Windfall Of State Funds Coming For Belleville Library: See The Plan

BELLEVILLE, NJ — A windfall of $150,000 in state funding will help the 111-year-old Belleville Public Library and Information Center to make some much-needed updates, officials recently announced.

The Belleville library is among dozens across New Jersey that will get a combined $37 million in new state funding under the Library Construction Bond Act. The act was passed by voter referendum in 2017, and aims to construct, expand and equip public libraries in New Jersey.

Municipalities or the counties that fund public libraries have pledged to match the grant amounts.

• See related article: NJ Will Give Belleville, Nutley Libraries $434K In State Funds

The Belleville library – which was built in 1910 with donations from Andrew Carnegie – will be using the money to replace eight monumental windows in the stack room and the reference area, which coincidentally is known as the Carnegie Room.

The funds will also be used to replace the library’s roof, Interim Director Frances Bacardi said.

“This funding will allow us to address some much-needed upgrades,” Bacardi said. “The plan is to select replacement windows that match the windows in the hallway. We are bringing the two parts of the building together: the modern, clean lines of the outside room and the classic look of the Carnegie and stacks rooms.”

The library was built with a $20,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation, but it has undergone several changes and seen various additions over the past 111 years.

Administrators said notable changes came in the early 1990s, spearheaded by late library trustee James J. Cozzarelli Jr. To bring Cozzarelli’s vision to life, the library commissioned a series of paintings of winged stallions, ferocious dragons and daring heroes for the Carnegie Room’s ceiling.

Library administrators said the facility has evolved into something larger than a place to check out a book or read a newspaper. For example, the library now offers a wide array of programs ranging from classes for English language learners, to chess clubs for teens, to “parachute play” for preschoolers.

The library also has laptops and printers available for patrons, which have been popular, administrators said.

“The Belleville Public Library and Information Center is in many ways the heart of the community,” said Renato Peralta, president of the library’s board of trustees.

“We prioritize meeting the needs of the residents, which means capital improvements aren’t always possible,” Peralta said. “This state funding will help us continue to serve the community and continue to make the library a vibrant and vital part of the lives of the people of Belleville.”

• See related article: Belleville Library Is Now Part Of Large, North Jersey Network

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