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LIBRARY HISTORY

Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library History Chronology

• 1861 – First (unofficial) public library is established in Matawan. Located in the Alpha Chi chapter at the Collegiate Institute of Middletown Point (10 Church St.), it contains 387 volumes available for public use. The building was later converted to apartments.
• Ca. 1870 -The Adelphian Society, a debating society of Matawan’s Greenwood Collegiate Institute, owns a modest collection of circulating volumes. (It is likely that most Matawan churches of this era owned similar collections for congregation use.) In addition, the Matawan Literary Society owns a circulating collection of approximately 500 volumes, which are available only to its members. The latter collection is hosted in various locations in town, including Spader’s Hall on Main Street.
• Ca. 1901 – A reading room is created by “those interested in a Y.M.C.A. and a library” in one of the stores in the old Matawan Commercial Block.
• 1901 – First efforts to secure a Carnegie library. The Carnegie Foundation agrees, provided the town puts up $1,000 per year for support, but the deal falls through.
• 1902 – New Jersey free public library law passes, establishing a statewide property tax devoted to library funding. It proves to be an onerous process for Matawan, as the question of residents being taxed requires approval via local referendum, which first has to be approved by the Borough Council.
• 1903 - First official Matawan Free Public Library opens in the former location of the railroad express office on Main Street; building owner James L. Terhune donates the use of the property. The new library is open seven hours a week, and is staffed only by volunteers. The original library collection is established using the Matawan Literary Society’s holdings as a nucleus, and is augmented by 2,500 books from the private collection of Matawan Journal publisher Benjamin. F.S. Brown (1858-1920) and from the Y.M.C.A., Sunday schools and townspeople. At that time, title lists were often published in the paper. Statistics (submitted by the Library Board of Trustees) on circulation, number of borrowers, and holdings are also published.
• 1909 - The library collection has expanded to around 3,600 titles.
• 1912 – First monies are raised for library improvement/expansion via a benefit talent show. Library board publishes semi-regular editorials in the Matawan Journal advocating for further funding on a more consistent basis.
• 1914 – Library board forms a committee to begin the process of gathering additional funding to add to an $800 nucleus. Funds to be used to purchase lot, construct building.
• 1915 - The library is gifted with a selection of books from the Matawan Military Academy (formerly Collegiate Institute of Middletown Point, original site of the library). The school had been forced to close due to competition from the local public high schools.
• 1916 – Library closes for several months due to influenza epidemic.
• 1918 - The Terhune Building, which had housed the library since 1903, is sold; library is temporarily relocated to a building next to the post office owned by Anthony Rapolla.
• Ca. 1920 - Matawan Journal publisher Benjamin F. S. Brown purchases a substantial circulating library collection from Asbury Park, which is added to the library’s holdings. Brown serves as president of the library’s board of trustees until his death in 1920. His daughter J. Mabel Brown is elected to the board and succeeds her father as board president, serving for approximately 40 years.
• 1920 – Rapolla’s building is torn down, forcing library to again relocate. $1,000 is raised to move the library to a permanent site (its current location). Further improvements are set to be made at a cost of “no more than $100/year.”
• 1921 – Matawan Free Public Library moves to a “small cottage” located at the corner of Park and Main Streets. The cottage, built by Garret Conover in 1830, is purchased for the sum of $4,850 using both private and public funds. The property had originally been used as a house and store, and was owned by H.H. Longstreet, who would only sell if property was designated for the library. The Matawan Borough donates $1,500 towards the purchase of the building dictating that it would be used for library purposes only.
• 1922 – May Bergen Dominick is named as town librarian.
• 1928 – Improvements to the library include a new entrance porch and shrubbery donated by the Woman’s Club. Other public groups also solicit donations for outdoor beautification of building.
• 1931 – Library closes for several months for renovations. Improvements include rewiring and painting.
• 1934 – Matawan Township agrees to issue an annual appropriation to the Borough for library maintenance and operations.
• 1935 – Discussion on further renovation proposals begins, with no resolution. Library creates circulating picture collection to be used for classroom/educational purposes. As the year draws to a close, a WPA-funded upgrading project begins. The project includes book repair, creation of local history scrapbooks, mounting of photos (for instructional purposes), indexing/cataloging and shelf-listing.
• 1936 – Matawan Township begins sharing library access with Matawan Borough, sets up Cliffwood branch in the Cliffwood School.
• 1938 – Library receives WPA funding for collections and repairs.
• 1962 - Borough and Township form a joint library, and by 1967 a new 2,800 square foot library is opened on the current site.
• 1963 - Town Librarian May Dominick steps down; public referendum creates the Joint Free Public Library of Matawan.
• 1967 – Sarah Volz is named as director of the library
• 1968 – Staff includes two professional librarians, five full-time assistants, two part-time assistants, two pages.
• 1969 – The library adds a collection of 96 LP records and a stereo with listening jacks (this is not available in present day).
• 1971 – The library’s children’s wing opens, adding an additional 2,000 square feet to the building (including a basement). The wing is named the J. Mabel Brown Children’s Wing.
• 1977 – Friends of the library donate funds for purchase of a dollhouse to be added to the Children’s Room.
• 1985 – Susan Pike is named as Library Director; two-story addition constructed, adding 4,000 square feet to the building. Library becomes a member of the Region Five Library Cooperative.*
• 1986 – Director Susan Pike dedicates the library addition.
• 1990 – Library collection consists of approximately 62,000 books and audio tapes, and approximately 150 print periodicals.
• 1998 – Library announces conversion to online catalog from existing card catalog system. The project will also provide three public computers with Internet access. The project is paid for in part by a state grant and matching funds from the Borough of Matawan and Township of Aberdeen.
• 2010 – Kimberly Paone is named as Library Director.
• 2011 – The library’s balcony area is renovated with a substantial donations from the Friends of the Library. The library’s first Teen Space is created.
• 2013 - The library basement is renovated to include a larger meeting room, a staff room, restroom and storage for both the library and Friends book sale materials.
• 2015 – The library’s reference area is reconfigured to accommodate a computer assistance desk and additional seating. The children’s room is reconfigured and rejuvenated, and the building’s interior receives fresh paint and new flooring throughout.
• 2019 – Current library staff stands at 5 full-time employees, 22 part-time employees. Current square footage is 9,880, and holdings include 79,124 physical items and 76,381 electronic items.

