RED BANK: LIBRARY TO MARK A CENTENNIAL
The library has been based in the former West Front Street home of Sigmund and Bertha Eisner since 1937. Below, the 1880 catalogue of the original Red Bank Mutual Library, started in a Broad Street clothing store, listed only 144 books. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
For years before it was given a magnificent home overlooking the Navesink River, and decades before it was “public,” Red Bank’s library was a hand-to-mouth membership operation kept alive by scrappy volunteers.
That changed 100 years ago next month, when borough voters approved a referendum to make the institution both a publicly owned asset and free to users. In the process, the town joined a wave in which access to information was being “democratized,” said Barbara Pickell, local history librarian and reference department head.
On November 10, the foundation that helps fund the library will kick off a yearlong celebration of the milestone with a reception.
Red Bank issued a declaration Friday evening “strongly urging” mask-wearing in stores and restaurants to minimize transmission of the resurgent COVID-19 virus.
Red Bank officials declared a “local state of emergency” Sunday night in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, ordering bars, restaurants and other large facilities to cease operations at the end of the day Monday.
Ready for the 2020 Census? The Red Bank Public Library can help you respond.