Libraries Become an Outlet for Powerless Residents

From the moment Manager Karen Kelly arrived at work on Monday morning, "the phones were ringing off the hook," she said.

After patrons realized the library was open, the next question they had was if the library had Wi-Fi. With patrons sitting on the floor to connect their laptops and recharge their cell phones, Kelly decided to open up the library's meeting room after a children's program ended. "We used every available outlet we had," Kelly said. 

Library Director April Judge said while it is not "great" that residents are without power, "this is a great use of the library." She added, "We are serving a dual purpose by providing warmth and knowledge."

Over in the children's room, Librarian Linda Garfinkel said she has "never seen anything like this." While Halloween night is usually slow, there were many children visiting the library Monday night.  on Tuesday, more children were visiting the library to both finish homework and pick out books and videos. Several staff members purchased candy to hand out at the circulation desk on Halloween to cheer up children who missed out on parties at their schools.

For adults, the library provided a convenient environment to work. Lindsay Rubino, a Roseland resident who works from home, spent Monday at , but was working on Tuesday from the library because she thought it was more comfortable.

While Rubino lives near the Roseland Library, this building remained closed on Monday and Tuesday.

After attempting to get into , North Caldwell Resident and West Caldwell library patron Mohan Goil was at the library on both Monday and Tuesday. Goil also works from home, and spent about four hours each day working on his laptop.

, a pre-school in West Caldwell, was also without power on Tuesday. Staff member Erin Moss visited the Children's room at the library to entertain both owner Tracie Sarkar's three children and recharge her laptop and cell phone.

In addition to providing outlets, many patrons were also accessing the library's computers. Reference Director Ethan Galvin said a total of 108 patrons utilized computers on Monday. Typically, the library has usage from about 25 to 30 patrons.

Over at the , business was booming as well.

"Yesterday the library was at capacity with the number of people who needed to use our computers, our electricity, etc. It was great that we were open and up and running," new reported to Patch via email.

Deborah Khost, a staff member in Children's Programming, said many patrons stayed until closing on Monday.

To help patrons charge their cell phone and laptops, Khost went home at lunchtime and brought back power strips. While many patrons remained at the library to keep warm, Khost also said many came to check their e-mail and charge their electric devices.

The West Caldwell-Caldwell Recreation Department opened up the  from noon until 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

According to the announcement from West Caldwell Recreation Director Gabe DiMasi, the Civic Center will allow residents to "charge cell phones, get a cup of coffee or just warm up."

West Caldwell resident Kevin Quinn learned about the civic center when he went to the to pay his taxes. Quinn, who lives on Marshall Street, has been without power since Saturday afternoon. He plans on going to the West Caldwell library tomorrow if he still remains powerless.