The Newark Public Library (NPL) is a public library system in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

. The library system offers numerous programs and events to its diverse population. With eight different locations, the Newark Public Library serves as a Statewide Reference Center. The Newark Public Library is the

public library A public library is a 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 service, civil servants. There are ...

system for the city of Newark, Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, United States. Currently, the library system boasts an enormous collection of both art and literature, art and history exhibits, a variety of programs for all ages, and much more.

Locations

The First Avenue Branch, located in upper Roseville, and the Madison Branch, located in Clinton Hill, closed down on August 27, 2010, due to budget cuts. The Roseville Branch, located in lower Roseville, is temporarily closed. The Clinton Branch, located on Bergen Street is permanently closed due to building conditions.

History

The historic Newark Public Library traces its beginnings to the Newark Library Association, a private organization that was chartered in 1847. In 1887, the people of Newark approved the founding of a Free Public Library. The first director of the library was

Frank Pierce Hill Frank Pierce Hill (August 22, 1855 – August 25, 1941) was an American librarian. Biography Frank Pierce Hill was born in Concord, New Hampshire on August 22, 1855. He served as president of the American Library Association from 1905 to 1906, a ...

. The Newark 'Free Public Library opened on West Park Street in the central ward of downtown Newark in 1889 and offered a collection of over 10,000 books which had been acquired from the Newark Library Association. Over time, the influx of more books and an increasing population necessitated the construction of a new building at 5 Washington Street, the current location of the main branch of the Newark Public Library. An architectural marvel, the new building, designed by Rankin and Kellogg, was influenced by the 15th century

Palazzo Strozzi Palazzo Strozzi is a palace in Florence, Italy. History The construction of the palace was begun in 1489 by Benedetto da Maiano, for Filippo Strozzi the Elder, a rival of the Medici who had returned to the city in November 1466 and desired th ...

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. The library also served as a museum, lecture hall, and a gallery. In 1902,

John Cotton Dana John Cotton Dana (born August 19, 1856, in Woodstock, Vermont – died July 21, 1929, in Newark, New Jersey) was an American library and museum director who sought to make these cultural institutions relevant to the daily lives of citizens. As ...

succeeded

to become the director of the library. John Cotton Dana greatly promoted the educational value of the library. For example, he established foreign language collections for immigrants and even developed a special collection for the business community. This "Business Branch" was the first of its kind in the nation.

was employed at the Newark Public Library in

until his death in 1929. John Cotton Dana also founded the

Newark Museum The Newark Museum of Art (formerly known as the Newark Museum), in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, A ...

in 1909, inside the library, directing it until his death. After the death of Dana in 1929, the library continued to thrive.

Beatrice Winser Beatrice Winser (March 11, 1869 – September 14, 1947) was an American librarian. She spent 53 years at the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey and was its third librarian, from 1929 to 1942. Early life Winser was the eldest child of ...

took over as director of the library and

until 1942. In 1930, the library had a book truck which brought books to children throughout Newark. In 1929, the library's New Jersey Collection was founded, which later became The Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center. The CFCNJIC became a separate Library department in 1951. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, the library continued to grow under the leadership of John Boyleton Kaiser (1943-1958), James E. “Ned” Bryan (1958-1972), J. Bernard Schein (1972-1977), William Urban (1977-1979), Thomas J. Alrutz (1979-1988), Alex Boyd (1988-2004), Wilma Grey (2005-2015), Jeffrey Trzeciak (2017-2019), Joslyn Bowling Dixon (2020–present) and others. In 1963 the library became a Federal Regional Depository. In 1989, the library opened what is now the James Brown African American Room to "generate and maintain an appreciation of African American history and culture". Also in 1989, La Sala was established with the "largest collection of Spanish–language library resources in New Jersey. In 2002, The Newark Public Library partnered with a Latino community group, the Friends the Hispanic Research Information Center (HRIC), to create the New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center (NJHRIC). In 2018, the library launched a digital collection at http://digital.npl.org.

