SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — While “sesquicentennial” may be difficult to say, “Happy birthday, SOPL” was something even the youngest villagers were able to say Sept. 17, at the South Orange Public Library’s 150th Birthday Bash.
Villagers of all ages joined library staff, village officials and other local government members to celebrate the library’s past 150 years and to look forward to 150 more. The event featured games, arts and crafts for children, live music, dancing and tours of the historic Connett Building. All of this was kicked off with a parade from Cameron Field after a historic baseball game.
The SOPL was founded at the end of Civil War in 1866, with just 567 volumes accessible to members only. In its 150-year history, the library has inhabited several locations, including a second-floor space above a hardware store and inside the Connett Building, which is currently undergoing preservation work, between 1896 and 1968.
“In 1864, South Orange resident William Beebe had the idea to start a library in South Orange,” library Director Melissa Kopecky told the News-Record. “Not only did the South Orange Library Association grow so quickly as to hop to larger spaces several times but it changed from a subscription library to a public one. In 1896, the first dedicated library building — now called the Connett Memorial Library, adjacent to the current building — was built on land given by Eugene Connett with the provision that the $7,500 be raised to construct the building. This was huge in that the quick reach of that goal, as well as the intense use of the building, demonstrated the importance of a library to the villagers. In 1926, public referendum created a village-supported public library — and by a margin of 10 to 1. The construction of a large back wing to the building — opened in 1930 — not only more than doubled the space but created the first dedicated children’s area.”
Despite the beauty of the Connett Building, increased usage of the library and the village’s ever-growing reliance on it forced the village to construct an additional building for the library.
“In the 1950s and ’60s, the discussion around space and intense library usage — which again touched on the resources provided but also the use of the space for everyone from adults who attended programs to the students who relied on the space after school — eventually led to the construction of the current building, which opened in 1968,” Kopecky told the News-Record. “Development in media and technology expanded the library collections and resources. The community could come watch television — before home sets were common! They could check out record albums! The possibilities grew. When the card catalog went electronic in 1990 it became even simpler to access the collections.”
And while such technological advances may be difficult for today’s younger generation to grasp, the library is still upgrading its technology, keeping itself on the forefront of knowledge dispersal.
“The library as a community access point for new technologies has stepped up,” Kopecky told the News-Record. “Today SOPL offers a tech studio with specialized software, 3D printing and scanning and the like. And yet, the use and importance of the physical space grows apace, with uses both social and educational, serving interests from early literacy to adult lecture series and foreign films, with community encounters both scheduled and serendipitous.”
On average, more than 400 people utilize the library daily, and many others use the library’s online services remotely.
At the birthday party Mark Miller, treasurer for the library’s board, pointed out that, though some people may think libraries are dying, the SOPL’s numbers and continued service prove the opposite. He stressed that libraries provide more than just books — they provide knowledge in a variety of ways, including books, databases and knowledgeable librarians; they provide meeting places to enable the community to grow closer; and they provide resources that are constantly being adjusted to fit the community’s needs.
“I continue to learn more about what the library does and how its devoted staff continues to offer services,” Miller said at the event. He added that the learning process continues as the library changes to accommodate changing times. “We want to continue to build (the library) with you for the next 150 years.”
The large number of library supporters and volunteers attests to the importance of a public library to a community, especially one like South Orange.
“Public libraries, and SOPL in specific, have proved to be the ultimate community resource in so many ways, perhaps chiefly in their ability to maintain the best of their services — access to all sorts of information to all and the physical spaces which provide not only that access but places for individual study and the coming together of community members in multitudes of combinations for such a huge variety of reasons — along with the flexibility to extend services, resources and spaces in response to the needs of their community,” Kopecky told the News-Record. “The development of technology and online resources has actually underscored the importance of what the library provides and allows the provision of 24/7 services alongside the physical space that only increases in importance.”
During the birthday party, visitors to the library were treated to a “Library Timeline” stretching across the SOPL’s walls, graphically showing the library’s 150-year history in the context of the community, the state, the country and the world. The timeline, in addition to having entries such as the New Jersey Devils winning the Stanley Cup in 1995, noted when the library’s staff members joined the SOPL family, with, for instance, Phyllis Kalb joining in 1986.
It is thanks to such staff members that the library continues to be an indispensable resource to the village.
“You’re doing a fantastic job; continue the great work,” Essex County Freeholder President Britnee Timberlake told the library’s staff at the event.
“This library wouldn’t be as wonderful as it is without the leadership of our library director, Melissa Kopecky,” village President Sheena Collum said at the event, also lauding the professional staff of the library and its numerous volunteers. “This wouldn’t be possible without your support, without your monetary support, without your blood, sweat and tears.”
Village Trustee Deborah Davis Ford, who serves as the Board of Trustees’ liaison with the library board, called the SOPL “the jewel in South Orange’s crown.”
“There’s no greater community asset than your public library. It’s not just about books,” Collum said. “It’s about community.”
Timberlake agreed that libraries provide an important function for a community. Specifically, Timberlake said she was impressed with how comfortable local teenagers are at the library.
“They feel like this is a home away from home,” Timberlake said of the teens. “That is just a beautiful thing.
“As a small child, my mother always believed in reading to us and she would read to us at the public library,” Timberlake continued.
At the event, the library was honored by both the Board of Chosen Freeholders and by the joint Legislature of the state of New Jersey.
“In this country a lot of libraries are closing, but we’re here celebrating 150 years and that is phenomenal,” Timberlake said.
And the library staff is already looking ahead to the next 150 years.
“It is the vision of the library board to build on the tradition of preserving the past, enhancing the present and evolving for the future and to create the library that serves the next generations of villagers,” Kopecky told the News-Record. “This vision includes the restoration of the Connett Memorial Library and the construction of a link between the buildings in order to create those spaces that have been identified by the community as needed — an extended space for children and families, individual and group meeting/study spaces, a meeting room for library programs and community use. The link is envisioned as an inspirational space which provides access to all of the library and which becomes a place of meeting and greeting, of individual and social engagement, of ready interaction with staff, resources and neighbors.”
With all these expected upgrades, Kopecky is confident that the library will remain relevant and beloved by the village.
“South Orange is a unique town and I love that the library has always reflected that individuality as well as belief in the value of community,” Kopecky told the News-Record. “SOPL also works in conjunction with Maplewood Memorial Library as both are committed to the values across the two towns. In the tradition of the best of public libraries, SOPL is able to respond to the needs of the village and to reflect the vision of the greater community.
“I know that I am incredibly lucky to have a job that means I work within a wonderful community, with amazing staff, and with dedicated volunteers of all ages and passions,” Kopecky continued, “(to have) a job that is inspirational, aspirational and always deeply interesting.”
Photos by Yael Katzwer and Melissa Kopecky
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