Albany Library Board met on Wednesday, October 24, with a special item on their agenda: a presentation honoring Gardener and Margaret Young, whose bequest made possible an audio-visual upgrade to the Edith Stone Room.
The Albany couple died last year, both just shy of 100 years. Mr. Young worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the couple lived in Albany from 1952 to 2011. Neighbors fondly recall them and spoke of how much they loved Albany.
The board was honored to have the trustees of the Young estate, Kay and Ed Kinney, at the meeting for this "ground-breaking" of sorts.
Jeremy Allen, representing the City of Albany, demonstrated the audio-visual capabilities to an enthusiastic audience. Cal Freshman and Albany's own Sorcerer's Apprentice, Nir Maoz, manned a TV camera in the back of the room. (See the meeting on KALB.)
After the demo, Ronnie Davis thanked the board and the Kinneys on behalf of the library. She showed how the equipment already proved its worth, working its magic on kids playing Wii games and wowing adults with HD images of the presidential debate.
City Manager, Beth Pollard, officially thanked the Kinney's for the gift provided by the estate. Board members also expressed thanks and noted that the project cost only a third of the library's share of the bequest. They expressed satisfaction with the current project and stated that any future spending of the gift should follow the same thorough planning.
Finally, Kay Kinney addressed the group, thanking the library board for their stewardship and emphasizing how much the Young's valued the library's service to kids and the community. (She and her husband arrived at the library during peak kid time and were happy to see the library full of children--knowing how that would have pleased the Youngs.)
Read more about the Youngs and their awesome gift on Albany Patch
http://albany.patch.com/articles/elderly-albany-couple-leave-bequests-for-high-school-sports-public-library
http://albany.patch.com/articles/the-youngs-were-avid-walkers-travelers-and-59-year-residents-of-albany
