Bridgeton residents line up to air their opinions about a referendum to close the city’s public library. Story and photos by Ahmad Graves-El
An ordinance to place a binding referendum to dissolve the Bridgeton Public Library on the November general election ballot was officially passed by Bridgeton City Council at a recent meeting.
The meeting was held on July 21 at the Police and Municipal Court Complex. The ordinance was first introduced during June’s city council meeting.
Approximately 100 Cumberland County residents, who support saving the library, momentarily sat in stunned silence after the city council members unanimously voted to keep the referendum on the ballot.
“Catastrophic,” said Elizabeth Trinidad of Bridgeton, when asked about the possible dissolution of the institution. “It provides access to technology that a lot of people in the city do not have. One of the things that I found the most meaningful today was one of the speakers … said this is where you find access to the resources about resources. “As a community, as a civilization, we need to have libraries.”
Rhiannon Clark, pictured here, a Millville resident who has used the Bridgeton Public Library to participate in community meetings, was perplexed about the city council’s decision.
Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly, far left, was in attendance. Bridgeton City Council members Rosemary DeQuinzio and Marian King are seated. Other Council members present were President Edward Bethea and J. Curtis Edwards.
“I think it’s heartbreaking,” Clark said. “I just don’t understand why you would take a service from people as opposed to bolstering that service. If the library were to close … I think it’s devastating.”
According to its website (https://bridgetonlibrary.org/history/), the Bridgeton Free Public Library was formed in 1923. The 103-year-old institution “serves Bridgeton’s diverse population of first and second generation immigrants, migrant workers and longtime residents, many of whom live in the deteriorated yet preserved housing stock of the Bridgeton Historic District, the largest historic district in New Jersey.”
The library’s services include education and literacy resources; technology access; youth development and violence prevention programs; services for seniors, and more.
According to the ordinance, the city council concluded that most of Bridgeton’s residents currently acquire traditional library materials from digital resources. Additionally, the Cumberland County Library (https://cclnj.org/), which is in Bridgeton, would still be available for residents to use.
While much of the meeting was civil, there were a few contentious verbal exchanges between council members and library supporters. Bridgeton City Council members asserted that budgetary issues were a big reason they created the ordinance.
“As it was stated, we are not anti-library. What we are, quite frankly, [is] anti-deficit,” said Bridgeton City Council President Edward Bethea, during the meeting. “We’re asking the residents to take a hard look at what they want us to spend the budget on.”
“When we were elected to these seats … there’s some hard decisions that [have] to be made, and we don’t take any of them lightly,” said J. Curtis Edwards, council member. “We’re pro-library too. All we’re saying is let the residents decide.”
Bridgeton resident Donny Reyes has his mind made up.
“… I urge every resident in this room and every voter in Bridgeton to sign a petition in person or online. Vote no on November 3rd,” Reyes, who once worked for the Gateway Community Action Partnership organization, said during the meeting.
“Closing the library, the Bridgeton Free Public Library, is not a budget decision,” Reyes added. “It is a statement about what kind of community we choose to be. The library belongs to Bridgeton and Bridgeton belongs to all its residents. I urge the council to stand on the right side of the street, reject this ordinance and protect our library.”
For various reasons, several supporters who attended the meeting will not have a say in what happens to the institution.
Some of the speakers came from Vineland, Fairfield Twp., and Millville. Others will not be old enough to vote when election time swings around.
Charles Pierce, a 17-year-old Fairfield Township resident and Cumberland County Technology Education Center (CCTEC) student, fits both categories.
“So, one of my biggest concerns as someone who’s going to go into history [studies] is what’s going to happen, you know, to the history inside the library and the history itself of the library,” said Pierce, who also participates in Rowan College of South Jersey’s Early College High School program.
“If the majority of the people … if they think the library should be closed, unfortunately, then the city is going to have to decide if it closes. I will be upset,” Pierce added. “The most important thing is now we have to go out there, inform people what the facts are, and get the majority of people who live in Bridgeton to vote on this.”
Santiago Lopez, another 17-year-old CCTEC student, added: “I was very thankful to see how over the years the library has impacted all sorts of people, especially from the Hispanic community.
“I’m disappointed in our members of council,” Lopez, who works with the Bridgeton Municipal Alliance Youth to Youth program, continued. “I understand that, you know, there’s a need for funding and there’s a need for different approaches … but for city council to conclude that the library is something that’s not worth maintaining—that’s ridiculous.”
Although tension permeated the air in certain moments during the meeting, city council members did leave the door ajar for a positive resolution.
“We can’t close the library; it’s up to the residents,” said Edwards. “If they want the library open, [the] library’s open. We support it 100 percent. They want it closed, that’s another problem we got to deal with.
“I would recommend that everyone get in touch with [NJ] State Senator [Michael] Testa because I did run into him in the community and he said that he possibly can find some money in the state budget to keep the library open,” he continued. “So, I’m putting it out there. Let’s reach out. You know, everyone should be at the State House next.”
“If the residents come back and say, you know, don’t fund the library, [it] doesn’t mean that the library is going to be closed,” Bethea added. “It just means it puts more pressure on all of us to try to find ways to fund the library. So, there’s hope there as well.”
The fate of the Bridgeton Public Library now rests in the hands of the city’s residents eligible to vote on election day.
Read the ordinance at https://cityofbridgetonnj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1658/Pending-Ordinance—CLOSING-COB-PUBLIC-LIBRBARY-PDF
