The Montclair 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 ...

for the township of Montclair located in Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States. It serves the residents from two buildings, the Main Library and the Bellevue Avenue Branch. It is a member of the

Bergen County Cooperative Library System The Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS, pronounced "buckles") is a consortium of public libraries in the four northeastern New Jersey Gateway Region counties of Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, and Essex. Founded on October 1, 1979, the o ...

History

The Montclair Public Library had its beginnings with the founding of the Montclair Library Association, a 30-person subscription-based organization started by Israel Crane in 1869. On April 12, 1893, citizens of Montclair voted to establish a free public library. It was housed on the second floor of Dr. John J.H. Love's office at 16 Church Street. Mary F. Weeks served as the first library director, until 1897. An abandoned inn (called Munn Tavern) was purchased and became the new home for the library in 1898. A branch was established in 1899 in a rented room in the real estate office of John Mancini on Bellevue Avenue, near the Upper Montclair train station. The first building constructed solely for the library was completed in 1904 with $40,000 from 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 ...

. This building at 73 Church Street served as the main library for 50 years. This building is now part of the Unitarian Church, located at the intersection of Valley Road and Church Street. In 1913, the Carnegie Corporation gave Montclair a second sum of $40,000 for the construction of the Bellevue Avenue Branch. Designed by the architect

Francis A. Nelson Francis Augustus Nelson (1878–1950) was an American architect from Montclair, New Jersey. Early life and education Francis A. Nelson was born on February 2, 1878, at Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Dr. Henry Clay Nelson, a US Navy surgeon. In 1893 ...

, the branch opened on December 26, 1914. In 1927, Margery Quigley became the sixth director of the library. Her book ''Portrait of a Library'' , co-authored with William Marcus, the library board president, was revolutionary for changing the concept of public libraries from that of a place for quiet reading to that of a dynamic information center. It drew the attention of Director Hans Burger, who developed a film of the same name in 1940, which was distributed by the Museum of Modern Art and shown throughout the world under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State. In February 1942, International Business Machines Corporation (

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

) designed the first ever punch card data processing system for the library, also making the first public library in the United States to have a computerized circulation system. In 1955 the Davella Mills Foundation donated the former site of Dr. Love's home, whose offices served as the first library, as the site for the new library building. They also contributed $250,000 toward the $800,000 construction cost. Designed by Ralph Walker of Voorhees, Walker, Foley and Smith, it was noted for its large glass windows and an absence of internal load bearing walls.Marco (2011), page 287. In 1996 the Main Library closed for an extensive renovation and expansion, reopening a year later. In 2002 it was named one of the top five libraries in the nation by ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

''.

Directors

* Mary F. Weeks (1893–1897) * S. Augusta Smith (1897–1909) * Katherine School (1909–1912) * Helen M. Hereling (1912–1915) * Alta M. Barker (1915–1927) * Margery C. Quigley (1927–1956) * Ruth P. Tubby (1956–1968) * Arthur Curley (1968–1975) * Betty J. Turock (1975–1977) * Phillip M. Clark (1978) * Ellen Foth (acting, December 1978 – April 1979) * Michael L. Connell (1979–1999) * Carol W. Robinson (acting, 1999–2000) * Howard W. Curtis (2000–2001) * Cheryl M. McCoy (acting, 2001; director, 2002–2006) * Mary Lou Skillin (acting, 2006) * David Hinkley (2006–2016) * Peter Coyl (2017–2021) * Janet Torsney (2022–present)

Prominent staff members and trustees

* Margery C. Quigley (1927–1956) library director. Served on ALA Council and executive board, and winner of the 1941 Wilson Publicity Honor Roll * William Elder Marcus Jr. (1921–1946) member of the board of trustees. Recipient of the inaugural 1941 ALA Trustee Citation and author of numerous articles on public library trustees, as well as served on the Library Public Relations Council. * Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreath (1943–1953), member of the Board of Trustees *

Zoia Horn Zoia Markovna Horn (née Polisar; March 14, 1918July 12, 2014) was an American librarian who in 1972 became the first United States librarian to be jailed for refusing to share information as a matter of conscience. Horn, an outspoken member of t ...

(1952–1954) librarian, advocate for intellectual freedom * Arthur Curley (1968–1975), library director, later served as ALA president from 1994 to 1995. * Ella Gaines Yates (1970–1972), assistant director, later served on ALA Executive Board and as president of the

Freedom to Read Foundation The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is an American non-profit anti-censorship organization, established in 1969 by the American Library Association. The organization has been active in First Amendment-based challenges to book removals from librar ...

* Betty J. Turock (1975–1977) library director, later served as ALA president from 1995 to 1996

References

{{Authority control 1869 establishments in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Essex County, New Jersey Carnegie libraries in New Jersey Libraries established in 1869 Montclair, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, New Jersey Public libraries in New Jersey