Say it ain’t so Joe; 30-year PPL trustee leaves the board

The Edward S. Bentley Community Room downstairs in Peninsula Public Library was set up for both a trustee meeting and a party on June 20, as family, friends and library officials honored Joseph Fuller, who served 30 years on PPL’s board.

Fuller, a Cedarhurst resident, lost to challenger Reva Oliner in the May election. The library board will meet next on July 18, and for the first time in four decades, without Fuller, who served in every board capacity from 1989 to 2019, and 14 years as a Nassau County Library system trustee.

PPL serves 34,000 people, has 17,900 cardholders, library officials have said. The existing building at 280 Central Ave., in Lawrence, measures 13,500 square feet, and has 23 parking spaces. It is considered the smallest space per user of any library in the Nassau County Library System — .38 square feet per patron — according to a report issued by a report issued by the system in 2008.

“I am happy that we are able to keep a very good library going with having the smallest building and the second largest circulation in the county,” Fuller said before he collected a proclamation from State Sen. Todd Kaminsky’s office and a citation from Melissa Miller’s office. “Glad to be a part of a board that showed budget surpluses and kept taxes under control,” Fuller said, adding that his main frustration was not being able to bring a new library building to the community.

He said that he is very proud of all the “terrific programming” that is well-attended and offers all age groups the opportunity to enjoy the library. Fuller noted that PPL did a pretty good job of keeping up with the changing technology through his years by offering videotapes, when they were popular, and now ebooks online.

Jeffrey Leb recounted the way he first met Fuller, eight years ago when he and fellow trustee, Sarah Yastrab, first ran for the library board. “It was a little bit of a contentious race,” Leb said. “I have a tendency to say things some times, and I did that. Joe fired back. … After we got on the board, I met with Joe and we had a nice sort of getting to know you breakfast, and after that I said I hope I don’t have trouble with this guy, but he became a real friend of mine and I learned a lot from him.”

Yastrab in turn had her own story from two years ago when her father died and the family was sitting shiva. She said many people came to see her and many came to see her brother, and they shared a few visitors, including Fuller.

“When Joe walked in I said, ‘Joe, thank you for coming,’ and my brother said, ‘Mr. Fuller, thank you for coming,’ and I thought he had come to see and my brother thought he came to see him, and it just goes to show what a good friend Joe has become.”

Fuller thanked everyone, especially his family; saying it has been an interesting 30 years. In an observation that is right at home in the Five Towns, Fuller expressed why he believes libraries and books remain important in people’s lives. “You can’t use an iPad on Shabbos and I still like to hold a real book and turn the pages,” he said.