The Cherry Hill Public Library is a public library located at 1100 Kings Highway North in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The library is overseen by the Library Board of Trustees and run by The Library Director. Originally called The Cherry Hill Free Public Library, the word "Free" was dropped from the title in 2003. The current library building was completed in December 2004 to replace a 1966 structure just northeast of the same location. In old aerial images of the area, the double-diamonds with the brown roof structure and grassy lot are the old Library before demolition. The pad to the southwest of the old library was the site of Richman's Ice Cream before its demolition; and this site has become the site of the new library building.
At 72,000 square feet (6,700m2), Cherry Hill's newest library is among the largest municipal libraries in New Jersey.
Facility history
Originally located in a storefront at Ellisburg Circle Shopping Center (at Route 70 and Route 41, locally known as Kings Highway), in the current location spanning both the Post Office and Blockbuster Video, the Cherry Hill Free Public Library moved 1/4 mile northeast in 1966 into a building at 1100 Kings Highway North. The then-futuristic building, designed by architect Malcolm Wells, incorporated unusual design elements, including the cataloguing and administrative offices located in its massive concrete bunker basement, concealed from public view; and the massive rectangular wooden totem pole extending from the ground floor to the rooftop in the main stairwell, which had a donated wrought iron sculpture donated in the 1970's, removed during demolition and eventually installed in the front of the new Library in 2009. By the late 1990s, the Wells building was deemed by the Board to be overcrowded, difficult to maintain due to roof leaks and other infrastructure problems resulting in the firing of Library Director David Munn, and too expensive to expand, notably due to a lack of parking; so the Library Board of Directors commissioned a new design.
While the new library building was constructed, Cherry Hill Library members were served via interlibrary agreements by libraries in neighboring Moorestown and Haddonfield; and also the Camden County Library near the Voorhees Town Center in Voorhees, which had a longstanding inter-library loan agreement negotiated by the beloved longtime Library Director, the late Berniece Ahlquist, which she joked about at her retirement party at The Rickshaw Inn.
Cherry Hill Historical Society
The Cherry Historical society is located in the basement adjacent to the stairwell. Although it has limited hours and only open for 2 days per week, the room has glass walls on two sides, where patrons can view part of the collection, a large portion donated by 37+ year Library Board member Kathleen Schwartz (1973—2009) when the building opened; and more as her son Dan cleaned out her family home in 2016.
Statistics
Membership currently stands at about 36,000 cardholders with roughly 97% of members indicating Cherry Hill residency. Residents subscribe to the library free of charge and access the collection of more than 150,000 volumes, 150 computers with high-speed internet connectivity, and the library's various amenities including a café, conference center, art gallery, historical artifact room, meeting, and reading spaces.
Friends of the Cherry Hill Library
The library is partially supported by the non-profit agency 'Friends of the Cherry Hill Library.' The Friends organizes various fundraising efforts including the sales of book tiles, trees, and bricks surrounding the trees; and public awareness campaigns to benefit the library, and members of the group volunteer time for library operations and events.
Book tile wall
The lobby of the new Library is adorned with hundreds of ceramic tiles in the form of book spines, arranged in a shelf configuration and numbered in order of purchase. This fundraiser is based on a similar fundraising project at Noel Wien Public Library in Fairbanks, Alaska; and was brought to the new Library by longtime Board member Kathleen Schwartz after her visiting the Fairbanks facility in the summer of 2003. Tile number 1 was dedicated to local property management firm Needleman Associates to honor their longtime support of the library, including their providing overflow parking. Tile number 2 is dedicated to the now–deceased Mrs. Schwartz, who worked as a Library cataloguer in the 1960s, and who had been on the library Board of Directors from 1973 until 2009 as its longest-serving member. Upon her death in March 2018, tile number 5, dedicated to Kathleen and Joseph Schwartz was adorned with a torn black ribbon by her son.
"Sunday Morning" sculpture
Sunday Morning, by Seward Johnson at the Cherry Hill Public Library
In 2007, the Friends of the Library announced the completion of fundraising efforts to retain the loaned sculpture, "Sunday Morning" by J Seward Johnson, Jr, which rests on the library's front lawn near the building's main entrance, with the artist reducing his price from $160,000 to $80,000.
"Totem" and totem pole sculptures
The sculpture "Totem" is by the artist David Ascalon, a long-time Cherry Hill resident. Originally it was installed in the main lobby on the rectangular wooden totem pole in the stairwell of the Library in the 1970's as a memorial. On September 24, 2009, the sculpture was permanently installed to the building's front lawn.
September 24, 2009 installation of David Ascalon's "Totem" at the Cherry Hill Public Library
This not to be confused with the rectangular totem pole wrought iron sculpture that was removed from the Malcolm Wells building upon its demolition, which is also installed outside the new Library.
Board room conference table
Although not in public view, the Library board room has a massive oak conference table costing $8,000, donated by Mrs. Schwartz to go in the conference room when the building opened. The board room is located in the administrative offices on the first floor, which is adjacent to the circulation desk, which also has her service plaque on the wall donated by her son upon her death.
