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Van Buren Branch Library History
The Ironbound community is unique within the city of Newark; located east of Penn Station, bordered by the Passaic River and surrounded by major highways and the railroad. The Ironbound is almost "a city within the city". The area's farmland was first settled in large numbers by German and Irish immigrants in the 1820's who helped provide the labor needed for new industries that were opening. With the completion of the Morris Canal and the first railroads in the 1830's, waves of new immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe—mostly Italians, Poles, Slavs, Jews and Lithuanians - came to the area as opportunities increased. More recently, Portuguese and Hispanics - from Spain as well as Latin America - have continued and carried on the traditions of this area as a Mecca for new immigrants. Motivated by a strong work ethic, the first generation Newarkers built their homes, churches, clubs and stores close to the area's industries. The ironbound has been carefully preserved as family and community ties remain strong with a respect for hard work, neighborhood pride and family traditions. it has been estimated that over 40 ethnic groups live in this one section of Newark. The Van Buren Branch Library is recognized by this diverse population as the "jewel" of the community and where generational ties are still evident. Because of its high visibility and patron use, the "new" Van Buren is a state-of-the-art library equipped with computer-based resources such as multimedia CD-ROM and on-line capability. It provides resources and services to assist children with homework and other studies, Portuguese language materials, and a community room for meetings and programs. The new materials, resources and services of the renovated and expanded Van Buren Branch Library successfully meet the information needs of the 21st Century. |
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http://www.npl.org/Pages/Branches/VanBuren/history.html ©1997 The Newark Public Library |
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The Van Buren Branch Library, located in Newark's Ironbound district first opened its doors on September 23, 1923. For more than 70 years, the branch has been a cultural and educational center within the community, serving over 30,000 children and adults from predominately European and Latin American backgrounds.