Checking Out: Volunteers Help Library's Move

By ALEXIS TONTI

Libraries are by their nature organized spaces. Every book has its
place: adult and children's, reference, fiction and nonfiction.
They are neatly shelved, alphabetized by author or sorted by the Dewey
decimal system.

That's why it's startling to walk into the seeming chaos
wreaked by preparation for the Chilmark library's temporary move
to the Menemsha School. Construction for the $2.1 million library
renovation and expansion project is set to begin in mid-March. But
before the workmen can come in, the books have to go out.

Planning and inventory began in early February, but the grunt work
is happening over the next two weeks. An estimated 1,500 boxes will be
used by move's end - and on Tuesday they were everywhere,
stacked and in rows, labeled as to content. The sound of duct tape
ripped through the air as volunteers emptied shelves and sealed cartons.

It is, however, an "organized mess," as library trustees
chairman Norman Freed put it. "Hopefully we're keeping some
kind of order so the librarians won't go crazy."

Order is definitely something this project requires. Thirty thousand
volumes have to be sorted and packed. Order is also one of the things
library director Cathy Thompson does best. "I'm an
organizer," she said, on a break from packing. "I think all
librarians are. The trick was to figure out how to label and identify
them so - when the time comes - we can merge them at the new
facility as easily as possible."

One-third of the books are being sent to the school, the other
two-thirds to storage. Ms. Thompson is keeping frequent circulators
available, and also current nonfiction and reference books. She said
that, for example, many college advisory and travel books are specific
to 2002. "If we put them away, they'd be outdated by the
time we took them out again."

The Chilmark library has moved three times since it first opened in
1882. The collection began as 33 books on a shelf at the Mayhew store at
Quitsa. From there it went to the Mayhew store in Menemsha, to town hall
in 1903 and finally to its present location in 1956. It went through its
first notable renovation in 1964, when the children's section was
enlarged and a wing was added for adult fiction.

Readying the library for workmen during that expansion was a bit
simpler than today. The Gazette noted that students from the Menemsha
School helped the librarian "to accomplish in about a half hour
what would probably have taken her a couple of days to do unassisted. It
was necessary to move many, many shelves of books, a great number of
which had to be carried upstairs. The children lined up, each carrying a
lot of books in orderly fashion and depositing them on indicated
shelves, and the whole matter was handled with dispatch, and also with a
tremendous amount of goodwill all around."

This year's move calls for more than a classroom's worth
of students to help - though they are part of the mix,
volunteering time during school vacation week. Other volunteers hail
from across the Island as well as from within the Chilmark community.
"Getting support from all the libraries, from people in other
towns, it's wonderful," said library aide Betty Joslow.

A few mishaps have occurred along the way. Early Sunday morning the
old library furnace broke and smoke backed up into the library, covering
everything in a fine layer of black, oily soot. There was no permanent
damage, but packers have been wiping book spines all week.

The breakdown did, however, have an unexpected positive side effect.
"Because the system gave out, we started the move earlier,"
Mr. Freed said. "And we got a lot more moved than we would have
otherwise, because of all the trucks that were around here."

Also, the computer server crashed, leaving librarians without access
to their files. But they're committed to staying open, so they
have been operating much as they did in the days before automation. Ms.
Joslow pulled out a yellow pad, where she's recording books that
are checked out, renewed and returned. Cryptic user identification
numbers and bar codes covered the page.

"Unusual times call for different measures," she said.
"We just don't want people to feel neglected." Even as
she spoke, a woman came into the library asking for a good mystery.

"It's been a wonderful adventure," Ms. Thompson
said of the project. "We're just keeping our eyes on the
goal. It's been a long time coming."

Expansion discussions actually predate Ms. Thompson's tenure
as library director, which began in 1988. A space needs study done in
1985 first drew selectmen's attention to the problem. Though
smaller expansions did take place about 10 years ago, the current plan
addresses all the needs of the initial study.

And those needs continue to grow. From September to December of
2001, circulation was up 10 per cent from the same quarter in 2000.
"It's part of a national trend that suggests usage is
up," Ms. Thompson said. "Libraries are living, breathing
things. People's needs constantly change, so libraries must
change, too.

"They're such community centers," she added.
"It's a good place to find people and feel those
ties."

March 18 marks the opening of the temporary facility at the Menemsha
School and also the start of construction. A groundbreaking ceremony is
scheduled at the library for Wednesday, March 6, at noon. State Sen.
Robert O'Leary will attend, as will the chairman of the
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, suppliers of the state
grant that's helping to fund the project. Everyone is invited to
share in the celebration.