Five North Shore libraries are working together for their patrons

Being a part of a library system is a real asset, and it lets each little library be a bit bigger and have more resources than it would on its own.”

Jenny Bloom, Director, Locust Valley Library

Numerous public libraries on the North Shore have banded together to offer library patrons a wider selection of virtual programs, forming the North Shore Programming Consortium.
Consisting of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Gold Coast, Bayville, Glen Cove and Locust Valley libraries, the consortium works together to promote virtual learning programs across the various municipalities that they serve. The consortium originated in January of 2022 in the Glen Cove Public Library’s genealogy research programs.

Lydia Wen, an archivist and librarian at the Glen Cove Public Library, explained that she initially began reaching out to the other libraries to consider forming the Genealogy Collective, which served the dual purpose of promoting library programs during the pandemic while also spreading the word across a wider audience.

“We formed the Genealogy Collective so that the programming will be online and we’ll be doing it once a month,” Wen said. “So now we could really go out and offer topics of so many different interests.”

Following the success of the Genealogy Collective, the directors and adult program organizers of the various libraries came together to expand their cooperation, forming the consortium. The five libraries agreed to have each choose and organize three virtual presentations on a variety of subjects.

Officially launching in June, the consortium has been a huge success, according to organizers. Clare Trollo, adult program coordinator at the Gold Coast Public Library, said that through their mutual coordination the libraries have been able to field a much wider range of presentations on a more consistent basis.

“It’s been fantastic, it really has,” Trollo said. “It just gives us the opportunity to bring more of a variety of programs to all of our patrons in a real cost-effective way for the libraries.”

Thanks to the teamwork between the libraries, all have seen attendance for these presentations skyrocket, some more than doubling from an average of 15 attendees to as many as 50. The response from the public has also been positive.

By pooling their efforts and expenses together, the libraries have also been able to keep their costs down. Each library chooses three programs spending no more than $300 for each virtual program, a cap that was decided at their initial meeting, which means that each one is spending at most $900 for a total of 15 presentations.

“So far we’ve had four programs that we’ve done, and they’ve all had great attendance,” Marion Dodson, the adult programs coordinator for the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library. “We’re all adhering to the $300 and under rule to stay within cost, since each library has a different budget and we want to make it doable for all of us.”

So far, the consortium has organized four virtual programs, and have planned for 11 more over the next four months ranging in topic from “The Art of Grand Central Madison” to “Cats and Dogs Archaeology.” Each are held roughly twice a month.

The consortium launched its own website, which is currently in the early stages of development. Currently the website offers a basic explanation of what the consortium is along with some of the upcoming programs. As the consortium grows, the group plans to develop the site more thoroughly.

One North Shore library that is not yet a part of the consortium is the Sea Cliff Village Library. Kristy Fumante, librarian and adult program coordinator for the Bayville Free Library, emphasized that because Sea Cliff’s library wasn’t a part of the Genealogy Collective there was no initial contact between them and the other five libraries.

“We’re not necessarily excluding Sea Cliff, we just went with it that way because we were sort of used to working with each other on this Genealogy Collective,” Fumante explained. “There’s a possibility that Sea Cliff may be joining us in December-January, once we finish our six-month test period.”

All of the consortium’s organizers and library directors added that the experience has been a tremendous pleasure for them, and a great opportunity to deepen their connections with their fellow librarians from the different villages. Jenny Bloom, the director for the Locust Valley Library, added that by working with other libraries, each one has not only provided more cost-effective quality programming for their patrons, but also strengthened each individual library.

“Being a part of a library system is a real asset, and it lets each little library be a little bigger and have more resources than it would on its own,” Bloom said. “The more areas we do it in, the better, stronger, more efficient and more responsible with our resources.”
To learn more about the consortium and the programs they offer, visit nspclibrary.org.