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more than 100 years old. The retirees 
were part of the team that reimagined 
it – and readied it – for the next cen­
tury after enduring Hurricane Sandy 
in 2012 and Hurricane Ida in 2021, 
the latter of which flooded the library 
basement with seven feet of water just 
before renovation was set to begin. 
Whalen, who retired at the end 
of April, was particularly proud of 
finding, organizing and supervising 
about 40 community volunteers to 
unpack the 1,875 boxes of books 
that had to be placed on the new 
building’s shelves. It was a month­
long effort. 
“Because they were in storage for 
much longer than we anticipated, 
there was a lot of weeding that needed 
to be done,” she says. “Every book 
literally had to be touched and dealt 
with, so it was a lot of work. The com­
munity really did come together.” 
Beckerich, who retired May 1 and 
a month later moved down the shore 
to Manahawkin, spent time during 
the renovation drumming up ideas 
for programming in the Commu­
nity Room and new Forum, which 
contains rising tiers of seating (and 
power outlets) and connects the first 
and second floors. She says she was 
most proud of creating hands-on and 
educational programs that “people 
left smiling, telling me how much 
fun it was.”
Fun aside, the library served a 
crucial community need during San­
dy, when it was dubbed a “beacon in 
the storm,” maintaining power while 
much of Maplewood went dark for 
more than a week. 
“Finance guys who had never 
been in the library 
before 
in 
their 
life came in,” says 
Lester. 
“I 
remember 
one guy brought 
in his entire desk­
top setup – like 
16-inch 
moni­
tors,” says Amanda 
Eigen, the library’s 
assistant director.
The 
building 
held up but also 
showed its age. Pa­
trons’ 
electronics 
were plugged into extension cords 
that were plugged into other exten­
sion cords that ran everywhere in 
search of a free outlet. 
“The library really saw from a 
technology standpoint where we 
were lacking,” says Lester.
Knowledge gained through de­
cades of service informed the plan­
ning for the new building. Nealon, 
for example, played a key role in 
equipping it. He wrote the technol­
ogy section of the 2020 grant ap­
plication that eventually brought in 
$8.3 million as part of the New Jer­
sey Library Construction Bond Act. 
He then spent the next six years see­
ing it to fruition before retiring on 
July 1, 2026.
“I was planning on retiring last 
year and I realized that it’s such a big 
job, I needed to stay longer,” Nealon 
says, noting the time needed, even 
after re-opening, to get the kinks out 
of the new technological infrastruc­
ture. “Now, they have a new person 
[William Louigene] who has taken 
over and is very good. The library is 
in a very good place.” 
The Wi-Fi system, which had 
four access points before the renova­
tion, now has 35, including several 
outside. There are almost 500 hard­
wired connections to the library’s 
network, from computers to security 
cameras and sensors. 
Folger, better known in the Chil­
dren’s Room as Miss Jane, was the 
most public facing of the retirees. 
Though she stepped down at the end 
of the summer, she says it was a year-
long farewell for her as so many peo­
ple visited the new building, many 
Some of the longtime library employees who recently re­
tired, L to R: Cindy Mondino (19 years), Joanne Beckerich 
(20.5 years) and Robyn Whalen (24 years).
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