Library Services To Continue In Rocky Hill, Montgomery

Press release from Somerset County Library System of New Jersey:

July 13, 2020

The Borough of Rocky Hill, the Township of Montgomery, the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation, the Somerset County Freeholder Board through the participation of Freeholder Melonie Marano, and the Somerset County Library Commission have negotiated a multi-year agreement that will ensure adequate funding to allow for the extension of library services within the existing Mary Jacobs Memorial Library branch, located at 64 Washington Street in Rocky Hill. This agreement extends services beyond the previous December 2020 contract end date.

"I am so delighted to retain library services for the residents of Rocky Hill and Montgomery,” said Freeholder Melonie Marano. “Working together collaboratively as a team, we all had the same goal in mind and achieved a successful outcome with each parties’ best interests in mind."

SCLSNJ’s mission is to help communities connect, explore, share, and discover. This agreement will allow the System to maintain excellent library services in Rocky Hill, Montgomery, and beyond.

“We were facing a deadline this coming December when library operations would have ceased at the Mary Jacobs Library,” Devra Keenan, Montgomery Township committee member. “Through the hard work and commitment of all parties involved, we have an agreement that ensures continued library services for the foreseeable future. I am grateful for Freeholder Melanie Marano’s commitment to solving this problem, ensuring that the residents of Montgomery Township and Rocky Hill can depend on having a library to serve them especially during a difficult period for our community. Libraries play many critical roles that will be important during our recovery from the COVID health crisis, including support for job searches, for finding ideas and inspiration, and for connecting with each other. Mary Jacobs has been a beloved institution for decades, and so it remains.”

"This agreement reflects the determination and commitment of all the parties involved to provide high-quality library services in our community,” said Irene Battaglia, Rocky Hill borough council president. “I am extremely pleased that County library services will continue in Rocky Hill, and that the County recognizes the important and central role that the Mary Jacobs Library plays in our Borough. I am thrilled that residents will enjoy a thriving library space in Rocky Hill for years to come."

“As the town most directly affected by this agreement, we are very pleased,” said Connie Hallman, Rocky Hill borough council member. “The Mary Jacobs Library has been at the heart of Rocky Hill, nurtured and treasured by our residents for 46 years. This is the first step toward ensuring that we protect this valuable resource.”

“The Somerset County Library Commission is grateful for the Mary Jacobs Foundation’s willingness to assist the Commission in providing an uninterrupted and laudable library service to the shared communities of Rocky Hill and Montgomery,” said Anthony T. Suriano, Chairman of the Somerset County Library Commission. “The noteworthy agreement reached is a product of demonstrated collaboration and goodwill among the designated few from each of the aforementioned entities, conducted for the benefit of the many whom we serve.”

“The Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation, knowing how important the Library is to the community, is pleased and proud to have reached this agreement with Somerset County Library Commission, Montgomery Township, and the Borough of Rocky Hill,” Cary Dawson, president of the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation. “This agreement is the result of cooperation from all parties and ensures library service will continue in the Foundation’s building in Rocky Hill for several more years to come.”

Staff and administration within the Library System are also pleased to have reached an equitable agreement.

“Continuing this decades-long collaboration is a win-win for everyone,” said Brian Auger, county library administrator. “We're so glad to be able to continue providing service to both communities without interruption.”

Explore library services available through the Library System at SCLSNJ.org.

This press release was produced by the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey. The views expressed here are the author's own.