2017 Village Award Winner: Frank Collerius
Off the Grid is highlighting the 2017 Village Awards winners in the lead up to the June 6th Annual Meeting & Award Ceremony. Click here for more information about the event and to RSVP. Read about other awardees here.
Frank Collerius has been the branch manager of the Jefferson Market Library (JML) since 1999. Frank has truly succeeded in making this beloved landmark very much a living breathing component of the neighborhood, teeming with activity that resonates throughout Greenwich Village.
Under Frank’s management, the JML has become one of the most creative and proactive libraries in the New York Public Library system. He helped design and implement a wide range of programming that has both engaged and educated the community. Among the many successful programs he implemented, one of the standouts is the “JMU,” or “Jefferson Market University.” Going beyond the standard curriculum of library education (self-help, computer training, tax prep, etc.), JMU draws on the community talent of volunteer teachers to offer classes in subjects such as Shakespeare, Proust, The Civil War, Drawing, Italian Film, the Nature of Evil, and many other subjects that would be more common in a private university than a public library.
Frank’s motto is “just say yes!” and he is fond of saying “there’s always something new to find and offer,” and he has made sure that JML lives up to these aphorisms. On top of the JMU, Frank has also instituted GED and ESL classes, The Jefferson Market Players Theater, The Little Underground Gallery, Your Village, Your Story: Greenwich Village Oral History Project, The Greenwich Village Ephemera Project, and The Urban Explorers Group. And the list of activities and offerings keep growing! For GVSHP, Frank and JML have been strong allies in our fight to preserve the neighborhood, offering not only support in reaching out to the community, but also space to host some of our many free, public programs throughout the year.
GVSHP is honored to present Frank Collerius with a 2017 Village Award. Please join us as we honor him on June 6th.