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New Milford Public Library

Mission Statement:

The mission of the NEW MILFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY is to provide library resources and services to meet the evolving educational, recreational and informational needs of the community. The Library supplies free, open and equal access to ideas and information to all members of the community.

Adopted by the NEW MILFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY Board of Trustees – September 2004

Library History:

The first library in New Milford was organized in 1936 by a PTA Committee. It began with 75 $1.00 subscriptions and was housed in the Old Borough Hall on Center Street. In 1937 the library moved to a one room 22’ by 24’, uninsulated, and unheated building on River Road and Demarest Avenue. The library was staffed by five volunteers and was open two days a week from 3-5pm and 7-9pm. Alice Casey became the first paid librarian.

The late forties were a period of rapid growth in New Milford and library usage increased dramatically. The borough began to pay some bills including the librarian’s salaries. In 1947 the "Build a Better Community Committee" of the Women’s Club and the Library Board of Trustees formed a coordinating committee for a library expansion. $5,000 was allocated from the Borough Budget for materials and supplies.

In 1951 a new wing was added and the building was insulated and heated. Once again the library had difficulty keeping up with the burgeoning population and another addition was completed in 1960. A referendum to municipalize was passed in 1964.

In 1959 the New Milford Public Library with five other libraries formed the Mid-Bergen Federation of Libraries.

In 1984 New Milford joined other Bergen County libraries to begin an automation project which would link them together for reciprocal borrowing. New Milford Public Library went on-line in 1987 – the second library in Bergen County to do so.

In 1989 the Board of Education offered Williams School to the Borough for a new library. Construction began in June of 1990 and the New Milford Public Library moved to its present location, 200 Dahlia Avenue, in July 1991.

Today New Milford residents borrow over 180,000 books, DVDs, CDs and other library items annually and more than 9,000 of the Borough’s residents have library cards. A New Milford library card gives our residents access to 74 different libraries, 29 research and educational databases (including the New York Times), and over 5 million library items through our membership in the Bergen County Cooperative Library System ("Buckles" http://www.bccls.org). Beginning in 2007 Sunday afternoon hours were added and New Milford residents were able to use their library 7 days a week.

The Library Board of Trustees meet on the third Thursday of the month excluding July and August at 4:30pm in the Director’s office.