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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1963-04-21 Community Library Built Book By Book (Palm Beach Post)Area Residents Accept Project Community Library Built Book By Book By JUDY RAMSDEN Post -Times Staff The accounts of works accom- plished by small groups of people in brief periods of time grace the shelves of libraries across the na- tion. A similar account could be drawn from the efforts of a group of North Palm Beach residents who set out to form a library. They now are finding that while the job of beginning a library takes a great deal of work, it is also greatly re- warding. Their story began two years ago, when the North Palm Beach Branch of the American Associa- tion of University Women under- took a "feasibility study" to deter- mine how much interest residents would have in an area library. An AAUW Library Committee was formed. Later the North Palm Beach Library Committee was founded. Organizations in the area were invited to send repre- sentatives to the organizational meeting, and attendance by inter- ested persons was welcomed. In mid -February the group officially became the North Palm Beach Library Society, Inc. Its aims were stated as the promotion and maintenance of the library. Mrs. Ralph Huls is serving as society president unt_i the elec- tions next March. Working with her are: Dr. Donald Bicknell, vice - president; Mrs. Herbert Gildan, treasurer; Mrs. William Abbott, secretary; Mrs. Gale Stranigan, correspond- ing secretary; and Herbert Gil- dan, director -at -large. As of today, the beginning of MEMBERS PROCESS DONATED BOOKS Beginning the task of cataloguing books are 1. to r., Mrs. John McDermott, Mrs. Ralph Huls and Dr. John Bicknell. National Library Week, the group is working on plans for renova- tions needed at the library's tem- porary quarters in the North Palm Beach Country Club. Following completion of the construction work, scheduled to take several months, the society will begin to function as a com- munity library. The North Palm Beach Village government has sanctioned the operation and pro- vided a room at the country club. But while the planning and the construction are underway, mem- bers of the society have plenty to keep them busy. To date, the library has ap- proximately 2,000 books. Proc- essing these, which are present- ly stored at the local fire house, is a big job. "We estimate that it takes 45 minutes to process each book," said Mrs. Huls. She explained that each book must be shellacked and be stamped with the library's name. Other jobs to be performed on each volume include pasting in the book's card pocket, making out the four file cards and classi- fying the book as to shelf location. The books already on hand were collected during a drive in the North Palm Beach area and in- clude duplicate editions donated by other libraries. The Lantana library has do- nated approximately 400 books, the Lake Park Library, 80 books and the Riviera Beach Library, 100 books. The North Palm Beach Library Society, Inc. is also on the Society of the Four Arts' duplicate book list. In the process of planning an event to benefit the library is the North Palm Beach Lions Club. Members of the special gifts committee, Mrs. Barry Bock - man, chairman, Carl Cassell and Mrs. Roy Blackburn, have collected approximately $500 in personal donations. The society's plans for the future, when the library is open, include meetings four times each —year in place of the current monthly meetings and eventually a library building. "Our aim is not a big library, but a good one," said Mrs. Huls.