Ocean County Library
Encyclopedia
Ocean County Library is a public library
system that serves 32 municipalities out of the 33 municipalities of Ocean County, New Jersey
. Beach Haven
on Long Beach Island
is not a member municipality. The Headquarters branch is in Toms River
. It also offers Outreach services to life care centers, Books by Mail and Home Borrowers services for the homebound, and a volunteer program. There are active Friends of the Library groups associated with individual branches. There are approximately 380,000 registered borrowers, and 290,000 bibliographic records in the catalog. Annual circulation was 4.8 million in 2008. All library locations have free wireless access to the Internet and internet terminals for public use.
The cottage was open to the public one day a week, while a Model T panelled truck took library service to the rural portion of the 28,000 population by stopping at schools and “stations” which were located in post offices, stores and enclosed porches of private homes. During World War II
, there was even a station at a Coast Guard Station.
A Dover Township referendum vote in 1976 increased the Library's geographical service area to 31 municipalities. Bishop Memorial Library on Washington Street in Toms River became part of the Ocean County Library, but continued to serve Dover residents until both floors were converted to use by the Children's Services Department in 1978.
Needing more space, the library was moved to temporary quarters in the Robbins Street Firehouse before moving to the East Wing of the Ocean County Courthouse in 1950. In 1962, the Library moved to 15 Hooper Avenue, a 7400 square feet (687.5 m²) building that had been a gymnasium for St. Joseph's School, and is now the Ocean County Probation Office. From this location, the Library expanded into the "White House" on the corner of Hooper Avenue and Water Street and, in 1978, into the Bishop Building.
On October 13, 1981, the Ocean County Library opened the doors of a 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) building at 101 Washington Street, facing the County Courthouse. This building surrounded and included the former Presbyterian Church of Toms River as a meeting room. The church cornerstone was laid in 1853. The church moved to a new location in 1970 leaving the building empty. The building was purchased by Dover Township and was incorporated into the library in 1981. The church steeple was badly damaged over the years and was removed as part of the expansion of the Toms River Branch in 2005. The former church with a newly constructed steeple is now a coffee shop open during most library hours.
The Bishop Building, named after the writer and adventurer Nathaniel Holmes Bishop, was re-dedicated in October, 1984 to house a non-circulating local history and research collection. On September 18, 1997, a new computer training lab was dedicated in the Bishop Building. In 2006, all services formerly available in the Bishop Building were moved to the main building. The genealogical and historical research collection was moved to the Wheeler Room and the computer training lab was expanded and re-established as the Technology Lab with all new equipment. The future use of the Bishop Building includes plans as a venue for community events and training center for the library staff.
On January 28, 2006, a major renovation and extension of the Toms River Branch opened. The building is now doubled in size. The $12.9 million construction project began in October 2002, when ground was broken on a 52000 square feet (4,831 m²) expansion of the original library building.
Over $600,000 was devoted to original art installation in the new building. The art includes "Buzzy" and "O" steel sculptures by Michael Allen Malpass of Brick, New Jersey, "Sandbar # 1" and "Sandbar # 2" suspended textile atrium sculpture by Joanie San Chirico of Toms River, "Reflections of the Ocean County Library," an 8 feet (2.4 m) bas relief sculpture in bonded bronze created by Toms River sculptor Brian Hanlon, a terrazzo
floor in the atrium by Michele Oka Doner of New York
and a large mostly argon
light sculpture called "Woven Light" by Chris Freeman in the Hugh B. Wheeler Room.
