[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E424-E425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE MONTCLAIR PUBLIC LIBRARY'S 125TH ANNIVERSARY

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 10, 2018

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Montclair 
Public Library, located in the Township of Montclair, New Jersey, on 
the occasion of its 125th Anniversary.
  In 1869, Israel Crane and his wife invited friends and neighbors to 
organize a subscription library collection of about one hundred books. 
There were 30 participating families. The collection was housed under 
the counter at Betzler's Drug Store on Bloomfield Avenue (then called 
Main), near the Presbyterian Church (now the site of the Hinck 
Building). The books were moved to the Pillsbury Building, also located 
on Bloomfield Avenue, and the library obtained a charter as the 
Montclair Library Association.
  The Montclair Library Association built a wood framed building on the 
east side of South Fullerton Avenue near Bloomfield Avenue, for $1,700 
in 1871. The Montclair Library Association was incorporated. The 
Association's building burned down during a raging blizzard on February 
28, 1880. Amazingly, most of the 2,192 books were saved, moved, and 
issued from Central School at Church Street and Valley Road for several 
years.
  Following New Jersey State legislation in 1890 authorizing the 
establishment of free public libraries, Montclair citizens voted on 
April 11, 1893 to establish a public, tax supported library. Funds and 
books from the Montclair Library Association were turned over to the 
newly established Montclair Free Public Library, which served all of 
Montclair's 8,656 residents. Its first quarters were 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 from 1893 to 1897. Coincidentally, 
Dr. Love's home was located at 50 South Fullerton Avenue, the current 
site of the Main Library.
  The library was moved to an abandoned inn called the Munn Tavern, 
bought for about $5,000 and renovated for an additional $1,000 in 1898. 
The Munn Tavern, which still stands today, was later moved back from 
the road and is now part of the Evangelical Covenant Church at 17 
Valley Road.
  The first Branch Library was a rented room in the real estate office 
of John Mancini on Bellevue Avenue, near the train station, in 1899. 
Three hundred and fifty books from the Main Library formed the basis of 
this collection.
  In 1902, the Carnegie Corporation gave $40,000 to Montclair to fund 
the construction of a library. After 35 years and six different 
locations, Montclair Public Library had its first purpose-built library 
building on the former site of the Munn Tavern, which was built in 
1904. The library at 73 Church Street served as the Main Library for 50 
years. This building is now

[[Page E425]]

part of the Unitarian Church, located at the intersection of Valley 
Road and Church Street.
  The Carnegie Corporation gave Montclair a second sum of $40,000 for 
the construction of the Bellevue Avenue Branch. The Bellevue Avenue 
Branch Library opened on December 26, 1914. The original design of the 
building remains intact today.
  In February 1942, Montclair Public Library became the first public 
library in the United States to have a computerized circulation system. 
The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) designed the 
Library's first ever punch card data processing system and equipment to 
record the loan and return of books. Librarians from all over the world 
visited Montclair to witness this pioneering venture.
  Having outgrown the library building on Church Street, its home for 
50 years, a new Main Library was built in 1955. The Davella Mills 
Foundation donated the former site of Dr. Love's home at 50 South 
Fullerton Avenue as the site for the new library building. They also 
contributed $250,000 toward the $800,000 construction cost.
  The Montclair Public Library began community outreach in 1969 with 
bookmobiles in parks, playgrounds and on neighborhood street corners. 
Library use jumped 40 percent in two years as a result.
  Neighborhood Information Center Helps Everyone (NICHE) was initiated 
as a federally funded community information and referral service in 
1974. The goal of NICHE was to provide information as a catalyst for 
social change. It existed in a storefront at 375 Bloomfield Avenue from 
1974 to 1977 and was fully incorporated into Montclair Public Library 
in 1979.
  The Montclair Public Library was named one of the top five libraries 
in the nation by Library Journal in 2002. The Library also received the 
Bessie Bohme Moore Award for services to seniors in that year. 
Simultaneously, the Montclair Public Library Foundation was established 
to develop new financial resources exclusively for Montclair Public 
Library.
  In 2004, the Montclair Public Library celebrated the Centennial 
anniversary of its first purpose built public library building on 
Church Street, the Library's home for 50 years until a new building was 
erected on its current site at 50 South Fullerton Avenue in 1954. The 
Centennial was an opportunity to renew community appreciation for 
Montclair Public Library's rich history and revitalize interest in 
Library assets.
  The library has been in integral part of the greater Montclair 
community and has exceeded its mission to change lives every day 
through words, ideas and community connections.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in 
congratulating the Montclair Public Library on the occasion of its 
125th Anniversary.

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