by Cynthia Crane

On February 5th the New York Public Library held a Planning for Results meeting at the Jefferson Market Library. The Library faces decreased funding; it has determined to modify services tailored to meet the needs of the community served.

Branch Librarian Frank Collerious introduced Nancy Paisley to outline goals and procedures. Several themes emerged. Since the building is a source of community pride, residents want it to be more available for community use. Another common thread was an appreciation of local history, including Greenwich Village social lore.

Participants requested that the Library maintain a serious collection of historical research material and also that the Library should serve as a conduit and clearing house for neighborhood interests. The Library could create a database where users could locate documents or ephemera.

Nicholas Kurdy asked that the Library develop ways to serve students. Since Villagers are typically well educated residents could tutor students and work on academic projects. The Library could develop a volunteer list and serve as the tutoring site. Currently, the Jefferson Market Library has about 250,000 users per year. In 2003 it offered 204 programs geared for juveniles and 102 programs for young adults.

GVBA News Summer 2004 — Contents

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