Adding on

Since our last post, work has been moving along. Inside the building, crews are working on wiring, framing and plumbing. Outside, the quiet study room is taking shape! The foundation was set; the floor was poured; and cinder blocks have gone up to form the exterior walls.

A view of the addition from the street.

A view of the addition from the park.

A view of the addition straight on, from the parking lot.

The scale and style of the addition is in keeping with the rest of the building. Bricks have been selected to match the existing facade as best as possible.

We would like to take this time to thank the community and patrons who have been supportive of this project and patiently using the Main Library and other PALSPlus resources available to them. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Clifton Journal article

The Clifton Journal published an article with construction and timeline updates on Friday, October 21. Read a copy of the newspaper while visiting the Library or view it online through northjersey.com.

Construction, timeline updates

Demolition is close to complete, and framing is underway. You can start to see the outline of the different spaces.

Materials awaiting the next step

A view from the old circulation desk, looking towards the new Children's room

Standing where Young Adult books used to be, looking forward towards the new Children's room.
The area being framed on the right (with the lower ceiling) will become the new Children's program room.

As we have mentioned earlier, the completion date is subject to change, and there is a change to report. In an older building sometimes problems appear that are unexpected and unavoidable. In this case, major sanitary and storm sewer work had to be done to correct unknown problems that were uncovered at the time of excavation of the soon-to-be study room addition. This extra necessary work has extended the completion time of the project and we now expect an opening date of early April.

Demolition underway

Demolition is well underway in the emptied out branch. Old carpeting was ripped out, ceilings and light fixtures have come down, and certain walls have been removed.

View from the front door: Circulation desk, partitions, and office walls removed;
you can see straight through to the back of the building.

Emptied out - and ready for work to begin!

The past few weeks have been a flurry of activity as everything needed to be removed in preparation for demolition, scheduled to begin next week. Professional movers packed up materials, furniture and equipment that are being kept and reused. Our maintenance crew worked hard to clear out the rest. Here are some pictures of the building completely empty!

Looking into former adult side

Standing where DVDs used to be, looking into magazines and nonfiction

Standing where fiction shelving used to be, looking at front desk and computer area

Standing where nonfiction shelving used to be, looking towards front door

View from the circulation desk into the children's area

View from children's area

View from former biography section in children's

Project update

Since closing to the public on September 1, staff has been hard at work cleaning out the branch. EVERYTHING accumulated over the past few decades needed to be dealt with! Furniture, equipment and items for storage needed to be inventoried and clearly labeled. Phase 2 of the cleanout will begin next week, when a professional moving company specializing in libraries and schools will begin packing and labeling the collection before moving it to a storage facility.


As a reminder, both of Allwood's outdoor book return boxes are located in the parking lot entrance and will be emptied and brought to the Main Library for processing on a regular basis.

Repair work update

We anticipate being open on Friday, August 19 during our regular hours of 10:00 - 6:00. Please call 973-471-0555 or check back on Friday to verify before you arrive. We will have a backlog of materials that will need to be discharged so please be patient as we make our way through!  Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.