Argh. this is so frustrating!!!! From The NJ Jewish News
by Johanna Ginsberg <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> NJJN Staff Writer 08.09.07 Citing a budget shortfall and a need to raise the profile of its 25,000-volume Waldor Memorial Library in Whippany, United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey <http://www.ujcnj.org/> announced a series of changes and an effort to involve area agencies in the library's operation and programming. In an Aug. 7 memo to staff at the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus, where both UJC and the library are located, UJC referred to a "difficult" allocations process. It said the library will be closed temporarily while the umbrella philanthropy, which raises funds for local Jewish agencies and social services in Israel, works with some of its agencies to find ways to run the library "at lower cost" and in ways that fully take advantages of its "unique contribution" to community life. The same memo said that Aug. 13 will be the last day of work for librarian Eve Pasternak, a 10-year veteran of the library. UJC officials said the federation is engaged in conversations with other agencies about partnering in the running and maintenance of the library and in developing programs that will make the library more "dynamic." Arthur Sandman, associate executive vice president of UJC MetroWest, said UJC considers the Waldor Library "a treasure. With regard to the quality of the collection and the facilities, it is a wonderful resource, but it's a hidden treasure that does not currently get the kind of usage we'd like to see." The goal, he said, is to attract more people. "It can't just be a place to go to check out books of Jewish interest," he said. When the library reopens, it will be operated as a collaborative effort among UJC and several other agencies, Sandman said. He declined to elaborate on the arrangement, which is still under discussion, or whether or not the library would have a trained librarian at its helm. "There's a possibility of creating strong synergies with lower cost to the community. And at the end of the day, that's what we should be doing," he said. In addition to its community and overseas fund-raising, UJC MetroWest allocates money to its own programs and services, which include the library as well as direct services to the community such as the Holocaust Council of MetroWest, the Legow Family Israel Program Center, the Community Relations Committee, and eldercare services. Those allocations decreased by 3 percent this year, from $467,000 to $453,000. "The budget is tight in all of those areas this year," said Sandman. "From the perspective of the budget, it's very simple. We don't have enough money to do everything we would like to be doing." The decision comes on the heels of the announcement by JCC MetroWest that United Jewish Communities is considering vacating its Lautenberg Family JCC athletic facility at the Aidekman campus as a JCC operation and that it has been in discussions with outside fitness providers. The JCC's early childhood center at the campus is already slated to move to an alternative Morris County location beginning in September 2008. The two moves "are not closely related, but they are taking place in proximity to one another," said Sandman. He said that while some of the discussions with other agencies began before any budget considerations emerged, the departure of the JCC will have an impact on the library "with regard to how the campus and the library will be used in the future." The Aidekman campus also houses New Jersey Jewish News, The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest, and Lester Senior Housing. The library was named in memory of his parents and brother by Jerry Waldor, the late insurance agency executive and legendary community philanthropist who established the Waldor Library Resource Endowment Fund. Although the Waldor family has not taken an active role in the new direction of the library, Sandman said they are "comfortable with the direction we are moving in." Pasternak, who holds a master's degree in library science from Columbia University, said a collection like that of the Waldor Library demands a professional librarian. The library includes an extensive reference collection and a circulating library, a 72-title periodical collection, a 2,500-volume children's library, and a video collection. "To open a library without a professional librarian - to think it could work - is shortsighted and wishful thinking," she said. Pasternak began at the library in 1998 as children's librarian. She served as cataloguer, handled acquisitions beginning in 2001, and took over as librarian in 2004. She is the only professional on the library staff. Pasternak learned on July 30 that she would be out of a job. She does not yet know what she will do next and said she is "exploring all possibilities." While she agreed that the library does not draw as many people as it might, she questioned why it would have to close to shift its focus or programming. "When the library reopens - under whatever configuration - people should use the library and let everyone know that it matters to them," she said. ------- Karen Ulric Solomon Schechter Day School of essex and Union W. 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