Reflection: Harry Levine Looks Back On His Mission for a New Library

Candace Braun

With nine years under his belt and a newly completed three-story facility that attracts approximately 2,200 people per day, Harry Levine is stepping down from his position as president of the Princeton Public Library's Board of Trustees.

Mr. Levine was deeply involved in the planning, design, construction, and bidding process for the new $18 million library. As president, he was able to merge his role as chair on several library expansion ad hoc committees into one position of authority that would allow him to speak to the community as a whole. The results surpassed his expectations.

"The library is spectacular; far better than I had ever dreamed," said the Township resident.

According to Mr. Levine, the process began all the way back in the 1960s. Formerly located in the Bainbridge House on Nassau Street, the library first moved to its current location, a former parking lot, in 1965. The plan for the first facility on Witherspoon Street started out as a three-story building, but was reduced to two floors because of budgetary constraints.

"From the day that library opened, it was too small," said Mr. Levine.

In 1988, the expansion process began all over again. Community leaders came together and formed three possible plans for the library. If the building were to remain intact, it would have to have a third floor added onto it, as well as a three-floor wing to make it big enough to accommodate the Princeton community.

The other two options included building an entirely new library in the Princeton Shopping Center, on the site now occupied by McCaffrey's market, or building a new facility downtown near or at its current location.

Many issues came into play. Getting approval from both the Township and the Borough was difficult due to traffic and budgetary concerns from both municipalities, said Mr. Levine. The most difficult part of the whole process was in the decision to build a new library at the current location: "Sorting through all of that took the better part of 10 years."

Once the actual construction of the library got underway, the project took approximately two years, opening four months later than contractors had predicted.

"That's not too bad considering I had worked on the project for 16 years," said Mr. Levine.

The project also stayed within budget, the former Board president proudly pointed out: "We had a lot of change orders in the process ... but we managed to stay within our means."

The library was very successful in raising private donations, said Mr. Levine. For every dollar it received in public money, it received two dollars from private donors. Of the $18 million needed to build the facility, $12 million came from 1,000 different private donors, he said.

"One of the neat things about this community is that if you address the issues of a project openly and you take everybody's ideas as legitimate options ... you do get to the end. And the project you end up selecting is the better for it."

Mr. Levine said that one of the biggest concerns during construction had been whether or not residents would be able to find their way around the new facility once it opened. However it wasn't a problem in the end, he said: "The minute we opened the doors people walked in and knew exactly where they wanted to go.... The design works and it works spectacularly well."

New Leadership

Library trustee Nancy Russell will now be taking over as president of the Board of Trustees. Leadership needs to change to keep the board "vibrant," said Mr. Levine.

"I think she's going to do a fabulous job. She's going to bring a different approach, a different energy, and a different set of interests. I think that's all very healthy for the organization," he said.

But as he leaves his position on the Board of Trustees, residents can be assured that while he will no longer have a part in the library's leadership, Mr. Levine will continue to be a constant visitor to the facility he helped create for the Princeton community.

"Its one thing to think you did [a project] well.... It's quite another to be able to walk into it and sit down and read a book," he said.