Elaine McConnell retired after 25 years as library director at the end of August 2009. Susan Quinn was appointed Library Director August 17, 2009.
http://www.theoceancountylibrary.org/Branches/branches.htm Branches
Barnegat Branch
Bay Head
Reading Center
Beachwood
Branch
Berkeley
Branch
Bishop Building - CLOSED (local history and genealogy collections moved to the Toms River Headquarters branch)
Brick
Branch
Island Heights
Branch
Jackson
Branch
Lacey Township
Branch
Lakewood Branch
Little Egg Harbor Branch
Long Beach Island Branch (located in Surf City
)
Manchester Branch
Plumsted
Branch
Pt. Pleasant Boro
Branch
Pt. Pleasant Beach
Branch
Stafford
Branch
Toms River Headquarters Branch
Tuckerton
Branch
Upper Shores Branch (located in Lavellette)
Waretown
Branch
Whiting Reading Center (located in Manchester)
cards. Since Lakewood joined the county library system January 1, 1999, only Beach Haven
maintains an independent municipal library in Ocean County.
Anyone who has a valid Burlington County Library card is also eligible for a free Ocean County Library card under a reciprocal borrowing agreement. Anyone who has a valid Monmouth County Library card is also eligible for an Ocean County Library card. Many Monmouth county towns are not what Monmouth County Library calls member municipalities. Anyone who lives in a nonmember Monmouth County municipality must pay for a Monmouth County Library card before they can obtain a free Ocean County card.
Each branch of the Ocean County Library offers children's materials from classics to new titles in a variety of formats. Youth Services staff organize programs for children from birth through 6th grade, including a Summer Reading Club, which encourages reading during the months that children are away from school. In 2007, an online option for participating in the reading club was offered for the first time. The reading club is supplemented by programs corresponding with each year’s summer reading theme. The programs are organized both by library staff and outside performers. Recent outside performers have included Dr. Loretta Long
(Susan from Sesame Street
) . Many programs are designed and created by library staff including crafts, cooking programs, reading programs that match teens with younger children, and computer classes. Programs continue year round for all ages including outreach to schools and to those homeschooling
.
Each branch also has a "Teen Advisory Board" (TAB). TAB was created in 1988 and offers teens chances to create and run their own program or event (with approval).
, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci
, James Patterson
, Robert Pinsky, William Wegman, several Sesame Street
cast members, Malachy McCourt
, Barbara Taylor Bradford
, Nora Roberts
, Chris Elliott
, Anne Perry
, Anne Lamott
, Laura Lippman
, the TV Chef Robert Irvine and others.
The library has also hosted many free concerts featuring music of different genres. National acts such as Steve Forbert
, Ron Sexsmith
, Marshall Crenshaw
, Glenn Tilbrook
(of Squeeze), Bill Kirchen, Graham Parker
, NRBQ, and Maggie and Terre Roche have all played at the library. Julius LaRosa and Carmel Quinn have appeared as well.
Comedian Jim Breuer of Saturday Night Live fame performed at the library on October 7, 2010.
Additionally, events on topics from art demonstrations, Barnegat Bay
ecology, local history, Meet the Mayor, sessions of the National Issues Forum, history of Television and other popular culture topics, cooking demonstrations, medical and legal issues, small business workshops and many other topics are presented at the different library locations. The Library has partnered with corporations such as HBO, Showtime, CBS, Scholastic, The Sesame Workshop, Viacom, and many others to produce special events.
Library Public Relation Awards for 2007 in recognition of their continuing “Hurricane Katrina--Partners in Caring" project. According to the citation, Ocean County Library has raised more than $120,000 in cash to help Hancock County Library in Mississippi. The Hancock County Library system was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina
.
worked at several Ocean County Library branches as a reference librarian.
baseball games with his friend and fellow mascot, Buster. The previous mascot of the library was a ship captain character called Captain Book.
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
system that serves 32 municipalities out of the 33 municipalities of Ocean County, New Jersey
Ocean County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 510,916 people, 200,402 households, and 137,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 803 people per square mile . There were 248,711 housing units at an average density of 151/km²...
. Beach Haven
Beach Haven, New Jersey
Beach Haven is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. The borough is located on Long Beach Island and borders the Atlantic Ocean...
on Long Beach Island
Long Beach Island
Long Beach Island is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States...
is not a member municipality. The Headquarters branch is in Toms River
Toms River
The Toms River, formerly Tom's River, is a freshwater river and estuary in Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States.The Toms River rises in the Pine Barrens of northern Ocean County and flows southeast and east, fed by several branches, in a meandering course through wetland area and empties...
