Updates Made to Rose Memorial Library, Including a New Director

BY DYLAN SKRILOFF

A new handicap accessible bathroom, a handicap-friendly ramp, as well as an elevator connecting the basement and the top floor have all been added to the Rose Memorial Library in Stony Point, completing work that’s been in the planning stages for several years. The ramp was completed about a year ago while the other updates were completed recently offering a positive transition for Library Director Benjamin Reid who just began the job in January of this year.

Reid, a New York City resident and graduate of Kent St., has been a full-time employee with Stony Point’s Rose Memorial Library since the beginning of 2010. The library also has recently hired another full-timer Jennifer Russell, replacing Reid’s vacated position.

The monies for the three update projects were secured through Dormitory Authority library construction grants initiated by the late Senator Thomas Morahan. The library is still waiting for some of the promised money to come through the pipeline to pay for the work. The bathroom renovations alone cost $30,000 and the ramp cost $15,000.

The elevator project started as a replacement for the atrium that jutted out in the front of the building since it was added on in the late 1960s. The atrium was filled in and the elevator was built with a $100,000 dormitory grant.

Part of the library’s strategy is to keep the current building in as good of shape as possible, so if they have a chance to move to build a new library on property they purchased a quarter mile down Main St., they can get a good resale value on the current building. In the meantime it’s home and Reid hopes to make it as up-to-date as possible.

He is focusing on equipping the library with updated online technology, including kindle and i-pad programming. He also said the library is working on producing a top notch offering of events, classes and social gatherings. The new director Reid earns $70,000 annually.