Roof Renovation on the Horizon for Bayport-Blue Point Library

Renovations and retirement of key personnel were the hot topics at Wednesday's meeting of the Bayport-Blue Point Library Board.

Some nine months after being damaged, library board trustees continue to seek a solution to repair the building's roof that was damaged during a March storm. Repairs are expected to cost about $50,000.

John D. O'Hare, library director, said the library has applied for a $25,000 Library Construct Grant from the federal government that is administered through New York State. "The goal is to get this (roof) made more sound all around," he said. "There's a lot of red tape and it's very involved. But almost everyone that applies gets something." 

In addition to repairing the roof, library officials said installation of new carpeting in its conference room is expected in the near future. Completing this project is key because the room is used constantly to hold programs for children and adults, they said.

Beyond capital improvements, library board trustees announced they would begin the search process for a new library director, as O'Hare has announced his retirement at the end of the calendar year. An executive session of the board of trustees to discuss finding a successor to O'Hare is scheduled for Wednesday, September 15. Other retirees include Mary Anne Henn, principle library clerk and head of technical services and Harriet Mihlstin, library clerk.

Other business:

The library will debut its Live-brary website on Tuesday, September 21, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the library.  "It will be a conglomeration of online resources, it's a whole new thing that the Suffolk County Library System is trying to brand and market," O'Hare said, "It's a new concept of this library as being virtual."

To celebrate the launch, the library will be handing out T-shirts, balloons and refreshments. A demonstration of wireless access will also be held.

Jocelyn Mcintee, assistant library director, reported that registration for adult programming has been brisk and the Yoga class is already filed for the season "It's been really busy; it's fabulous," she said. "Registration for the September and October programs had 90 something people registered since yesterday. "There was somebody waiting at the door before we opened; there were 15 people in the first 15 minutes."