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Sag Harbor’s John Jermain Memorial Library is officially a centenarian.
Under warm, spotless skies on Sunday, the library celebrated its centennial on the Custom House lawn across from the library on Main Street, with Sousa marches and the “Happy Birthday” song played by the Sag Harbor Community Band, an official proclamation by village native and State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and a prize bestowed on a patron who has checked out more than 1,000 items from the library’s collection each year for the past decade.
The auspicious-sounding date of October 10, 2010, marked exactly 100 years since the Main Street library opened in honor of American Revolution veteran Major John Jermain, and approximately 100 community members turned out to enjoy the festivities, purchase commemorative T-shirts in assorted colors, tour the library’s historic rooms and taste so-called “library swirl” ice cream.
“I moved to Sag Harbor in 1985, and the first thing I did was look for the library,” grinned Josephine Wurm, 87, who, according to library staff, has checked out a whopping 11,839 items since 2000, setting the record for most checkouts by a library patron. “It’s changed a lot, but with the new expansion, there’s a lot to look forward to.”
Ms. Wurm, who founded a ladies book club at the library 10 years ago, was honored Sunday with—what else—a book: “Voices of Sag Harbor: A Village Remembered,” published by Harbor Electronic Publishing in 2009 and edited by Nina Tobier.
Library Director Catherine Creedon, smiling from ear to ear and wearing a black library anniversary T-shirt, told the assembled crowds that it was great honor to be library director at such a momentous occasion.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “I love Sag Harbor.”
Mr. Thiele referred to the village icon as the heart of the community and recalled getting his first library card when he was 7 years old, checking out books with his father, a Civil War buff. The assemblyman also referred to the expansion plans. “Yes, it is going to happen,” he said of the approximately $10 million to $12 million project that has seen some delays.
While the event was in honor of the past century. Hopeful eyes were clearly turned toward the next century.
A pamphlet titled “John Jermain Memorial Library: Planning our Second Century” were available for distribution. Architectural drawings by Newman Architects of New Haven, Connecticut, showed the library with a 7,000-square foot addition and were propped up against folding tables at the event. Scaffolding stands in front of the library’s main entrance. A note from Ms. Creedon opens the pamphlet: “Donors like you will make sure that our doors stay open for another hundred years; that the ceiling stays in place even if the sky is falling; that we have an elevator so people can reach the stars even when they can’t climb the stairs; that another century of patrons will discover within our walls a world that is not at all as limited as they might have once believed.”
Though officials noted that the library offers more just books, technology cannot compete with the experience of flipping through books with your bare hands and enjoying the smell of the pages.
A voice from the crowd replied: “That’s right!”
Colleen Reynolds on Oct 13, 2010