The Clark Library Celebrates 50 Years

The Clark Library celebrated its 50-year anniversary in style this Sunday. The party featured live music, balloon art, cake and other goodies.

Formed by referendum in 1961, the library has grown exponentially from its small storefront location on Lincoln Boulevard. It moved to its current location in 1966. The collection, which started with less than 600 books, now holds over 100,000 titles and multimedia. Today, the library has meeting room facilities with wi-fi access, study rooms, a computer training lab and a dedicated teen area. The library is valued by the community, as witnessed by 126,000 patron visits in 2010.

Union County Freeholders Christopher Hudak, Angel G. Estrada and Bette Jane Kowalski presented a resolution celebrating the library's 50 years to Natalie Belverio, president of the Clark Library Board of Trustees, at the celebration. 

Clark Mayor Sal Bonaccorso and the Clark council similarly presented Belverio with a resolution at the last Clark council meeting on Oct. 17.

At that meeting, Mayor Bonaccorso reflected on the library's expansion in 2005. "Back when I first took office that was a priority to see our library improve and expand and it's great to see how wonderful it looks today," said Mayor Bonaccorso. "It’s a resource for education for infants right through senior citizens, and to have a community we can be proud of a library is one of the cornerstones of that."