Palisades Elementary Charter School celebrated the completion of its refurbished library last Thursday. Improvements include a new carpet, wood tables and chairs, bookshelves, six additional computers and an accelerated reading program, all purchased with the $30,000 that Eva Schroeder bequeathed the school upon her death in October 2006. ‘She was the last of the old-maid librarians,’ her niece Barbara Schroeder said lovingly of her aunt, a resident at Sunrise Senior Living who died at the age of 90. Barbara’s two children had attended Palisades Elementary, so when Eva was deciding where to leave her money, the elementary school library seemed like a good choice. ‘My aunt found a lot of comfort in books,’ Barbara said. ‘She would be really happy to know that she’s keeping reading alive.’ Students at the school were invited to write or draw a poster about what the library meant to them. Of the hundreds submitted, Principal Tami Weiser chose 15, and their authors were invited to the library dedication to read or share their drawings as part of the festivities. Fifth grader Daniel Roth hit the right chord with his one-page composition: ‘There is a place where we can learn with no difficulties or woe. A magical place. . .A tiny simple place where everyone leaves everyone be. In a library everyone belongs.’ ‘The library is the heart and soul of our school,’ Weiser said. ‘To have it be so beautiful and so magnificent is terrific.’ Award-winning architect and parent Eva Sobesky explained how the library committee, in order to accomplish all that they did, had to be resourceful. She praised the cabinetmakers, including librarian Genie Merchant’s husband, for working below cost. The new wood cabinets, chairs and tables have an unadorned clean line, and the interior design gives a feeling of warmth. ‘When construction’s completed and it looks simple, then it is right,’ Sobesky said. Merchant is thrilled with the changes and the new cabinetry that houses the computers, and ‘the children are happy with their comfy area,’ she said. During the dedication, one little girl sat on the window-seat cushions and listened intently while another little girl read to her. ‘I am so happy.’ Schroeder said. ‘When my kids were here I remember sitting in little cracked plastic chairs. My aunt would be so pleased. She’d say ‘good job’ and then she’d go talk to the librarian.’
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