*In 1983, the New Jersey Library Network Law mandated a statewide library membership organization that linked over 2,500 libraries via regional cooperatives; the network was funded via a state tax. Matawan Aberdeen Public library became a member of the Central Jersey (Region Five) Cooperative, which included Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer Counties. These library cooperatives greatly improved and equalized access to information resources for New Jersey residents, and initiated many of the benefits and services in use today, including:

• Resource sharing and delivery systems
• Updated technology
• Professional education for library staff
• Statewide library planning and advocacy

Directors/Librarians

Prior to the concept of a library director, such establishments generally were operated under the auspices of a “town librarian” under the supervision of a Board of Directors/Board of Trustees.

• 1903 - Edith Johnson, Librarian
• 1909 - Harriet Bray, Librarian
• 1911 - Ida Slater, Librarian
• 1922-1963 - May Bergen Dominick, Librarian
• 1963 - Genevieve Shafto, acting director/librarian
• 1967 - Sarah Volz, Library Director
• Rosemary Librizzi, Library Director
• Ca. 1977 - Dolores McKeough, Library Director
• 1985 - Susan Pike, Library Director
• 2010-present - Kimberly Paone, Library Director

Links

Benjamin Brown Biography

1985 - Addition + Renovation Information

The Joint Free Public Library of Matawan
By Nancy Willbourn (former Senior Library Assistant)