November 2, 2016
Princeton Public Library and its Role
in the Future of Libraries
Brett Bonfield
Executive Director of the Princeton Public Library
Princeton Public Library and its Role
in the Future of Libraries
Brett Bonfield
Executive Director of the Princeton Public Library
Claire Jacobus and Brett Bonfield
Minutes of the Eighth Meeting of the 75th Year
The eighth meeting of the 75th year of the Old Guard of Princeton was called to order at 10:15 a.m. by President Jock McFarlane. Eight-four members and guests were present. Julia Coale led the invocation. The minutes of the previous meeting were read by Scott McVay.
Jerry Berkelhammer introduced his wife, Sheila, as a guest.
Claire Jacobus introduced the speaker, Brett Bonfield, the recently appointed executive director of the Princeton Public Library. Mr. Bonfield graduated from Rutgers University and came to Princeton after serving eight years as director of the Collingswood Public Library.
Mr. Bonfield spoke about governance, funding, history and the future of public libraries in the United States.
Municipalities vote to approve the creation of new public libraries. There are individual municipal libraries and also countywide library systems. Princeton is an independent library not affiliated with Mercer County. Libraries are overseen by boards of trustees whose members are appointed by municipal officials. Directors of public libraries are required to have a master’s degree in library science.
Public libraries are nonprofit organizations funded by both public and private sources. In the case of the Princeton library, about 75 percent of its budget is covered by public sources and 25 percent by private donations. Limited funding is provided through federal and state budgets. Libraries collect additional funding from fines and fees, such as overdue books.
Mr. Bonfield credited two people with starting the public library system in the United States. The first was Melvil Dewey, who created the Dewey Decimal System for classifying books, a system that remains in use today.
The second was Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy businessman, who financed over 2,500 public libraries from 1883 until his death in 1929. In that year there were 3,500 libraries in the United States (one for every 30,500 people in the 1920 census).
When deciding whether to provide funds for a new library, Mr. Carnegie first determined whether the community was truly interested in having its own public library. Once satisfied with the community’s commitment, Mr. Carnegie would then fund the entire construction cost of the library. The community, including the municipal authorities, had to agree to pay the ongoing costs for staffing and maintaining the library. He insisted that libraries provide their services to the public for free.
Mr. Carnegie also pioneered the professionalization of librarians. The Columbia/New York State Library School, founded in 1887, was the country’s first to offer a degree in library science. There are currently more than 150,000 librarians with a master’s degree in library science in the United States.
American public libraries follow a set of core values when serving their users. Among those values are free access to their collections, confidentiality and privacy of users, education and lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, archiving the cultural record, professionalism, service and social responsibility.
Mr. Bonfield shared his thoughts on future issues facing public libraries, including how they should be assessed; new efforts to teach people how to protect their privacy online from malicious hackers and to understand better third-party surveillance; how to utilize broader bandwidths for research; and new meeting space in libraries to bring people together to exchange ideas in person.
When asked the difference between public libraries and public schools, Mr. Bonfield saw libraries as complementing schools by providing assistance when requested. In answer to a question about the size of the budget for acquiring new books, he stated that more money is being allocated to buying books, both physical and digital.
President Jock McFarlane adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert L. Ross
Jerry Berkelhammer introduced his wife, Sheila, as a guest.
Claire Jacobus introduced the speaker, Brett Bonfield, the recently appointed executive director of the Princeton Public Library. Mr. Bonfield graduated from Rutgers University and came to Princeton after serving eight years as director of the Collingswood Public Library.
Mr. Bonfield spoke about governance, funding, history and the future of public libraries in the United States.
Municipalities vote to approve the creation of new public libraries. There are individual municipal libraries and also countywide library systems. Princeton is an independent library not affiliated with Mercer County. Libraries are overseen by boards of trustees whose members are appointed by municipal officials. Directors of public libraries are required to have a master’s degree in library science.
Public libraries are nonprofit organizations funded by both public and private sources. In the case of the Princeton library, about 75 percent of its budget is covered by public sources and 25 percent by private donations. Limited funding is provided through federal and state budgets. Libraries collect additional funding from fines and fees, such as overdue books.
Mr. Bonfield credited two people with starting the public library system in the United States. The first was Melvil Dewey, who created the Dewey Decimal System for classifying books, a system that remains in use today.
The second was Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy businessman, who financed over 2,500 public libraries from 1883 until his death in 1929. In that year there were 3,500 libraries in the United States (one for every 30,500 people in the 1920 census).
When deciding whether to provide funds for a new library, Mr. Carnegie first determined whether the community was truly interested in having its own public library. Once satisfied with the community’s commitment, Mr. Carnegie would then fund the entire construction cost of the library. The community, including the municipal authorities, had to agree to pay the ongoing costs for staffing and maintaining the library. He insisted that libraries provide their services to the public for free.
Mr. Carnegie also pioneered the professionalization of librarians. The Columbia/New York State Library School, founded in 1887, was the country’s first to offer a degree in library science. There are currently more than 150,000 librarians with a master’s degree in library science in the United States.
American public libraries follow a set of core values when serving their users. Among those values are free access to their collections, confidentiality and privacy of users, education and lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, archiving the cultural record, professionalism, service and social responsibility.
Mr. Bonfield shared his thoughts on future issues facing public libraries, including how they should be assessed; new efforts to teach people how to protect their privacy online from malicious hackers and to understand better third-party surveillance; how to utilize broader bandwidths for research; and new meeting space in libraries to bring people together to exchange ideas in person.
When asked the difference between public libraries and public schools, Mr. Bonfield saw libraries as complementing schools by providing assistance when requested. In answer to a question about the size of the budget for acquiring new books, he stated that more money is being allocated to buying books, both physical and digital.
President Jock McFarlane adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert L. Ross