Newark

Recognized not only for its grandeur and the breadth of its collections, the historic Newark Public Library is known also as the professional home of John Cotton Dana, who founded the Newark Museum. Dana also created foreign language collections for immigrants at Newark Public Library and developed special collections for the business community there. Today the library is considered not only a repository for books and periodicals, but a trove of Newark history. The Main Library in downtown Newark, which is in the midst of a large-scale renovation, holds outstanding exhibits and community events. The restoration itself is a fascinating undertaking, with the final phase including the construction of a glass building at 5 Washington Street that will include the Charles F. Cumming New Jersey Information Center, the James Brown African American Room, the La Sala Hispanoamericana, world language collections, young adults space, a café and a meeting room.