The Bergen County Historical Society in June 1914.
HACKENSACK, N.J. – With an agreement reached by Bergen Community College and the Bergen County Historical Society, the group’s library will reopen in a new home Thursday, Nov. 6 located within the College’s Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center at 355 Main Street.
The agreement caps years of overtures by historical society members, who tried to convince College officials to support the library’s relocation to the institution. Logistical concerns prevented forging a partnership – until President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D. arrived at the College and deemed the relocation a priority project.
“As a community resource that seeks to educate local residents on Bergen County’s deep roots, the Bergen County Historical Society Library and Archives remains a natural fit at Bergen Community College,” she said. “Establishing a permanent location for the library at the College, an institution of higher learning in the county seat, benefits everyone in Bergen County.”
“Over the decades, the library has been in several homes, but has been in storage for the last four years,” Bergen County Historical Society President Jim Smith said. “We are thrilled that our partnership with Bergen Community College will enable us to once again make the library available to students, genealogists and historians researching Bergen County’s past. The first home of the historical society – including the library – was in Hackensack and we are excited to once again have a home in the county seat. We are grateful for the warm welcome we have received at the Ciarco Learning Center.”
The library, previously located in the Hackensack Johnson Free Public Library, the River Edge Steuben House and other venues, holds a collection of more than 4,000 documents, publications and artifacts reflecting the county’s growth from its 1683 establishment to the present day. Items include an English/Dutch dictionary from 1727, hand-drawn area maps and even a local resident’s Civil War discharge certificate.
Officials from both organizations will formalize the agreement and give brief remarks on the partnership before unveiling the first floor, 500-square-foot space at the reopening event scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Ciarco Center lobby.
Historical society volunteers will staff the library on Wednesdays from noon to 5 p.m., enabling public entry. For more information on the group, visit bergencountyhistory.org.
The Bergen County Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Bergen County's rich history as a whole. Incorporated in 1902, the Society has over 4,000 artifacts in its collection. Since that time, the Society has also maintained a library collection comprising of family genealogy, diaries, and manuscripts; church, cemetery, and bible records; books, clippings, and on local and county history, the Revolutionary War, and historic architecture; postcards, photos, videos, atlases, and maps.
Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 16,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.
# # #