Community Corner
Berkeley Library Ready to Mark 30th Anniversary
A day of celebration is planned at the branch on Station Road, to mark its three decades of service to the community.
In the 1970s, as many towns in Ocean County were beginning to grow, a group of Berkeley residents began lobbying the county government to give the town its own county library branch.
Their efforts eventually paid off, and in 1981 the Berkeley Township Branch of the Ocean County Library opened on Station Road in the lower floor of a township-owned building.
Thirty years later, the branch – which has moved down the road from its original site – is a thriving part of the community, and in many ways a central part of the town.
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“Berkeley is so disparate and so geographically spread out that the library is one of the few places people (in town) come together,” said Mike Bobish, branch manager of the Berkeley branch. “People come in when they need to know everything from a phone number to how good a particular doctor is. We meet a lot of needs.”
On Saturday morning, people will come together at the branch on Station Road, to mark three decades of service to the community.
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An 11 a.m. ceremony will mark the branch’s 30th anniversary. It will include revealing a display of memorabilia and historical items related to the establishment of the branch and speeches by Mayor Jason Varano, Freeholder Joseph Vicari and Library Director Susan Quinn.
The ceremony will be followed by a light luncheon. At 12:30 p.m. a magician will be on hand to entertain families and at 2 p.m., Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons will perform.
All are welcome at the events, Bobish said. The library’s website requests reservations for the event.
For more information or to register, go to the events page of the Ocean County Library system’s website, www.theoceancountylibrary.org, or call 732-269-2144.
