The Plainsboro Library has served as a second home for Alex Huang, who recalls spending countless hours there since he moved to Plainsboro when he was three.
The library’s role in his life changed as the 17-year-old High School South senior grew older, but he always found visiting the library to be a constant learning experience. He participated in the summer programs held every year and visited his older sister when she worked there.
Three years ago he became an employee himself. Known as a “go-to guy,” since he worked in a variety of areas — at the circulation desk, checking out books; in the children’s room; during special events; and behind the scenes, he has even able to help fix computer problems at the library . “I do as much as I can because it’s just a fun place,” he says.
Now his involvement has taken him to a whole new level, as he is involved in organizing the library’s move into its new home — and making sure everything’s ready in time for its opening on Friday, April 9.
“I’ve been growing up in the Plainsboro Library since I was three,” he says. “It’s like as I’ve been growing, the library’s been growing.”
Huang was given the important task of estimating and counting the shelves to plan out the move and organization of each of the library’s collections in the new facility.
“I had to determine the number of shelves and each type of book,” he says, adding that he worked with library director Jinny Baeckler. “She gave me floor plans, and my job was to place each collection in a certain area and make sure the shelving size was adequate for that collection.”
Huang admits the task seemed daunting at first, but he liked the challenge. “It took a lot of time to go through the entire library and count the collections,” he says. “I spent a month sitting with the floor plan and planning it all out.”
Huang was given a general idea of where the certain sections, like fiction and nonfiction, would be located. What complicated the process was figuring out how to leave the top and bottom of each shelving case open to allow for room.
There was also a collection in the basement in storage that he needed to integrate into the shelving, which took further calculation. The set-up in the new library is also slightly different — nonfiction compact discs, CD ROMs, and DVDs sit on the shelves along with books of a similar topic. Previously, these resources were not part of the nonfiction collection. “Each individual disc has a specific width,” he says. “I had to count them in the entire collection and put them into counts with the nonfiction collection.”
The planning was another learning experience for Huang, who had to use math and data organization skills throughout.
The experience could be a stepping stone, since Huang hopes to study engineering in college. He has already been accepted to Rutgers, the University of Maryland, Purdue, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pittsburgh. “I’ve been using math in planning,” he says. “It gives a little taste of what’s to come.”
And he balanced this work on top of an already busy schedule as a student-athlete. Huang serves as the captain of the boys’ swim team at South and swims competitively with a club in the off-season.
He did most of the planning work over the summer, when he had more free time and was only focusing on club swimming. “I brought the floor plans home with me,” he says.
Huang was born in Ithaca, New York. His family moved to Delaware when he was one, and then to New Jersey when he was three, after his father, a scientist, found a job here. His mother works at home. His sister, now 25, is a graduate of South.
“We’ve been coming to the library ever since we moved here,” Huang says. “Everyone is like a family.”
Baeckler, who is known for giving young adults and teenagers responsibilities and opportunities for them to shine, has nothing but praise for Huang. “Nowadays, there are many people who sneak through on Mom and Dad,” she says. “Then there is somebody like Alex, who is very bright. Early on, I mapped out the collection where I thought it would fit. I said to him, ‘You work it out, and see if this is right.’ He went in and counted all of the shelves and on the plan, he wrote in the details.”
Huang and other young staff members have helped to make the move much easier. “We have been working for a year to organize collections behind scenes,” says Baeckler. “We’re integrating a lot of media into the regular Dewey Decimal system.”
“All of the hard work has paid off, says Baeckler, adding that the move itself has been going well. “We haven’t had a major mishap yet. Two-thirds of the collection is over there now.
“The shelving company and the book movers have worked together before,” she continues. “As quickly as a set of books was removed and the books were free, those guys were right behind them to move. The shelves were gone as well. They re-assembled them over in the new library almost as quickly as you can blink an eye.”
Work is still underway on the library’s roof, and the gallery walls are being prepared for final touches. Even if some minor construction-related issues are not entirely completed before April 9, the Friday Night Libe parade scheduled for 6:30 p.m. will go on, and the library will be open for business on Saturday, April 10.
A dedication ceremony, with a complete introduction to the library and tours, will occur later, probably some time at the end of May. But for now, officials are eager to open and allow people to enjoy the space, Baeckler says.
“The dragon has been practicing for months to lead the old library to the new library,” she says of the parade that will kick off the festivities on April 9.
The event will also feature an appearance by a fire engine, a tradition that began when the library moved to its Plainsboro location years ago — the moving of the “Read to Me” collection.
The collection consists of fine books that are only available for in-library use and are unable to be checked out. “We’re going to let kids select one they want. They can autograph it and carry it over to the library and place it on the shelf,” Baeckler says. “When we moved to this library, we did a similar Friday Night Libe to open up.”
The parade will begin in the rear parking lot of the old library on Plainsboro Road and will continue to the new facility at 9 Van Doren Street.
The $12.4 million three-story library will hold 125,000 volumes and provide informal reading areas, display space for art, quiet study rooms, 40 computer stations, a children’s section with an expanded science/computer center, a local history room, and community meeting rooms. In addition, it will feature a health education center and independent study rooms.
