List of Carnegie libraries in New Jersey
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The following list of Carnegie libraries in New Jersey provides information on United States Carnegie libraries in New Jersey, where 36 libraries were built from grants totaling $1,066,553 awarded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1900 to 1917. There are 17 municipal libraries with Carnegie buildings still in operation as public libraries (*).[1][2][3] Two have become academic libraries.
Building still operating as a library
Building standing, but now serving another purpose
Building no longer standing
Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Building contributes to a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places
Carnegie libraries
| Library | Municipality | Image | Date granted[4] |
Grant amount[4][5] |
Location | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlantic City | Atlantic City |  |
Jan 22, 1903 | $71,075 | 35 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. | Formerly part of Stockton University, now owned by Atlantic City |
| 2 | Avon | Avon-by-the-Sea | May 15, 1916 | $5,000 | *Avon Public Library[1] | ||
| 3 | Bayonne | Bayonne |  |
Apr 13, 1903 | $83,000 | 697 Avenue C | Bayonne Public Library |
| 4 | Belleville | Belleville |  |
Apr 28, 1909 | $20,000 | ||
| 5 | Belmar | Belmar | Jan 14, 1914 | $13,000 | |||
| 6 | Caldwell | Caldwell | Jan 8, 1908 | $10,000 | *Caldwell Public Library[6][7] | ||
| 7 | Camden Main | Camden |  |
Jan 2, 1903 | $120,000 | 616 Broadway | Closed in 1986 |
| 8 | Camden Cooper | Camden |  |
Jan 2, 1903 | — | Now part of Rutgers–Camden | |
| 9 | Camden East Camden | Camden | Jan 2, 1903 | — | Razed[8] | ||
| 10 | Collingswood | Collingswood | Jan 5, 1916 | $15,000 | Razed[8] | ||
| 11 | Cranford | Cranford | Jan 20, 1908 | $10,000 | Razed[8] 1962[9] | ||
| 12 | East Orange Main | East Orange | Jan 18, 1900 | $116,000 | 291 Main Street | Now East Orange Municipal Court | |
| 13 | East Orange Elmwood | East Orange | Jan 18, 1900 | — | |||
| 14 | East Orange Franklin | East Orange | Jan 18, 1900 | — | |||
| 15 | Edgewater | Edgewater |  |
Mar 16, 1915 | $15,000 | 49 Hudson Ave. | Listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places in 2009 |
| 16 | Elizabeth Main | Elizabeth |  |
Feb 3, 1910 | $130,810 | ||
| 17 | Elizabeth Liberty Square | Elizabeth | Feb 3, 1910 | — | 240 Elizabeth Ave. | Now a senior citizen center | |
| 18 | Englewood | Englewood | Jul 9, 1913 | $25,000 | Office building[8] | ||
| 19 | Freehold | Freehold |  |
Mar 27, 1903 | $11,000 | 28+1⁄2 East Main Street | Independent municipal library. Undergoing renovation (ADA improvements, new interior spaces, mechanicals, roof, etc.) in 2023. |
| 20 | Kearny | Kearny |  |
Jan 16, 1906 | $27,600 | 318 Kearny Ave. | |
| 21 | Lakewood | Lakewood | Feb 3, 1917 | $12,500 | |||
| 22 | Little Falls | Little Falls | Apr 3, 1917 | $10,000 | Razed[8] | ||
| 23 | Long Branch | Long Branch | Feb 3, 1917 | $30,000 | *Long Branch Free Public Library[10] | ||
| 24 | Montclair Bellevue | Montclair |  |
Mar 8, 1901 | $60,000 | 185 Bellevue Ave. | Opened December 26, 1914[11]
Francis Augustus Nelson, Architect |
| 25 | Montclair Montclair | Montclair | Mar 8, 1901 | — | 73 Church St. | Building used as Unitarian Church[12] | |
| 26 | New Brunswick | New Brunswick |  |
Mar 14, 1902 | $52,500 | *New Brunswick Free Public Library[13] | |
| 27 | Nutley | Nutley | Feb 13, 1913 | $20,000 | *Nutley Public Library[14] | ||
| 28 | Orange | Orange |  |
Apr 19, 1915 | $1,500 | 348 Main St. | The grant was for the purchase of a new library branch.[15] |
| 29 | Perth Amboy | Perth Amboy |  |
Mar 8, 1901 | $50,450 | 196 Jefferson Street | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2025.[16] |
| 30 | Plainfield | Plainfield | Feb 7, 1911 | $50,000 | Razed[8] | ||
| 31 | Summit | Summit | Feb 1, 1909 | $21,000 | Razed[8] Replaced by newer Summit Public Library in 1964[17] | ||
| 32 | Union | Union Hill |  |
Feb 5, 1904 | $25,000 | *Union City Public Library[18] Union City | |
| 33 | Verona | Verona | Mar 31, 1916 | $11,000 | *Verona Public Library[19][20] | ||
| 34 | Vineland | Vineland | Feb 2, 1903 | $12,000 | Senior center[8][21] | ||
| 35 | West Hoboken | West Hoboken |  |
Feb 4, 1902 | $25,000 | 420 15th St. | William Musto Cultural Center[22][23] Union City |
| 36 | Westfield | Westfield | Dec 30, 1904 | $15,000 | 266 E. Broad St. | Library relocated 1954,[24][25] now a business complex |
History
A few of the first public libraries created in New Jersey date back to the mid-eighteenth century, more than twenty of which were established and operational by 1800. When the New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) was founded in 1890, upwards of fifty-seven public libraries were established and operating statewide. In 1900, New Jersey state legislature created the Public Library Commission (PLC) as a method to provide support for public libraries.[26] Around this same time, Andrew Carnegie was in the process of assisting communities all across the United States in building, staffing, and providing support for public libraries. During his mission, Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to the construction and operation of thousands of libraries for "the improvement of mankind."[27]
Due in part to his contributions, New Jersey acquired two hundred and three new libraries in those twenty years, bringing the total number of operational public libraries in New Jersey from one hundred and two in 1901 to three hundred and twenty-five in 1920.[26] The state of New Jersey was allocated $1,066,935 across twenty nine communities, which ranked New Jersey as the number eleven state in terms of the number of communities assisted by Andrew Carnegie's donations. The communities that were assisted ranged from large cities to small towns and contained a diverse selection on economic backgrounds. In these twenty-nine communities, there were twenty-nine main libraries built as well as an additional six branch libraries. At this time, New Jersey as was the sixteenth most populated state and only received fourteen percent of the total granted donated by Andrew Carnegie.[26]
