By MADDY VITALE
If you need some light reading on the beach, the Ocean City Free Public Library will bring it to you.
On Thursday, July 13, will be the second library event on the beach called “Library Beach Book Bashes.”
“We are doing the Library Beach Book Bashes up at 14th Street,” Library Director Karen Mahar said during the Library Board of Trustees monthly meeting Monday. “We set up a tent and do story time. We hand out information and give away books. It is awesome.”
Beachgoers will see library staff under a blue tent on 14th Street on Thursdays on July 13, July 20, Aug. 10 and Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mahar said the beach events began in 2016 and are among the major summer events in a busy lineup of in-person and virtual programming.
“It’s been a busy start to the summer,” she said. “Everything is kicked off. We have a slew of programing for every age group. We are up and running with our online reading club with prizes for all age groups.”
At the meeting, board members also discussed the library's much-awaited second floor renovation project, which will expand the Young Adult section. The building improvements will also include new furnishings, brighter lighting and more quiet space for study time as well as “maker space” for do-it-yourself types of projects, officials said.
The project will go out to bid sometime in mid-August, with the goal of a start date in October, officials noted.
The city had bonded for the project at an estimated $1.3 million cost. The library sought state funding, but was unsuccessful.
Architect William McLees, of William McLees Architecture in Somers Point, is designing the project, which will modernize the facility and make it more user-friendly.
Library Board of Trustees President Jennifer Shirk told the board that she wanted more discussion about the project at the meeting Monday, in case anyone would like any changes to the current plan.
“I thought it would be a good idea to have more discussion because it is not too late to see any more suggestions while he (William McLees) is tweaking the final plan,” Shirk emphasized. “Once we do have the final plan, the whole board will see it and then it will go out to bid.”
She added, “What we are guessing is fall to start, early October, and hopefully completed by summer.”
The Young Adult section will be expanded.
Shirk said that what library officials have learned is that people want more quiet space. She also noted that the Young Adult librarian who was hired in 2012 “has taken it to the next level and has provided a nice area for young adults.”
“We want to give her more space,” Shirk said, referring to the renovation project.
The other aspect of the project was to include a “maker space,” which has become increasingly popular among people of all ages. A larger area for fiction is also part of the plan.
Also on the agenda Monday was the appointment of a new board member. Dave Winslow replaced Brian Broadley on the board. Broadley decided to step down after serving on the library board for a decade.
Winslow, an Ocean City resident since 1977, raised his three sons in the resort. He retired from a gaming and hospitality company and wanted to give back to the community, he said.
He has volunteered his time before, serving as chairman of the Night in Venice boat parade committee, among other activities over the years, he said.
“I retired and said I wanted to get back to being involved,” Winslow said. “I’m happy to be back.”
Shirk presented Broadley with a proclamation on behalf of the board for being a “strong library advocate and member of the board of trustees for 10 years.”
Shirk noted that Broadley was a big help to her on the board, especially in her first year as president in 2012 when he was treasurer.
“You were this great person with good advice,” she said. “I will be forever grateful to you.”
Mahar also said that Broadley was an asset to the board.
“Thank you, Brian, for all that you have done on the board,” she said.
Broadley thanked the board and said he had fun, learned a lot and declared “we have the greatest library ever.”
To learn more about the Ocean City Free Public Library, located at 1735 Simpson Ave. in the Community Center, visit www.oceancitylibrary.org.
