Corzine and Duncan's Fanwood Visit: A Look Back

Big events don't happen often in Fanwood, so Tuesday’s visit from Governor Jon Corzine and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was particularly exciting for the small town.

The two leaders were at Fanwood Memorial Library to support a new national service initiative and to promote summer reading, but for local residents in attendance, the real treat was watching them read to children.

“Everyone here like reading?” Corzine asked the few dozen young children crowded around him as he sat down to read.

“Yeah!” they shouted in response.

The governor and secretary took turns reading pages out of two books: The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner and How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague.

"I've heard about wide-mouthed politicians, but holy cow," Corzine said as he opened the first book.

The children listened intently during the 20-minute story time, while parents, educators and media stood by. Afterward, Corzine and Duncan posed for photos and signed autographs for children.

Karen Zikas, and her daughter, Lina, were one of several local families that came on Tuesday. Zikas said she received a call from the library last week inviting them to the event.

"I thought it was really interesting to see famous people," Lina said with a wide smile on her face.

Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr was by Corzine and Duncan’s side for most of the event. On several occasions, she expressed how exciting it was that they had chosen to come to Fanwood.

“We love our library, and are thrilled that the White House and Secretary of Education and the governor understand and look to Fanwood to be one of the leaders,” she said. "This is a real acknowledgement of all the good work that Fanwood has done.”

Prior to the reading event, Corzine and Duncan met with librarians and education leaders from across the state to talk about the importance of libraries in New Jersey and across the nation.

Assemblywoman Linda Stender, Congressman Leonard Lance, New Jersey Education Commissioner Lucille Davy, and the president of the American Libraries Association were also in attendance.

Corzine and Duncan mostly stayed silent as they listened librarians and educators talk about the need for more funding, better technology and a commitment to keeping libraries in the schools.

Duncan said he thinks libraries are the key to keeping students learning beyond the regular school year, and that he worries we aren’t doing enough to expand learning opportunities outside the classroom.

“I have two little guys at home, and they love going to libraries,” he said. “It’s so fun to see them love to do this. Our kids need more learning time. Our school year is too short. I worry a lot about summer reading loss. I worry a lot about kids who are in disadvantaged homes. How do we extend learning time during the weeks, days, summers?”

Another issue discussed was the important role libraries play during this tough economy with helping residents save money, search for jobs and get resume-writing skills, among other things.

In these tough times, though, libraries are increasingly taking a hit themselves.

Lianne Bennett, a librarian at Kirby Mill's Elementary in Medford, said that she had her budget for books cut by 50 percent this year.

“I think it was nice to hear what they had to say, but I’m not sure we got as much feedback as we would’ve liked,” Bennett said. “School libraries need to be staffed with certified librarians. You need to have people who know what they’re doing to help kids professionally.”

Fanwood Librarian Dan Weiss said after the event that he thinks the message got across to Corzine and Duncan about what the most important issues facing libraries are, and that he’ll be interested to see what happens now.

“I think it's very unusual to have that much access for such a long period of time,” Weiss said. “It's great."