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Library Board To Review Request To Rename Branch

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By KATHY STEELE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 30, 2008

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - The county's library board will review a request to rename the Seminole Heights Branch Library for local historian and library advocate Steve Gluckman.
Gluckman died Dec. 11 at age 70. For more than 13 years, he spearheaded the branch library's annual book sale, collecting up to $1,500 each year for children's summer programs.

"He felt the availability of free reading material was important to everyone," said Susan Long, president of the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association.

The association's executive board last week voted to seek the name change, and about a dozen association members attended the library board's meeting Thursday.

The board's policy and bylaws committee will make a recommendation on the renaming; the county commission makes the final decision.

The recommendation will not come quickly, library director Joe Stines said, because the committee has several other issues to decide first.

The board can consider names based on geographic locations, library supporters, special benefactors or prominent literary figures. Namings or memorials for library rooms can be based on significant, long-term service to the library, significant financial or other contributions, historical or cultural significance, or noteworthy public service.

The civic group suggested naming the branch the Steven J. Gluckman Memorial Library.
Stines recalled a meeting several years ago when Gluckman lobbied to add "Heights" to the branch library's name.

"We put back Heights to please Steve because he was right. It was historical, and somehow it got lost," Stines said. "He was one of the best friends the library ever had."

Long said the association would not object if the name includes Gluckman's name and Seminole Heights.
Library board members encouraged Gluckman's friends to consider naming a Friends of the Library chapter for him. Association board trustee Evan St. Ives, who has taken over Gluckman's library duties, said the group is pursuing that option. The association is collecting donations to buy historic preservation books to donate to the library in Gluckman's name.

Jeff Harmon, the group's vice president, said naming the library for Gluckman is a way to "hold onto to our past. People can learn about Steve Gluckman and learn about community activism."

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 835-2103 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

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