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Newark Public Library

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The Newark Public Library
Map
LocationNewark, New Jersey, USA
Established1847 Edit this on Wikidata
Branches9
Collection
Size1,691,042
Access and use
Circulation164,022[1]
Population served281,402
Members72,605[2]
Other information
Budget$11,351,129[1]
DirectorJoe Keenan (Interim)
Employees98[3]
Websitewww.npl.org
James Street Commons Historic District
Newark Public Library is located in Essex County, New Jersey
Newark Public Library
NRHP reference No.78001758[4]
NJRHP No.1275[5]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJanuary 9, 1978
Designated NJRHPFebruary 10, 1977

The Newark Public Library is the public library system for the city of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States.

History

In 1902 John Cotton Dana became employed at the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey 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 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 expansion and renovations

As of 2006, the Main Library is in the midst of a large-scale expansion and renovation project.[8] 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.

References

  1. ^ a b Annual Report 2014. The Newark Public Library. http://www.npl.org/Pages/AboutLibrary/AnnualReport_2014.pdf
  2. ^ Annual Report 2006. The Newark Public Library.
  3. ^ IMLS Harvester. https://harvester.census.gov/imlscompare/LibraryDetail.asp?LibraryPrimaryKey=NJ0122
  4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Essex County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. January 10, 2010. p. 3. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  6. ^ "City Budget Crisis Takes its Toll on Newark Public Library" (PDF). Newark Public Library. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  7. ^ "City Budget Crisis Takes its Toll on Newark Public Library" (PDF). Newark Public Library. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Newark Library Reveals Gleaming New Lobby". Newark Public Library. February 8, 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2015.

Further reading

  • Ellen M. Pozzi (2013). "Going to 'America': Italian Neighborhoods and the Newark Free Public Library, 1900–1920". In Christine Pawley; Louise S. Robbins (eds.). Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America. Print Culture History in Modern America. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0299293238. {{cite book}}: External link in |series= (help)