Barbara Pickell, local history librarian, chatted with former mayor Pasquale Menna as the Red Bank Public Library kicked off the centennial of its life as a “public” institution Friday night.
With musicians from the Monmouth Conservatory of Music helping set the mood, library Director Eleni Glykis, above, and dozens of library supporters gathered at the library for a fundraising cocktail party. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
The event also marked the start of a year of special programming to celebrate the 100th anniversary of a voter referendum that had the borough take over the library, which by 1923, had operated for 44 years as a hand-to-mouth membership operation kept alive by scrappy volunteers.
“I have a true belief that libraries are a cornerstone of democracy,” local history librarian Barbara Pickell told the gathering. “They give everybody a chance to extend their learning, to have lifelong learning, to take on any subject that they want. And we try to support all sides of controversial issues.”
“A century of service is only the beginning,” said library Director Eleni Glykis.
For more detail about the anniversary, go here.
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