• Hours
    • Monday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
      Tuesday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
      Wednesday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
      Thursday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
      Friday9:30 am - 4:30 pm
      Saturday9:30 am - 4:30 pm
      Sunday1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
  • Location
    • 550 East Broad Street
      Westfield, NJ 07090
  • Call Us
    • (908) 789-4090
  • Language
    • English
    • Español
    • Polish

Westfield Memorial Library

The Westfield Memorial Library connects and engages all residents to make our community a better place to live.

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  • About Us
    • About Westfield
    • History of the Library
    • Holiday Closings 2023
    • Library Board of Trustees
    • Library Curbside
    • Library Policies
    • Mission Statement
    • Positions Available
    • Publications
    • Solar Energy Production
  • Circulation
      • Catalog Resources
        • Borrowing
          • Get A Card
          • Loan Periods
          • Pay Fines
          • Books From Other Libraries
          • Health Literacy Tote Kits
          • Museum Passes
          • Books on Wheels
        • Reserve & Renew Items
        • Search The Catalog
      • Devices
        • Book Clubs in a Bag
          • Adult Book Clubs
          • Children’s Book Clubs
        • Kill-A-Watt Devices
        • Mobile Hot Spots
  • Books & Media
    • Book Recommendations
    • Downloadable Audiobooks
    • Downloadable eBooks
    • Digital Magazines
    • Digital Music
    • Library Apps
    • Local History
    • Movies and Videos
    • Museum Passes
    • Online Book Club
  • Events
  • Library Services
      • Adult Services
        • Adult Book Club Kits
        • Adult Events
        • Ask a Librarian
        • Book Match for Adults
        • Book Recommendations
        • Books on Wheels
        • Health Literacy Tote Kits
        • Meeting Room Policy
        • Museum Passes
        • Online Book Club
        • Remote Printing
        • What to Read Next (Novelist)
      • Teen Services
        • Book Genie
        • Booklists for Teens
        • Teen Volunteering
        • WML Teen Book Review
        • Brainfuse: Help Now
        • DMV Practice Test
        • Online Book Club
      • Youth Services
        • 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
        • Book Genie
        • Booklists for Kids
        • Brainfuse: Help Now
        • Children’s Events
        • Tumblebooks
  • Research
    • Library Tutorials
    • Local History
    • Recommended Websites
    • Research Databases
    • Social Media Tutorials
  • Support
    • Foundation
    • Friends of the Library
    • Gifts and Memorials Program
  • Connect
    • Ask a Librarian
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Take Note Newsletter
    • Town of Westfield Code
    • Wowbrary

History of the Library

Every Saturday Book Club begins operation when twenty-six Westfield women start to collect and exchange books. It has a collection of 126 volumes and a treasury of $16.21. Books are exchanged throughout the fall, winter, and spring but kept in storage during the summer.

The Every Saturday Book Club and the Town of Westfield establish a committee to explore the idea of opening a public library.

In February the Every Saturday Circulating Library opens to the public, with management responsibilities vested in the association of women who originally organized the book club. In October the name is changed to the “Westfield Every Saturday Library.”

Incorporated as the Westfield Public Library. From 1879 until 1905 the library would exist at several rented locations, public meeting rooms, churches, and schools.

Town votes overwhelmingly to establish a free public library. The Mayor then named a Board of Trustees, consisting of five appointed members, two ex-officio members, the Mayor, and the supervising principal of schools.


The Trustees decide to buy at lot at Broad and Elmer Streets for $3,950, funded by donations from private citizens and contributions of the former library association. At that time the trustees made a request to Andrew Carnegie for a grant, who later donates $10,000 for a building.

New building opens to the public as the Free Public Library of Westfield with a 5,000 book collection. Carnegie’s donation was merely the largest. Over 80 Westfielders donated.

Children’s department is established.

Library opens in municipal building; name changed to Westfield Memorial Library. The new library location opens with a plaque:


“THIS BUILDING IS DEDICATED TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF WESTFIELD WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE FOUNDING AND PRESERVATION OF OUR REPUBLIC. THUS, THE LIBRARY IS A MEMORIAL TO ALL THOSE WESTFIELD RESIDENTS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY FROM EARLIEST TO PRESENT DAYS.”

Voters of Westfield approve, in a non-binding referendum, by 7,847 to 6,286, building a new library for $3.5 million. The $3.5 million includes demolition fees for the old Grant school, construction costs, and all library furnishings and automation. In addition, the library receives over $250,000 from the State of New Jersey and over $200,000 from Westfield donors.

