Northvale votes to reopen its library

  • 2016-12-19
In November, Northvale voters gave their approval to a referendum question about whether or not to make their facility a municipal library.

With the “yes” vote, the library, which was closed in 2011, will reopen as part of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS).

The approval marks a shift in residents' thinking. The library was forced to close due to a lack of funding, after a $500,000 referendum failed to pass. Half of that amount had been earmarked for library operations.

The latest referendum asked if residents would be willing to support the library for over $300,000 annually, based on the taxable value of the borough. Currently, the library receives only about $40,000 each year, which limits its operations to only two days per week – Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The staff are all volunteers.

The passage of the referendum means the borough will be able to hire permanent staff, and open the library every day. Rejoining the county system means that members of the Northvale facility will be able to borrow Books and other media from any other library in the system.

Residents have been asking for the library to reopen since it was first closed, and 1,700 people—over a third of Northvale's population—signed a petition to get the question on the ballot.

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