The following list of Carnegie libraries in New Jersey provides information on United States Carnegie libraries in New Jersey, where 36 libraries were built from grants totaling $1,066,553 awarded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1900 to 1917. There are 17 municipal libraries with Carnegie buildings still in operation as public libraries (*). Two have become academic libraries.

Key

Carnegie libraries LibraryMunicipality ImageDategrantedAt various times, Bobinski and Jones disagree on these numbers. In these cases, Jones' numbers have been used due to both a more recent publication date and a more detailed gazetteer of branch libraries, which are often where the discrepancies occur.GrantamountGrants for multiple libraries (Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, and Montclair) are listed only by their total amount, not broken down for each branch.Location Status 1 Atlantic City Atlantic City $71,075 35 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. Formerly part of Stockton University, now owned by Atlantic City 2 Avon Avon-by-the-Sea $5,000 *Avon Public Library 3 Bayonne Bayonne $83,000 697 Avenue C Bayonne Public Library 4 Belleville Belleville $20,000 5 Belmar Belmar $13,000 6 Caldwell Caldwell $10,000 *Caldwell Public LibraryCaldwell Public Library 7 Camden Main Camden $120,000 616 Broadway Closed in 1986 8 Camden Cooper Camden — Now part of Rutgers–Camden 9 Camden East Camden Camden — Razed 10 Collingswood Collingswood $15,000 Razed 11 Cranford Cranford $10,000 Razed 1962 12 East Orange Main East Orange $116,000 291 Main Street Now East Orange Municipal Court 13 East Orange Elmwood East Orange — 14 East Orange Franklin East Orange — 15 Edgewater Edgewater $15,000 49 Hudson Ave. Listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places in 2009 16 Elizabeth Main Elizabeth $130,810 17 Elizabeth Liberty Square Elizabeth — 240 Elizabeth Ave. Now a senior citizen center 18 Englewood Englewood $25,000 Office building 19 Freehold Freehold $11,000 East Main Street Independent municipal library. Undergoing renovation (ADA improvements, new interior spaces, mechanicals, roof, etc.) in 2023. 20 Kearny Kearny $27,600 318 Kearny Ave. 21 Lakewood Lakewood $12,500 22 Little Falls Little Falls $10,000 Razed 23 Long Branch Long Branch $30,000 *Long Branch Free Public Library 24 Montclair Bellevue Montclair $60,000 185 Bellevue Ave. Opened December 26, 1914 Francis Augustus Nelson, Architect 25 Montclair Montclair Montclair — 73 Church St. Building used as Unitarian Church 26 New Brunswick New Brunswick $52,500 *New Brunswick Free Public Library 27 Nutley Nutley $20,000 *Nutley Public Library 28 Orange Orange $1,500 348 Main St. The grant was for the purchase of a new library branch.Bobinski does not list this library. 29 Perth Amboy Perth Amboy $50,450 196 Jefferson Street Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2025. 30 Plainfield Plainfield $50,000 Razed 31 Summit Summit $21,000 Razed Replaced by newer Summit Public Library in 1964 32 Union Union Hill $25,000 *Union City Public LibraryUnion City Public LibraryUnion City 33 Verona Verona $11,000 *Verona Public Library 34 Vineland Vineland $12,000 Senior center 35 West Hoboken West Hoboken $25,000420 15th St.William Musto Cultural CenterUnion City 36 Westfield Westfield $15,000 266 E. Broad St. Library relocated 1954, now a business complex

History A few of the first public libraries created in New Jersey date back to the mid-eighteenth century, more than twenty of which were established and operational by 1800. When the New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) was founded in 1890, upwards of fifty-seven public libraries were established and operating statewide. In 1900, New Jersey state legislature created the Public Library Commission (PLC) as a method to provide support for public libraries. Around this same time, Andrew Carnegie was in the process of assisting communities all across the United States in building, staffing, and providing support for public libraries. During his mission, Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to the construction and operation of thousands of libraries for "the improvement of mankind."

Due in part to his contributions, New Jersey acquired two hundred and three new libraries in those twenty years, bringing the total number of operational public libraries in New Jersey from one hundred and two in 1901 to three hundred and twenty-five in 1920. The state of New Jersey was allocated $1,066,935 across twenty nine communities, which ranked New Jersey as the number eleven state in terms of the number of communities assisted by Andrew Carnegie's donations. The communities that were assisted ranged from large cities to small towns and contained a diverse selection on economic backgrounds. In these twenty-nine communities, there were twenty-nine main libraries built as well as an additional six branch libraries. At this time, New Jersey as was the sixteenth most populated state and only received fourteen percent of the total granted donated by Andrew Carnegie.

See also List of libraries in the United States

Notes

References

Note: The above references, while all authoritative, are not entirely mutually consistent. Some details of this list may have been drawn from one of the references without support from the others. Reader discretion is advised.

External links NJ libraries in early postcards