The part of the park that is for people with the playground for kids is great. My kids were raised there,” he said. “The rest of the park is a refuge and people need to be kept out.”
Elaine Scattergood, who has frequently spoken out against the project, added support to the effort to derail phase two as planned. Newcomers to the public discussion, Sallie Davis along with Mary Broadhurst also showed support for the refuge concept and for Wright’s proposals regarding the April planting.
Council President Charles Covington responded to the public comment by underscoring council’s commitment to an ecologically healthy park.
Covington said he had paid a visit to the park to see the phase one work for himself. He also said that he liked the idea of calling part of the park a refuge. His response in no way altered the plan to proceed with phase two in April.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.