New chapter at the tiny Baiting Hollow Free Library

The walkway to Baiting Hollow Free Library connects directly with Warner Drive: no parking lot, no parking spots. The 110-year-old library still requires patrons to complete sign-out sheets for books, instead of using its single public-access computer, and opens its doors just two days a week for six hours a day.

And new librarian Thelma Stanza of Calverton plans on keeping that old-time charm. 

“I don’t want to change anything,” she said. “It’s the perfect little North Fork gem. I want to keep the history.”

On a recent morning, as her husband, Ron, listened in, Ms. Stanza sat at the only table in the one-room library and immediately began sharing her excitement about her new position.

She officially became the head — and only — librarian on June 1. She trained for the position with former librarian Charlotte Jacques for a few months before starting the job.

A frequent visitor to Baiting Hollow Free Library over the years, Ms. Stanza chalks up her decision to take the job to timing.
“I’ve wanted to do it and the opportunity arose at the perfect time. I decided to retire from banking right around when Charlotte decided to retire,” Ms. Stanza said. “I’m very, very excited about it. It’s something I knew I would love doing.”

Ms. Stanza, who has spent most of her career in banking, has some past experience as a librarian, although she claims it was “years and years ago.”

Since stepping into the position, her main focus has been reorganizing by moving books so that fiction is in alphabetical order by author’s last name and non-fiction works follow the Dewey Decimal system.

The library’s four walls are lined with shelves filled top to bottom with approximately 6,000 books, including fiction, non-fiction, children/young adult and reference works plus a small audio book section.

After the reorganization is complete, Ms. Stanza has no plans for other improvements. 

The library began in 1903 when the women of Baiting Hollow Congregational Church formed a group and began giving public lectures on various topics to paying audiences, Ms. Stanza explained. They saved their money and used it to start the library, which has been in numerous locations over the past 111 years, one of which is now the Calverton post office.

The library’s past isn’t the only local history stored inside these walls, most of which can be found in books kept on one small shelf to the right of the front door.

“The greatest is the Long Island collection. These are old and unique books, so they’re usually reference books. Some of them we are the only people to have,” she said.

Although her favorite section of the library is the Long Island section, Ms. Stanza enjoys reading cookbooks “that also tell a story and give background” during her free time. In addition, she enjoys novels and mysteries by Agatha Christie, tastes confirmed by a low chuckle from her husband.

She also loves local authors and encourages them to stop by the library to share their stories.

Ms. Stanza hopes to increase the visibility of the library, which typically welcomes four to six patrons on its open days, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The library issues no cards, instead requiring borrowers to sign an index card that Ms. Stanza then files in a tiny file box.

The Baiting Hollow facility belongs to the Suffolk County Library Association membership and is therefore part of its Live-brary program, through which customers can use electronic devices to rent e-books for up to two weeks, which vastly expands the tiny library’s offerings.

“I want people to know that we can offer whatever a larger library can offer,” she said. “A few patrons come in and use the computer because they don’t have one at home. I want to be able to help people in the community by having the computer.”

She feels being a part of the community is an important aspect of the job and is looking forward to getting to know the library regulars on a more personal level, which includes knowing what they like to read so she can order books they will enjoy.

“Invite people, if they are out, to stop in and say hi,” Ron Stanza finally piped up. “One-room schoolhouses may be gone, but the one-room library is still here.”