ARTICLE: What's the Deal with Garwood's Library?

By Vincent Kearney, Karina Boto & Sean Keagan Foley |  Published in The Union County Hawk, October 5, 2023

The Garwood Free Public Library has served our Borough—and been located inside our elementary school since 1933—for 90 years!  Should the reward for nine decades of dedicated service to our community be a 90-day termination clause without cause in a new lease agreement with the current Board of Education?

The Library is an essential part of Garwood, and our team wants to make sure it stays that way.  Mayor Jen Blumenstock and our Democratic colleagues on the Council have all stated they strongly oppose displacing the library from its current location at Lincoln School.  We’ve also heard Mayor Blumenstock talk about the huge financial costs that would be put onto Garwood’s taxpayers if the Board of Education continues to dig in their heels on the lease and the Library is displaced, especially on short notice.  This will certainly impact short- and long-term plans to keep Garwood affordable.

Our team hopes the Board of Education will work in good faith to negotiate the lease with the Library’s Board of Trustees (one that doesn’t have eviction clauses). This isn't “the Council against the Board of Ed”; this is our team advocating for an important, vital piece of our community to remain.  We haven’t heard from our opponents or their colleagues on the Council about this; however, we hope they join with us to advocate on this important topic. Our library is a place that provides a myriad of services to our students, families, and seniors. It’s important that everyone—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—come together to communicate about this situation.

Let’s continue the partnership between the Board of Education and the Library.   That’s what’s best for our residents and our school.  We hope residents agree that this continued partnership is what Garwood needs and deserves, and we hope you’ll continue to advocate with us for a successful resolution.  The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 17th.  We hope to see you there, Garwood.