Since 1930, the Waban Library — now Waban Library Center — has been “a place to browse books and browse ideas,” says Chris Pitts, President of the Waban Improvement Society, which oversees the Waban Library Center. The land and building were donated as one of Newton’s branch libraries by generous contributions of local residents, and it has continued to serve Waban and Newton as a library and community gathering space. With Waban resident Alice Jacobs, Volunteer Coordinator, twenty-five area residents, not exclusively from Waban, serve as volunteer librarians, five days a week (six days a week before Covid).
Sharon Sasanow, a Waban resident, began volunteering in 2010, the year following the Waban Library Center’s transformation from a branch of the Newton Free Library to a separate community library. She works every Wednesday for two hours and does “everything,” from checking books in and out, to helping people find a book, to shelving, answering the phone, and answering questions. “I love libraries and I love books,” she says. One of the Waban Library Center’s most appealing features is that people have access to new books more quickly than they would at the Newton Library. A committee of the volunteers meets regularly to select new books for the shelves, some suggested by library members.
In the half of the library designated as the adult section of the center, furnished with some of the original oak tables and chairs, readers will find a sizable collection of mystery and fiction books, as well as ample biographies, politics, and cooking options. As Alice Jacobs says, “It’s a good place to study. It’s a good place to find a book. It’s a good place to sit around.”
In fact, library card holders come to the Waban Library Center from all over Newton and even from other cities and towns. Half of the large, bright, colorful open space is devoted to children — very young to middle schoolers — and the colorful, child-appealing decor is what Alice Jacobs describes as ”eclectic.” Toddlers and babies make up the Wednesday morning story hour (11AM-noon), with appealing toys and games as well as board and picture books. And there are book clubs for primary and middle schoolers. On Saturday, October 29, the library will invite families to its Spooky Library, from 10AM to noon, for scary stories, games, treats (no tricks), and a prize for the best costume. On one Saturday a month beginning on November 19, the library will host Family Game Days with activities for everyone.
Beginning October 19 and every Wednesday morning (9AM-10AM), the library will host Johanne Campbell, a certified yoga instructor, who will lead an All-Levels Vinyasa Flow class open to all vaccinated people. Please bring your own mats. Post-Covid, the library is once again open to community gatherings, lectures, and musical performances.
The Waban Library was a branch of the Newton Free Library until 2008, when a Newton override failed. In the wake of that failure, the City was forced to close four neighborhood branches, including Waban, particularly since there was a new, large, modern main library across from City Hall. Chris Pitts, president of the 130-year-old Waban Improvement Society, met with then Mayor David Cohen and representatives from the Auburndale Branch Library and determined that they could turn the two branches into independent community libraries. With the help of the late Ward 5 Alderman Brian Yates and Ward 4 Alderman Amy Sangiolo, the branches were able to keep their books, valued at $40,000, rather than return them to the main library. The Waban Improvement Society went door-to-door to raise the money for the building’s utilities and upkeep (Newton still retains ownership of the buildings). Since its repurposing as a community library, the Waban Library Center has been closed for only three months in early 2020 because of the pandemic. Now it is expanding into its traditional role as a library and community gathering space.
Alice Jacobs, Chris Pitts, and Sharon Sasanow all agree that the Waban Library Center is a “refuge” and “sanctuary” for all of Newton.