. It also offers Outreach services to life care centers, Books by Mail and Home Borrowers services for the homebound, and a volunteer program. There are active Friends of the Library groups associated with individual branches. There are approximately 380,000 registered borrowers, and 290,000 bibliographic records in the catalog. Annual circulation was 4.8 million in 2008. All library locations have free wireless access to the Internet and internet terminals for public use.
History
The Ocean County Library opened its doors to the public on September 19, 1925. Its location was a small cottage, known as the Lonan Building, on the grounds of the County Courthouse. The service area encompassed 30 of the 33 county municipalities. Dover and Lakewood Townships, and Beach Haven Borough, having municipal libraries, were excluded.The cottage was open to the public one day a week, while a Model T panelled truck took library service to the rural portion of the 28,000 population by stopping at schools and “stations” which were located in post offices, stores and enclosed porches of private homes. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there was even a station at a Coast Guard Station.
A Dover Township referendum vote in 1976 increased the Library's geographical service area to 31 municipalities. Bishop Memorial Library on Washington Street in Toms River became part of the Ocean County Library, but continued to serve Dover residents until both floors were converted to use by the Children's Services Department in 1978.
Needing more space, the library was moved to temporary quarters in the Robbins Street Firehouse before moving to the East Wing of the Ocean County Courthouse in 1950. In 1962, the Library moved to 15 Hooper Avenue, a 7400 square feet (687.5 m²) building that had been a gymnasium for St. Joseph's School, and is now the Ocean County Probation Office. From this location, the Library expanded into the "White House" on the corner of Hooper Avenue and Water Street and, in 1978, into the Bishop Building.
On October 13, 1981, the Ocean County Library opened the doors of a 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) building at 101 Washington Street, facing the County Courthouse. This building surrounded and included the former Presbyterian Church of Toms River as a meeting room. The church cornerstone was laid in 1853. The church moved to a new location in 1970 leaving the building empty. The building was purchased by Dover Township and was incorporated into the library in 1981. The church steeple was badly damaged over the years and was removed as part of the expansion of the Toms River Branch in 2005. The former church with a newly constructed steeple is now a coffee shop open during most library hours.
On January 28, 2006, a major renovation and extension of the Toms River Branch opened. The building is now doubled in size. The $12.9 million construction project began in October 2002, when ground was broken on a 52000 square feet (4,831 m²) expansion of the original library building.
Over $600,000 was devoted to original art installation in the new building. The art includes "Buzzy" and "O" steel sculptures by Michael Allen Malpass of Brick, New Jersey, "Sandbar # 1" and "Sandbar # 2" suspended textile atrium sculpture by Joanie San Chirico of Toms River, "Reflections of the Ocean County Library," an 8 feet (2.4 m) bas relief sculpture in bonded bronze created by Toms River sculptor Brian Hanlon, a terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
floor in the atrium by Michele Oka Doner of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and a large mostly argon
Argon
Argon is a chemical element represented by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table . Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%, making it more common than carbon dioxide...
light sculpture called "Woven Light" by Chris Freeman in the Hugh B. Wheeler Room.
Elaine McConnell retired after 25 years as library director at the end of August 2009. Susan Quinn was appointed Library Director August 17, 2009.
Branches and Reading Centers
Barnegat Branch
Bay Head
Bay Head, New Jersey
Bay Head is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 968. Bay Head is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...
Reading Center
Beachwood
Beachwood, New Jersey
Beachwood is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population increased to a record high of 11,045....
Branch
Berkeley
Berkeley Township, New Jersey
Berkeley Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population had increased to a record high of 41,255....
Branch
Bishop Building - CLOSED (local history and genealogy collections moved to the Toms River Headquarters branch)
Brick
Brick Township, New Jersey
-Transportation:The major county routes that pass through are CR 528, and CR 549 . Two state routes pass through: Route 70 and Route 88...
