Updated: Library in New Jersey Closed for Lead Paint Cleanup

City's mayor at odds with director, who's suspended

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 05/04/2010

• Complaint in March
• Asbestos may be a concern
• Stanford White building needs renovation

The Orange Public Library, NJ, has been closed since May 1 on orders of the town health department because the library has failed to deal with lead paint hazards; work has since begun.

The town’s mayor has asked for the director to resign. [Updated] The board, which met May 6, suspended her.

In March, the city received a complaint about lead paint and gave the library two weeks to correct it; then it granted an extension to April 30. Library director Doris Walker asked for an extension until July, to keep the building open through the school year, but the city disagreed.

The library, which serves a community of about 33,000 people, has 150,000 volumes.

Asbestos too?
The Star-Ledger reported that the library failed to meet a deadline to clean up both lead paint and asbestos. Actually, while the city’s letter expressed concerns about potentially hazardous asbestos, no remediation was requested.

Walker told LJ that the city has never said the library had to clean up any asbestos and a 2003 report indicated that the situation was stable.

The $43,000 lead paint remediation project should take about three weeks, setting the stage for a reopening of the building.

Renovation needed
Meanwhile, the library is fighting an uphill battle to raise $1.5 million for a major renovation of the Stanford White building, which is about 110 years old and a registered national historic site.

Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr. called for Walker’s resignation, saying she “has allowed a ticking time bomb to exist at the Orange Public Library for six years.”

"I intend to meet with the library board shortly to discuss how we can move forward to save the library and renovate the building," Hawkins said. "I have begun reaching out to adjoining towns and the Orange Board of Education to discuss possible arrangements for the use of their library facilities by Orange residents."

"The Stickler Library Preservation Society of Orange NJ, a nonprofit formed by Orange residents, has already been working with New York architect Sam White, grandson of the original architect, to raise funds and national awareness of our historic library," he said.