Newark Public Library
Encyclopedia
The Newark Public Library is the public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...

 system for the city of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

.

History

In 1902 John Cotton Dana
John Cotton Dana
John Cotton Dana was an American librarian and museum director whose main objective was to make the library relevant to the daily lives of the citizens and to promote the benefits of reading...

 became employed at the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

 from until his death in 1929. He established foreign language collections for immigrants and also developed a special collection for the business community. This "Business Branch" was the first of its kind in the nation.

He also founded the Newark Museum
Newark Museum
The Newark Museum is the largest museum in New Jersey, USA. It holds fine collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the ancient world...

 in 1909, directing it until his death. After his death, his successor at the Newark Public Library referred to him as “The First Citizen of Newark”. Six years after his death, the city of Newark appointed October 6, 1935 as John Cotton Dana Day. Rutgers-Newark's main library is named for John Cotton Dana.

Branches

  • Main Library (Downtown
    Downtown Newark
    Downtown Newark is Newark, New Jersey's major central business, retail, and cultural district. It is located at a bend in the Passaic River.Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark. The first settlers, led by Robert Treat, landed not far from the present site of the New...

    )
  • Branch Brook Branch (Forest Hill
    Forest Hill, Newark, New Jersey
    Forest Hill is an affluent pre-World War II neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey's North Ward. It is bounded on the west by Branch Brook Park, on the south by Bloomfield Avenue , and on the east by both Summer and Mt. Prospect Avenues, the neighborhood of Broadway...

    )
  • Clinton Branch (Clinton Hill
    Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey
    Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in South Central, Newark, New Jersey. It is centered at Clinton Avenue, and bounded roughly by Elizabeth Avenue in the east, Hawthorne Avenue in the south, Avon Avenue in the north, and Irvington in the west....

    )
  • First Avenue Branch (Upper Roseville
    Roseville, Newark, New Jersey
    Roseville is a neighborhood in northwestern Newark, New Jersey, bordering Bloomfield and East Orange. To the neighborhood's immediate east is the Newark City Subway and Branch Brook Park...

    )
  • Madison Branch (Clinton Hill
    Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey
    Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in South Central, Newark, New Jersey. It is centered at Clinton Avenue, and bounded roughly by Elizabeth Avenue in the east, Hawthorne Avenue in the south, Avon Avenue in the north, and Irvington in the west....

    )
  • North End Branch (Woodside/North Broadway
    Broadway, Newark, New Jersey
    Broadway is a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. It is located on the west bank of the Passaic River, in Newark's North Ward, east of Forest Hill and north of Seventh Avenue. The neighborhood extends from Interstate 280 to Belleville. The term "Broadway" has only come into use recently, most...

    )
  • Roseville Branch (Lower Roseville
    Roseville, Newark, New Jersey
    Roseville is a neighborhood in northwestern Newark, New Jersey, bordering Bloomfield and East Orange. To the neighborhood's immediate east is the Newark City Subway and Branch Brook Park...

    )
  • Springfield Branch (Springfield/Belmont)
  • Vailsburg Branch (Vailsburg)
  • Van Buren Branch (The Ironbound
    Ironbound
    The Ironbound is a large working-class neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. This close-knit, multi-ethnic community covers approximately four square miles . Historically, the area was called "Dutch Neck," "Down Neck," or simply "the Neck," because of the way the Passaic River curved to form what...

    )
  • Weequahic Branch (Weequahic
    Weequahic, Newark, New Jersey
    Weequahic is a residential neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey's South Ward. It is separated from Clinton Hill by Hawthorne Avenue on the north, and bordered by Hillside Township and the city of Irvington on the west, Newark Liberty International Airport and Dayton on the east, and the city of...

    )

Main Library expansion and renovations

The Main Library is in the midst of a large-scale expansion and renovation project. The project has been split into three phases, the first of which has already been completed. The first phase of the project was designated to revamp the lobby and install new doors to the entrance on Washington Street. The second phase of the project is not yet under way as the capital to finance the project is still being raised. The second phase will include the restoration of Centennial Hall, the reading room on the second floor and the restoration of the Fiction Room and the Auditorium. The third phase is the construction of a glass building at 5 Washington Street, which will include the Charles F. Cumming New Jersey Information Center, the James Brown African American Room, the La Sala Hispanoamericana, world language collections, young adults space, a café, and a meeting room.

Phase One

Phase one included the restoration of windows, repairs to the skylight in the main atrium, new wood doors to the Washington Street entrance, installation of two glass and wood display cases, widening of the entrance, new marble flooring, cleaning of walls and ceilings and floors, a new circulation desk, new shelving and cabinets in the main atrium, the addition of an audio/video room, and new computer terminals.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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