Main Library Departments

* The Reference Center provides information on all subjects. This division serves as the statewide reference center for libraries researching art, business, music, patents and trademarks, and U.S. government documents questions. * The Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center provides New Jersey reference. It is home to many unique collections on Newark and NJ including books, photographs, microfilm and archives. * The New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center consists of La Sala Hispanoamericana, the state's largest collection of Spanish Language books, the Hispanic Reference Collection, and the Puerto Rican Community Archives. * Special Collections includes graphic and visual arts collections as diverse as fine prints, medieval manuscripts and shopping bags. * The James Brown African American Room was established to "document, preserve and foster the history, culture and literary achievements of African Americans". * Other spaces in the main branch include the Children's Room, Teen Room, LGBTQ Center, and Special Services Room. *The Philip Roth Room opened in 2020.

Architecture

The four–story Italian Renaissance-inspired Main Library building was designed by John Hall Rankin and Thomas M. Kellogg, drawing inspiration from the 15th century Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy. Their intentions were to have the building not only serve as a library, but also as a museum, lecture hall, and gallery, that would provide cultural, as well as educational experiences in an aesthetically pleasing environment. The building structure includes an open center court/foyer with arches and mosaics that extended upward to a stained glass ceiling four stories high.

Administration

On July 9, 2020, the librar
announced the appointment
of a new library director, Joslyn Bowling Dixon. Ms. Dixon began her role as library director on August 3, 2020.

Board of Trustees

As of January 2021: * Dr. Lauren Wells, ''President'' * Dr. Anasa Maat, ''Vice President'' * Dr. Rosemary Steinbaum, ''Secretary'' * Dr. Timothy J. Crist, ''Treasurer'' * Ms. Antoinette Richardson (''Alternate for Ras J. Baraka, Mayor of Newark)'' * Ms. Nicole Johnson (''Alternate for Roger León, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools)'' * Mr. Miguel Rodriguez * Mr. Domingo Morel * Mr. Hassan Abdus-Sabur

Main Library expansion and renovations

The Main Library has been renovated many times since its founding. In 1922 and 1931 additions was completed. In 1927, a mural was painted on the 2nd floor - ''The Fountain of Knowledge'' - this mural still exists today. In 1949 a 10,000 square foot maintenance building was added. In 1952, a $1,500,000 renovation project modernized the building including covering the 2nd floor mural. From 1987 to 1888 another renovation took place—restoring the mural. In 2006, renovations were carried out in the lobby, including new front doors. In 2010-2011 projects included new carpeting and painting. In 2016, author

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

donated his book collection to the library. The Philip Roth room opened in 2020.

Special Programs

Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers

After being selected by the Association of American College & Universities (AAC&U) to partake in the implementation of a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) campus centers, Rutgers University-Newark partnered with the Newark Public Library to aid in the development of the program. The AAC&U selected 10 universities to implement these programs and provided each a grant of $30,000. The goal is to bring to light the issues regarding racial inequality in diverse cities like Newark. Though selected in August 2017, the programs began on January 17th, 2017 at the Newark Public Library and include events that addressed DACA and the Charlottesville Riots and used spoken word poetry and art as mediums.

Philip Roth Lectures

Since 2016, the Newark Library has hosted an annual Philip Roth Lecture. Speakers have included

Zadie Smith Zadie Smith FRSL (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She has been a tenured professor ...

Robert Caro Robert Allan Caro (born October 30, 1935) is an American journalist and author known for his biographies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson. After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote '' The Power ...

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and W ...

Sean Wilentz Robert Sean Wilentz (; born February 20, 1951) is the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979. His primary research interests include U.S. social and political history in the ...

, Tracy K. Smith, and Ayad Akhtar.

References

External links

Newark Public LibraryDigital collection
{{authority control Public libraries in New Jersey Beaux-Arts architecture in New Jersey Education in Newark, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Essex County, New Jersey Historic district contributing properties in Newark, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Newark, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Non-profit organizations based in New Jersey Culture of Newark, New Jersey