Glen Ridge Library Celebrates New Young Adult Space as Board Reviews $180,000 in April Bills

The Glen Ridge Public Library marked the grand opening of its revamped Young Adult space on Saturday, May 4th, an event attended by the mayor, council members, school board members, the Teen Advisory Board and local residents. Scholastic donated swag bags and Whisk It All provided custom cookies for the celebration, which was later featured in a Montclair Local article published May 8th and included in the Board's meeting packet. The new area's furniture installation is now largely complete, including a study bar, built-in desks in Rooms 1 and 2, a new self-checkout kiosk on the mezzanine, and study room tablets, though the library is still looking into acoustic improvements, electronic locks, and a hand dryer for the new restroom.

Much of the spending behind that renovation came into focus during the financial review. The Director's April purchase of $97,000 in Young Adult furniture, funded by a state library grant known as the LCBA Grant, pushed the library's total grant-related spending past a threshold that qualifies it for a second state reimbursement of $123,700, with paperwork to be submitted that week. Combined LCBA Grant spending for the year has now reached $165,646, including furniture and shelving purchases from Creative Library Concepts and Krueger International totaling over $68,000, a $26,118 payment to Media Technologies, and an $801 self-checkout kiosk purchase through BCCLS, the regional library consortium. The overall April bills list, covering salaries, benefits, construction and routine operating costs, totaled $180,028.23. Board member David Lefkovits noted that expenses ran above plan partly because of the Director's travel to a Public Library Association conference in Columbus, Ohio, which included a $701.49 hotel bill. Separately, the library paid $2,025 total to a plumbing contractor for two sewer-cleaning visits in April, suggesting an unresolved issue.

Following completion of the 2023 audit, which confirmed a surplus of $35,449.12, the Board voted unanimously to put $30,000 toward the library's Building Fund for physical upgrades such as the Children's area and first-floor conference room, with the remaining $5,549.12 replenishing the Trustee Trust account. The Board also voted unanimously to spend up to $5,000 on an acoustic engineering assessment as part of ongoing grant-funded building work, alongside a still-pending proposal for new security locks. Separately, the library is replacing a security camera found to have a bad wire and is looking into adding another camera to the mezzanine.

Other business included the Friends of the Library's April 27th Shredding Day, which raised more than $2,200, the installation of new self-service lockers, and the Friends' new ability to accept credit card and Apple Pay payments. The library's Strategic Plan committee held its kickoff meeting on April 29th, with the Director and Bernice Bonnett leading stakeholder engagement and Jeanna Velechko leading research and analysis. Resident Phil Johnson of 55 Chestnut Place praised the Board and the new Young Adult space and asked whether it could be rented for outside events; the Director said future outside use would be considered. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m. on a motion by Marilyn Law, seconded by David Lefkovitz, with all present trustees voting Aye; Trustee Damein Phoenix was absent and recorded with a blank vote.

What to watch

• The library is still investigating acoustic solutions, electronic locks, and a hand dryer for the Young Adult space's new restroom.
• A decision on whether the Young Adult space can be booked for outside events has not yet been made.
• The library is awaiting payment of $35,549.12 in unspent appropriation requested from the Borough following the April 26th audit.