ALLENTOWN — Allentown celebrated the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of its library association on March 8.
The Allentown Public Library Association is a nonprofit organization that owns and operates the historic Main Street building currently housing the Allentown Library, according to a press release.
The Allentown Library is a branch of the Monmouth County Library system and has been since it joined in 1965. Allentown has had a library in one form or another since 1874 when several residents got together and were looking for a place to gather to read and share books, according to the press release.
Current and past members of the library association, their families and members of the community attended.
Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry presented a proclamation from the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders that declared March 8, 2015, “Allentown Library Day.”
Renee B. Swartz, chair of the Monmouth County Library Commission, presented library association President Roxanne Robinson with a citation from the commission recognizing the significant contributions the library association has made to the Allentown Library.
Joan Ruddiman, a lifelong friend of the Allentown Library, spoke about the history of the library and the visionary people who started and kept the library going since its inception, according to the press release. The library moved into its current home in a former church in 1974.