New library facility opens at 550 East Broad Street and Stanley Avenue, at the site of the former Grant School. The architectural firm is Bouman, Blanche, Faridy, Thorne, & Madish of Trenton, NJ. The new library is completely automated, without a card catalog.

In May, the Westfield Library begins to offer internet access on nine computers. This event is covered by the ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings. The Westfield Leader reported this development thusly:


The Library uses Netscape, a searching program using icons and pictures along with text, to explore the Internet. Netscape is used especially navigate the area of the Internet called the “World Wide Web.” The Web has been compared to an enormous book with “pages” of text, pictures and sound which ore stored at computers all over the world. Netscape users move from page to page using “links” to find various resources such as paintings in the Louvre, the route of the Olympic torch or the current state of the Dow Jones average. (Westfield Leader, May 30th, 1996, page 19.)

Library is open on Sunday

Library is open on Saturdays during the summer.

The Library undergoes a renovation and is temporarily closed.

More than 260,000 patrons walk through the door annually to borrow over 350,000 items.

The Library is open all day on Saturdays during the summer.

Solar Panels installed on Roof

The Library is open all day on Saturdays during the summer.

Self Check Service begins, Credit Cards are accepted for payment of Fines, and Fees, Remote payment of Fines begins

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    Westfield Memorial Library

    550 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ 07090
    (908) 789-4090
    Director | Allen McGinley

    Hours

    Monday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
    Tuesday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
    Wednesday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
    Thursday9:30 am - 8:30 pm
    Friday9:30 am - 4:30 pm
    Saturday9:30 am - 4:30 pm
    Sunday1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

    Catalog Resources

    • Library Catalog
    • My Account | Renew Books
    • Pay Fines
    • Get A Card
    • Loan Periods 

    Frequently Accessed

    • Remote Printing
    • Library Tutorials
    • Research Databases
    • Ask a Librarian
    • Library Policies
    • Mobile Hot Spots
    • Social Media Tutorials

    Follow Us

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    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube

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    Copyright © 2023 · Westfield Memorial Library · Developed by Renaissance Web Solutions

    • About Us
      • About Westfield
      • History of the Library
      • Holiday Closings 2023
      • Library Board of Trustees
      • Library Curbside
      • Library Policies
      • Mission Statement
      • Positions Available
      • Publications
      • Solar Energy Production
      • Back
    • Circulation
      • Catalog Resources
        • Borrowing
          • Get A Card
          • Loan Periods
          • Pay Fines
          • Books From Other Libraries
          • Health Literacy Tote Kits
          • Museum Passes
          • Books on Wheels
          • Back
        • Reserve & Renew Items
        • Search The Catalog
        • Back
      • Devices
        • Book Clubs in a Bag
          • Adult Book Clubs
          • Children’s Book Clubs
          • Back
        • Kill-A-Watt Devices
        • Mobile Hot Spots
        • Back
      • Back
    • Books & Media
      • Book Recommendations
      • Downloadable Audiobooks
      • Downloadable eBooks
      • Digital Magazines
      • Digital Music
      • Library Apps
      • Local History
      • Movies and Videos
      • Museum Passes
      • Online Book Club
      • Back
    • Events
    • Library Services
      • Adult Services
        • Adult Book Club Kits
        • Adult Events
        • Ask a Librarian
        • Book Match for Adults
        • Book Recommendations
        • Books on Wheels
        • Health Literacy Tote Kits
        • Meeting Room Policy
        • Museum Passes
        • Online Book Club
        • Remote Printing
        • What to Read Next (Novelist)
        • Back
      • Teen Services
        • Book Genie
        • Booklists for Teens
        • Teen Volunteering
        • WML Teen Book Review
        • Brainfuse: Help Now
        • DMV Practice Test
        • Online Book Club
        • Back
      • Youth Services
        • 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
        • Book Genie
        • Booklists for Kids
        • Brainfuse: Help Now
        • Children’s Events
        • Tumblebooks
        • Back
      • Back
    • Research
      • Library Tutorials
      • Local History
      • Recommended Websites
      • Research Databases
      • Social Media Tutorials
      • Back
    • Support
      • Foundation
      • Friends of the Library
      • Gifts and Memorials Program
      • Back
    • Connect
      • Ask a Librarian
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Take Note Newsletter
      • Town of Westfield Code
      • Wowbrary
      • Back