Branch
Island Heights
Island Heights, New Jersey
Island Heights is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,673....
Branch
Jackson
Jackson Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 42,816 people, 14,176 households, and 11,269 families residing in the township. The population density was 427.9 people per square mile . There were 14,640 housing units at an average density of 146.3 per square mile...
Branch
Lacey Township
Lacey Township, New Jersey
Lacey Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey and is considered part of the Jersey Shore region. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population had increased to a record high of 27,644...
Branch
Lakewood Branch
Little Egg Harbor Branch
Long Beach Island Branch (located in Surf City
Surf City, New Jersey
Surf City is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,205. The borough borders the Atlantic Ocean on Long Beach Island....
)
Manchester Branch
Plumsted
Plumsted Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,275 people, 2,510 households, and 2,002 families residing in the township. The population density was 181.8 people per square mile . There were 2,628 housing units at an average density of 65.7 per square mile...
Branch
Pt. Pleasant Boro
Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Point Pleasant is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 18,392...
Branch
Pt. Pleasant Beach
Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey
Point Pleasant Beach is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,665....
Branch
Stafford
Stafford Township, New Jersey
-Transportation:Stafford is served by a few major roads. CR 539 passes through in the western part. U.S. Route 9 passes north-south through the center of the township and Route 72 is the main artery that passes from the northwest to the southeast...
Branch
Toms River Headquarters Branch
Tuckerton
Tuckerton, New Jersey
Tuckerton is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, named for founder Ebenezer Tucker , and was a port of entry, but not the third Port of Entry as commonly believed, in the United States As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 3,517.Tuckerton was incorporated as a borough...
Branch
Upper Shores Branch (located in Lavellette)
Waretown
Waretown, New Jersey
Waretown is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Ocean Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 1,582. Waretown is home to Albert Music Hall and 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, George E...
Branch
Whiting Reading Center (located in Manchester)
Membership
Free membership is available to residents of Ocean County (except Beach Haven residents) as well as those who go to school in Ocean County or who own property in Ocean County. Ocean County Library card holders can obtain free Burlington County Library cards and free Monmouth County LibraryMonmouth County Library
Monmouth County Library is the county library system located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The headquarters is located in Manalapan, New Jersey.Branch locations are:...
cards. Since Lakewood joined the county library system January 1, 1999, only Beach Haven
Beach Haven, New Jersey
Beach Haven is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. The borough is located on Long Beach Island and borders the Atlantic Ocean...
maintains an independent municipal library in Ocean County.
Anyone who has a valid Burlington County Library card is also eligible for a free Ocean County Library card under a reciprocal borrowing agreement. Anyone who has a valid Monmouth County Library card is also eligible for an Ocean County Library card. Many Monmouth county towns are not what Monmouth County Library calls member municipalities. Anyone who lives in a nonmember Monmouth County municipality must pay for a Monmouth County Library card before they can obtain a free Ocean County card.
Youth Services
Loretta Long
Loretta Long is an American actress best known for playing Susan Robinson on Sesame Street, having starred on the show since its debut in 1969....
(Susan from Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
) . Many programs are designed and created by library staff including crafts, cooking programs, reading programs that match teens with younger children, and computer classes. Programs continue year round for all ages including outreach to schools and to those homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
.
Each branch also has a "Teen Advisory Board" (TAB). TAB was created in 1988 and offers teens chances to create and run their own program or event (with approval).
Events and Programs
The Ocean County Library system has offered many free author events, luncheons, and book signings, featuring authors such as Peter MaasPeter Maas
Peter Maas was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University. Maas had Dutch and Irish heritage....
, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci
David Baldacci
David Baldacci is a bestselling American novelist.-Biography:Baldacci received a B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. As a student, Baldacci wrote short stories in his spare time, and later practiced law for nine years near Washington, D.C....
