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7:00 pm
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New Jersey has some architectural and resource-rich libraries with one of them here in Morristown and another a short drive away in Newark! Ever since the Rev. Abraham Pierson of Bradford, Conn., brought his collection of 400 books to Newark in 1666, Newark has had libraries. At first attached to churches and schools, these private libraries catered to specific audiences for specific purposes; they were not open to all. However, in 1887, the citizens of Newark voted overwhelmingly to establish a free public library, the Newark Public Library, which became the seventh in the State of New Jersey. Since then, trustees, directors, and staff members have contributed to the overall success of the library through their dedication to its services and its collections. They have done so at the main library on Washington Street, built in 1901, and at the various branches constructed across the city in the 1920s. A legacy, consisting of dedicated librarians and clerks, who provide excellent services and inspiring programs, based on unique collections, has been maintained with strong community support for over a century and a third. William Peniston has written a new book on the NPL, full of images and history of the famed institution.
The Morristown & Morris Township Library started as a member-lending, private library in 1792, had a spectacular building on South Street in the 19th century, only to lose that to fire in the early twentieth. That led to the building currently at South Street and Miller Road, funded by a local benefactor that is part of the library we know and love today.
William A. Peniston was the librarian and archivist at the Newark Museum of Art for 25 years (from 1995 to 2021). He was also the archival consultant for the Librariana Collection (the institutional archives) at the Newark Public Library from 2013 to 2014. He is the author of Newark Museum of Art (2023), part of the Images of America series.
This talk will take place in the library’s lower level Meeting Room.