Cherry Hill Library's overlooked sculpture to move center stage. NOTE: As of 2021, the link is now 404; and has been excluded from the Wayback Machine at Archive.org.
Dame Rachel Whiteread is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993.
The Anzac Memorial is a heritage-listed war memorial, museum and monument located in Hyde Park South near Liverpool Street in the CBD of Sydney, Australia. It is also known as Anzac War Memorial, War Memorial Hyde Park and Hyde Park Memorial. The Art Deco monument was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned with monumental figural reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff, and built from 1932 to 1934 by Kell & Rigby. This state-owned property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 23 April 2010.
The Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, and is the last untouched part of that larger building's original incarnation after it burned down in 1916. The library has been augmented and renovated a number of times since its construction in 1876, the last between 2002 and 2006, though the form and decor remain essentially authentic. The building today serves as a Canadian icon, and appears on the obverse of the Canadian ten-dollar bill.
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, the first President of the United States and a Mason. The tower is fashioned after the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt. The 333-foot (101 m) tall memorial sits atop Shooter's Hill at 101 Callahan Drive. Construction began in 1922, the building was dedicated in 1932, and the interior finally completed in 1970. In July 2015, it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, and as one of the largest-scale private memorials to honor Washington.
The Cornelius Low House is a Georgian manor in Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, built in 1741 at Raritan Landing. The Cornelius Low House is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places. The house currently holds the Cornelius Low House/Middlesex County Museum.
Richmond Hill High School is a secondary school located in the City of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. It is the second oldest high school in York Region Municipality, being established in the mid-19th century. The school is a host to several regional special education programs, including an Advanced Placement Program, Alternative Education Program, Cooperative Education Program, Developmentally-Delayed Program, and an Orthopedic Program. The school has a small gifted program along with all other secondary schools in York Region.
The Noel Wien Public Library, operated by the Fairbanks North Star Borough, is located in Fairbanks, Alaska. It has a branch library in North Pole, Alaska. Its current director is Melissa Harter. The library has more than 100,000 titles in its collections. It is the second-largest library in the Fairbanks area after the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The National Museum of Singapore is a public museum dedicated to Singapore's art, culture and history. Located within the country's Civic District at the Downtown Core area, it is the oldest museum in the country, with its history dating back to when it was first established in 1849, starting out as a section of a library at the Singapore Institution as the Raffles Library and Museum.
The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is a museum located in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1961 after the death of Ninah Cummer, who bequeathed her gardens and personal art collection to the new museum. The Cummer Museum has since expanded to include the property owned by Ninah's brother-in-law, but it still includes her original garden designs and a portion of her home with its historic furnishing. The museum and gardens attract 130,000 visitors annually.
The Black Hills Playhouse is an American theater located just off the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The playhouse is managed by Black Hills Playhouse Inc. It is one of the oldest continuously operated non-profit, non-equity professional summer stock theaters in America.
Alamogordo Public Library is the public library serving Alamogordo, New Mexico and Otero County, New Mexico. The library has extensive collections of Spanish-language and German-language books and of materials related to the Western writer Eugene Manlove Rhodes.
The Ludington Public Library is one of the two branches of the Mason County District Library administrative system. This library, as the main branch, is located in downtown Ludington, in Mason County in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The library started as an idea that in 1872 formed an association. A trial for a free reading room was undertaken and later a small building was acquired for a definitive reading room.
Leeds Central Library is a public library in Leeds. Situated in the city centre, on Calverley Street, it houses the city library service's single largest general lending and reference collection and hosts the Leeds Art Gallery.
The City of Camarillo Public Library serves the residents of Camarillo, California. Camarillo Public Library will issue a free library card to any applicant with acceptable identification, as provided in the library's registration policy. Camarillo Public Library is located at 4101 Las Posas Road, on the corner of Las Posas Road and Fieldgate Drive.
The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (EVPL) is a public library system serving Evansville and Vanderburgh County in Indiana, USA. The EVPL also supplements the services provided by the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and has the authority to approve the tax levy of the independently run and operated Willard Library.
The Norfolk Library, also known as Eldridge Memorial Library, is a library at 9 Greenwoods Road East in Norfolk, Connecticut. The Norfolk Library is a private charitable organization, but the facility is open to the general public. Designed by architect George Keller in 1888, and greatly expanded by Keller in 1911, it is an outstanding example of Shingle Style architecture. The building is a contributing property in the Norfolk Historic District.
The Central Library is the headquarters for the Milwaukee Public Library System as well as for the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. Designated a Milwaukee Landmark in 1969, the building remains one of Milwaukee's most monumental public structures.
The Coral Gables Branch Library is one of 49 branches of the Miami-Dade Public Library system, located at 3443 Segovia Street in Coral Gables, Florida. It was established in 1927 by the Coral Gables Woman's Club.
Ann Gillen is an American sculptor.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
