Dear Editor:
I am perplexed to see Plainsboro Township committing to a $10 Million investment in a new library when the current library has plenty of scope for practical improvements. ##M:[more]##I am skeptical of the claim that the funding for the new building would not affect the residents’ tax rate but I shall address it in a later letter.
Practical improvements and better use of space is a crying need for this library and these improvements would greatly enhance the utility of the current infrastructure. Discard books that have not been borrowed in several years. Going through the Computers stack, a random browsing reveals that about a third of the books have not been checked out in at least 5 years. There are multiple copies of books on Windows 95, MS-DOS, Guide to Y2K and several books of similar vintage.
These have no use for anyone and the few who need to research these technologies and operating systems can go online. Similarly, the Travel section has several travel guides from the early and mid-nineties that serve no practical use. Discard them and get up-to-date guides.
Modular sofas with poor placement where about half of them are unusable. The ten in a semi-circle in the back can effectively seat 4 or 5, not more. Likewise, 2 sofas in one corner by the shelves where it is impractical for a second person to sit there. We need simple, cushioned armchairs such as the ones in West Windsor or Rocky Hill or North Brunswick. In the space where 4 can sit, I can see seating and privacy for about 16 patrons.
Further, these sofas should be right next to the magazines or newspapers so that patrons can move efficiently and shelve them back after reading Shelves for magazines and newspapers that have not been fixed in years. This includes shelves where the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are kept and a shelf that is protruding out in the magazine section and can easily injure a child or an unwatchful adult.
Music CDs are arranged in no particular order. In my seven years of frequent visits to the library, I am yet to figure out the logic of the current arrangement. Also, we have not seen any meaningful additions to the CD collection, particularly in Classical music. DVDs need to be numbered, indexed and arranged in an orderly manner. Also, since there does not seem to be much of a demand for CDs, perhaps the DVD collection could be moved to that section that is more spacious. If DVDs and CDs are stacked in the same manner as books (face sideways), they would occupy less space and would be easier to locate.
It would be greatly appreciated if the library management does not discriminate against the large Indian and Asian population in the Township by having ethnic DVDs in bins under shelves. We have to go through an ungainly and demeaning process of kneeling on the floor and trying to extract DVDs that are thrown into the bins in a haphazard manner.
On any day, at least 8-10 of the current issues of magazines are wrongly shelved. I see this even when the library opens in the mornings when the library staff is expected to shelve them correctly.
On another issue, I see the latest issues of magazines much sooner in neighboring libraries than here. I wonder why that is the case.
While the library staff are a very friendly lot, there seems to be a disconnect at a higher level. I would like for the library’s management to start with the above suggestions and then get excited at a much later point at the prospect of moving into a new location.
Sincerely,
V. Varadha
