Fanwood Library To Close, Temporarily Relocate To Train Station

FANWOOD, NJ — As Fanwood constructs a new Memorial Public Library, the current building will close permanently to the public and relocate to the train station temporarily.

During the construction of the new building, the library will operate out of the Fanwood Museum inside the historic train station on North Avenue.

According to Public Information Officer Tom Kranz, this entails a significant operation to shut down the old building, move to the temporary building, then construct the new building.

The construction of the new library comes after years of planning by Mayor Colleen Mahr, the Fanwood Borough Council and the Board of Trustees of the Fanwood Memorial Public Library.

According to the town, the new library will be bigger, brighter, modern, ADA compliant and accessible to people of all ages and abilities. It will also feature a Community Room, meeting spaces, dedicated areas for children and teens, computer center, free Wifi, a business center and other services.

Here is the timeline of the construction and relocation:

• Thursday, Oct. 27: The current building will close permanently to the public
• Wednesday, Nov. 9: The library reopens to the public at our temporary home, The Fanwood Library and Museum at the Historic Train Station
• Early 2024: The new library is scheduled for completion

The Fanwood Historic Preservation Commission has been working with the library to utilize the space inside the Fanwood Museum. Many of the museum displays will remain in place, affording a peek at Fanwood history for all library visitors.

The museum's regular schedule of programming will continue as detailed on their web page, https://www.fanwoodnj.org/departments/historic-preservation/.

All of Fanwood’s historic artifacts will remain safe and intact, according to Kranz.

The two office trailers currently parked outside the train station will contain books available through online reservations and space for staff and supplies.

Beginning Nov. 2, the Fanwood Library joins a regional consortium of libraries called the Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium (LMxAC). This will provide access to the collections of all 35 member libraries, which includes over one million titles.

“This is an exciting time for our entire community as we embark on a new era of literary services,” said Mayor Colleen Mahr. “We ask our patrons for a little patience during this time. We look forward to having visitors in our new temporary home at the Historic Fanwood Train Station beginning November 9th.”

More information is available at https://www.fanwoodnj.org/library-closes-wednesday-10-27-prepares-to-move-to-train-station/.