A Decade for Bibliophiles at John Jermain Library

By Douglas Feiden

There is a “lovely nearly-untranslatable word in Danish” that Catherine Creedon, the director of the John Jermain Memorial Library since 2007, conjures up when she discusses the feelings of wonderment evoked by the library’s annual “One for the Books!” fundraising drive.

[caption id="attachment_56313" align="alignright" width="225"] Ray Merritt and his book "Clamour of Crows will be the center of conversation at an event on Saturday, October 8.[/caption]

The word is “Hygge,” and it refers to the “warmth or coziness that can only occur in a home that has welcomed you in,” Ms. Creedon said.

That feeling, akin to the intimate glow of candlelight flickering in a Sag Harbor parlor, will be on abundant display over the next two Saturdays, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on October 8 and 15, when eight cocktail parties are held in private homes across the village to mark the 10^th annual celebration of the signature benefit.

“Fun-raising” is the one-word coinage used by novelist and ex-board member Susan Scarf Merrell to describe One for the Books!, which she conceived and chaired in 2006.

The intimacy, camaraderie and conviviality long associated with the evenings translate into community-building affairs that bring in critical funds for the library. Ms. Creedon says the 2015 benefit brought in $42,320, up from $25,282 in 2006, and the 10-year tally after this year’s event is expected to top $300,000.

Money, though crucial, is only one part of the story, and that dates to the six years from 2008 through 2013 when the late Gail Carpenter Slevin, passed the baton by Ms. Merrell, helmed the benefit.

“It was always Gail’s belief that it wasn’t about raising money, it was really about creating a list of people who cared about the library,” said her husband, Neil Slevin, a Planning Board member.

[caption id="attachment_56314" align="alignleft" width="225"] Alan Furst's "A Hero of France" will be discussed at an event on Saturday, October 15.[/caption]

“She felt she could do that best by inviting people to come and meet each other and come into each other’s homes. The idea was that having these parties would generate a sense of community and identify people with a specific interest in the library.”

To that end, Mr. Slevin said, “She always resisted the temptation to raise ticket prices because she had faith that by keeping the price low, she could generate more enthusiasm, build a bigger base of support, and expand the number of people who attended.”

That became a guidepost for John Jermain. As One for the Books! evolved — from intimate sit-down dinners to cocktail parties, from a tradition of keeping the host list secret to identifying hosts in advance — the one constant from 2006 to 2016 was the price:

"Over a decade, we never wanted to raise the donation price of $100," Ms. Creedon said. "Every year, the One for the Books Committee looked at the price, and every year, we decided to stay with the original price to make it as open to the community as we possibly could."

The approach apparently works: “People can and do support the library-ness of John Jermain, and support the idea of the library as absolutely centric to the community, while still having questions, and suggestions, and opinions, and ideas,” she said. “In that way, the parties have always served as these really intimate and valuable think tanks.”

To learn more and purchase tickets, visit johnjermain.org and click on the “One For the Books” banner in the upper right corner of the page. Alternatively, people interested in purchasing a $100 ticket to the event or making larger donations can write to johnjermainlibrary@gmail.com. "We will sell them right up until the events, although the events are filling fast!” said Ms. Creedon.