, James Patterson
James Patterson
James B. Patterson is an American author of thriller novels, largely known for his series about American psychologist Alex Cross...
, Robert Pinsky, William Wegman, several Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
cast members, Malachy McCourt
Malachy McCourt
Malachy Gerard McCourt is an Irish-American actor, writer and politician. He was the 2006 Green Party candidate for governor in New York State, losing to the Democratic candidate Eliot Spitzer. He is the younger brother of Frank McCourt.-Personal life:Born in Brooklyn, New York, McCourt was raised...
, Barbara Taylor Bradford
Barbara Taylor Bradford
Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE is an English novelist, and one of the world's most beloved storytellers. Her debut novel, A Woman of Substance, was published in 1979 and has sold over 32 million copies worldwide. To date, she has written 27 novels -- all bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic...
, Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts is a bestselling American author of more than 209 romance novels. She writes as J.D. Robb for the "In Death" series, and has also written under the pseudonym Jill March...
, Chris Elliott
Chris Elliott
Christopher Nash "Chris" Elliott is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his comedic sketches on Late Night with David Letterman, starring in the cult comedy series Get a Life and for his recurring role as Peter MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond...
, Anne Perry
Anne Perry
Anne Perry is an English author of historical detective fiction. Perry was convicted of the murder of her friend's mother in 1954.-Early life:Born Juliet Marion Hulme in Blackheath, London, the daughter of Dr...
, Anne Lamott
Anne Lamott
Anne Lamott is a novelist and non-fiction writer. She is also a political activist, public speaker and writing teacher. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, her nonfiction works are largely autobiographical...
, Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman
Laura Lippman is an American author of detective fiction.-Biography:Lippmann was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of Theo Lippman Jr., a well known and respected writer at the Baltimore Sun, and Madeline Lippman, a retired school librarian for the...
, the TV Chef Robert Irvine and others.
The library has also hosted many free concerts featuring music of different genres. National acts such as Steve Forbert
Steve Forbert
Steve Forbert is an American pop music singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980....
, Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
, Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...
, Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid 1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the melody for Squeeze, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, wrote the lyrics...
(of Squeeze), Bill Kirchen, Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
, NRBQ, and Maggie and Terre Roche have all played at the library. Julius LaRosa and Carmel Quinn have appeared as well.
Comedian Jim Breuer of Saturday Night Live fame performed at the library on October 7, 2010.
Additionally, events on topics from art demonstrations, Barnegat Bay
Barnegat Bay
Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is a long barrier peninsula, as well as by the north end of Long Beach Island...
ecology, local history, Meet the Mayor, sessions of the National Issues Forum, history of Television and other popular culture topics, cooking demonstrations, medical and legal issues, small business workshops and many other topics are presented at the different library locations. The Library has partnered with corporations such as HBO, Showtime, CBS, Scholastic, The Sesame Workshop, Viacom, and many others to produce special events.
Awards
Ocean County Library won one of the John Cotton DanaJohn Cotton Dana
John Cotton Dana was an American librarian and museum director whose main objective was to make the library relevant to the daily lives of the citizens and to promote the benefits of reading...
Library Public Relation Awards for 2007 in recognition of their continuing “Hurricane Katrina--Partners in Caring" project. According to the citation, Ocean County Library has raised more than $120,000 in cash to help Hancock County Library in Mississippi. The Hancock County Library system was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Notable librarians
John Bailey Lloyd, the unofficial historian of Long Beach IslandLong Beach Island
Long Beach Island is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States...
worked at several Ocean County Library branches as a reference librarian.
Mascot
Since mid 2005, Ocean County Library has an official mascot called Sparks. Sparks is a large magenta dragon who loves to read and visit fairs and other special events in the county. He has also appeared at Lakewood BlueClawsLakewood BlueClaws
The Lakewood BlueClaws are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the South Atlantic League, a Class Single-A baseball league. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Park located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey...
baseball games with his friend and fellow mascot, Buster. The previous mascot of the library was a ship captain character called Captain Book.