The Belmar Public Library is the

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

Belmar, New Jersey Belmar is a Borough (New Jersey), borough located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,907, an increase of 113 ...

located at 517 10th Avenue. The library circulates about 15,000 items annually from its collection of 32,000 volumes. The

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

town in 2010 had year-round population of about 6,000. The library is one of New Jersey's original thirty-six Carnegie libraries. The library is located at the corner of E Street and 10th Avenue in Belmar, two names later made famous by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

and resulting in a large replica of Springsteen's

Fender Esquire The Fender Esquire is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Los Angeles. It was the first solid-bodied guitar marketed by the company, and made its debut in 1950.. Early development Proto ...

guitar being placed there.

Carnegie library

Founding

Started by a women's group, the first Belmar Library opened on Sept. 23, 1911, and saw several different locations as it expanded. It has stood at 10th Avenue and E Street since Dec. 4, 1914. The current building is one of New Jersey's original thirty-six Carnegie libraries, constructed with a grant of $13,000 made the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

, still in use. Its design and layout by Edward Lippincott Tilton, who had also done

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

, so impressed

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, that he suggested it be used a model for and many other Carnegie libraries constructions. The current library building occupies 1,800 square feet in the upstairs portion, and about 900 square feet in the lower level media room. In 1935, the centennial of his Carnegie's birth, a copy of the portrait of him originally painted by F. Luis Mora was given to the library.

E Street

In July 2011, an eight-foot high replica of

's legendary

guitar was placed on the library grounds at E Street and 10th Avenue, not far from where

member

David Sancious David Sancious (born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on '' Human Touch'' (1992), '' Tr ...

lived in the 1970s.

References

{{Reflist, 33em Library buildings completed in 1914 Carnegie libraries in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey Education in Monmouth County, New Jersey Belmar, New Jersey

Carnegie library

Founding

E Street

See also

References