'Birthday Gift' For The John Jermain

The John Jermain Library has received its single largest gift since Margaret Olivia Sage, the second wife of the millionaire philanthropist Russell Sage, donated the money to build it in 1910. A longtime supporter of the John Jermain, Jeanette Wagner of Glover Street, Sag Harbor, and New York, gave the library a check for $100,000 during a marathon reading Saturday of John Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley." The donation, a gift on behalf of the 80th birthday of her husband, Paul Wagner, is to be used for children's books and programs.

"One hundred thousand dollars is a lot of books," Jim Ashe, director of the library, said yesterday. He expects the money will be used not only for books, but also to redo the entrance to the children's room and provide air conditioning.