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ON THE SCENE: Keene, Keene Valley libraries merge … temporarily

Aaron Miller and Karen Glass, Keene and Keene Valley head librarians (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Historic venues in our hamlets and villages need upgrades and investment from time to time. In the town of Keene, two heavily used venues are the Keene and Keene Valley libraries built in 1904 and 1896, respectively. A few years ago, the Keene Valley Library, an independent 501-c-3 nonprofit, decided on a massive upgrade and expansion, radically expanding the programming and storage capacity.

The Keene Library, owned and operated by the town, remains petite by comparison, although it doubled its original size by building a small addition on the north side in 1975. Needed is restructuring and rebuilding of the roof as it’s sagging, resulting in a swayback appearance that’s not capable of handling the snow loads as well as it once had. Temporary reinforcing was placed inside, but that compromised the ability to use the space fully.

“We had noticed some pronounced sagging in the roof for a while,” said Aaron Miller, Keene’s head librarian. It’s well over a hundred years old, and there are some structural deficiencies. For example, many of the vertical support structures were never grounded into footings, and there were beams and posts supported by the floor, which will cause issues with the roof over time. A code officer suggested that it would be good to close the building down over the winter until we got it properly repaired.”

The Keene Library’ s town board liaison, Bob Biesemeyer, brought in a structural engineer to verify the situation. Miller and his board of directors and the town board knew that substantial work had to be done and that funding couldn’t be raised quickly.

“And then (Keene Valley Library director) Karen Glass reached out and suggested we share their space over the winter,” said Miller. “Karen said they have ample space, and that there was a lot of interest in having a library open six days a week. Karen suggested that we take over dates when they are typically closed, Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday. Conversations went back and forth for a while, and this past September, we agreed. Karen helped identify a grant opportunity. She did a ton of the initial effort of getting an application together and submitting it in short order. (Keene town Supervisor) Joe Pete Wilson put in a lot of effort as well.”

Liz Coccia works for the Keene and Keene Valley libraries. (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“I’ve long been inspired by how Tina Bell and Jessie Warner work together,” said Glass. “They both are massage therapists in the same small town, but they were not competitive. They always worked together and helped each other’s business grow, which I thought was remarkable. Meanwhile, people have often viewed the two libraries as competitive; we can’t go to the Keene Library for this or that reason or to the Keene Valley Library for some reason or another. I don’t like hearing such attitudes, so like Tina and Jessie, I felt this was an opportunity for us the demonstrate that we work together.”

Fortunately, the two head librarians, Glass in Keene Valley and Miller of Keene, knew each other well. Miller had become schoolmates and friends with Glass’s two oldest sons when she taught at Keene Central School. Another added benefit is both libraries are part of the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System; thus, their databases were already connected.

“Aaron’s strengths are different than mine,” said Glass. “When you put them together, you have a complete organization. That’s what started it.”

They will not know the outcome of their grant application until next summer and hope they can reopen the Keene Library for the summer months returning to Keene Valley in the fall. In the meantime, a significant benefit of the move is Keene and Keene Valley archivists are learning from and helping each other. Keene’s been able to move forward on cataloging many of their materials that are hamlet of Keene specific.

“The programming at Keene Valley is fantastic,” said Miller. “It always has been. Libraries are multifunctional, and they are not simply about books. Our patrons can now learn about 3-D printing. One of the things Keene brings in is technical support; we are good at helping people who are thinking about changing careers and taking up the trades as there is a need for it in our area. On the other hand, Karen’s teaching us how to improve our programming.”

“The collaboration is working out well for me because I can come here at any time,” said Keene Valley patron Jeff Weig. “I have an odd work schedule, I never know when will be my days off, so it’s nice to be able to come in any time now.”

Burcu D’Aleou, who is in the library most days working on her PhD, would love to see them become one as she likes coming in every day. Yet, she appreciates that for some Keene residents, who may be older and without a car, having a single library in Keene Valley is inconvenient. She also expects that there are financial issues involved as Keene Valley is now open six days a week, resulting in higher electricity and heating bills and other financial matters.

“If they are both open six days in the summer, that will create more space for people,” said D’Aleou, “But if they could continue being together in the winter, that would be very nice. I think that would be excellent and help strengthen the community. There is an added richness with Aaron and Karen’s presence together. Their working together, seeing all the kids coming in, people working on so many different projects has opened my eye to how enriching a library can be.”

Librarian Liz Coccia, employed by both libraries has gained feedback from longtime patrons of Keene. She said they, like Keene Valley patrons, feel that it’s terrific having a library available six days a week.

“Keene patrons, who have never been in the Keene Valley library before, have enjoyed offerings and been very impressed by the availability of materials, the Alpine Room, the community center upstairs, and maker space downstairs. Now that they’ve been combined and extended the hours, the archives are busier than ever. The opportunities at Keene Valley have been very well received. From my standpoint, the work is the same. What’s different is learning where the books and other materials are shelved.”

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(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley. He has been covering events for the News for more than 15 years.)

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