By Nick Buglione
Fifty years later, that once tiny institution has become one of Nassau County¹s co-central libraries, holding 350 educational and recreational programs a year and annually connecting approximately 300,000 people to some 600,000 books, magazines, DVDs and other informational material.
It would be an understatement to say that the East Meadow Public Library, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, has come a long way.
³You look at East Meadow and say, ŒIt¹s just a bedroom community that started in the 1940s,¹² said John Franzen, the library¹s director. ³Well, it¹s not. I don¹t think people realize the long history East Meadow has.²
In fact, East Meadow¹s history dates all the way back to the 1600s, though its modern incarnation didn¹t take shape until after World War II. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, houses sprouted across East Meadow and its population swelled. More schools were erected, and it soon became clear that the community was lacking only one essential ingredient ‹ a library.
In May 1954, residents voted to establish a public library with an initial budget of $50,000, and that September the first Board of Trustees was elected.
The library started humbly, renting a small storefront at 2306 Hempstead Turnpike, in what is now the Meadowbrook Shopping Center. New books for children and adults were ordered, checked in, cataloged, and prepared with jackets and pockets for circulation. Several thousand other books were borrowed from the New York state library in Albany.
³There was a lot of feeling of community support,² said Frederic Krahn, the library¹s first assistant director and author of ³A History of the East Meadow Public Library.² ³Before the library opened to the public, we held an open house. People could come in and look at the library. You could sign up for a library card. The community was extremely enthusiastic.²
As the facility expanded, it began renting out several adjacent storefronts, until plans were made to move to its current location at the corner of Front Street and East Meadow Avenue. The three-acre plot was the site of East Meadow¹s first schoolhouse, which burned down in 1950. After the school district determined that the land was too small for a new school, residents voted in favor of using the property for a public library. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 19, 1959.
Around that time, the 31 libraries in Nassau County decided to form a cooperative association, known as the Nassau Library System, Krahn explained. The East Meadow Public Library, along with the library in Levittown, today has one of the more extensive collections in the county.
By 1960, the new library was open. Though the edifice remains in the same place, it went through a 2 1/2-year revamping in the mid-1980s.
Over the years, the East Meadow library has created some innovative programs and initiatives, including the since discontinued mobile library, a van loaded with books that made regular trips through the community. The library was also one of the few in the area that once offered shuttle buses to the facility.
Recognizing the need for information on government services and agencies, the library was the first to hire a community aide to answer questions on these topics. It¹s a position other libraries have since adopted.
³We place a very high priority on children,² Franzen said, noting the expansion of the children¹s department over the years.
Offering more educational and recreational programs ‹ about 350 a year ‹ the library is no longer just a quiet place to read a book. ³We¹re constantly seeking out ways to reach out to people,² Franzen said. ³Every library¹s mission is the same, and that is to provide the community with a chance to enrich their lives both through recreational material and educational material.²
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the library has been hard at work planning special events (see sidebar) and collecting historical artifacts from residents that are currently on display. ³We have gotten so much stuff, we¹re going to start a local history section,² said Jude Schanzer, who works in the public relations department.
Among the more interesting things in the collection is one of the original shares sold to build the town hall, dated 1876. It¹s believed that the town hall was first built on the grounds where the library now stands, and later moved further south on East Meadow Avenue. The library also got its hands on the original bell that hung at the town hall.
As a special anniversary project, the library is working on digitizing some 30 volumes of photos and newspaper clippings culled by East Meadow historian Steve Buczak.
When you look around the library, it¹s clear a lot has changed. The card catalogs have been replaced by computers, videotapes have since been supplanted by DVDs, and the Internet now gives patrons fast and easy access to a wealth of information. But even as technology advances, there will always be a need for local libraries, said Franzen, and he believes the East Meadow facility will be around for many years to come.
³People need a community identity,² he said. ³The library is a community identity. It¹s a place where they can gather. It gives them a sense of community. It gives them an opportunity to be with people.²
Comments about this story? NBuglione@lihearld.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
