Camden County Library

Camden County Library is a county library system located in Camden County, New Jersey. It is headquartered in Voorhees, New Jersey.

History

The library system was established in 1921. At the time, Camden County was mostly rural. Service consisted of selecting and delivering small collections of books to schools and other locations used to supply books. The former headquarters library, located at the Camden County Courthouse, served mainly as a storage facility.

The library declined after World War II, but was revived with a new Commission who appointed a professional librarian and plans for relocation were made. In 1969, the headquarters moved to the Echelon Mall (now known as the Voorhees Town Center) in Voorhees. Then in 1977, the library moved across the street from the mall, where the current headquarters is located. In 2004, the branch was named in honor of M. Allan Vogelson, a county freeholder who developed the facility.

Effective July 1, 2019, the library system eliminated late fines for most materials,^[1] becoming the first county library system in New Jersey to do so.^[2]

Branches

Branch locations are: Headquarters (Voorhees), South County Regional Branch (Atco), Bellmawr, Blackwood, Camden, Merchantville, and Westmont. The city of Camden previously had its own city library system. However, in 2010 Camden came close to being the first city in the United States to close its entire library system because of budget cuts.^[3] At the last moment, it was saved by the Camden County Library System, which agreed to take over and rescue the threatened branch^[4] and open a second branch on the Rutgers-Camden campus.^[5]

The Voorhees library conducted a book (and other media) sale each year of 30,000-50,000 items, at prices ranging from 50 cents to 3 dollars per item. It is one of the largest used-book sales in South Jersey.^[6][7] Book sales were discontinued in the spring of 2020.^[8]

See also

• Cherry Hill Public Library
• Haddonfield Public Library

References

1. Trethan, Phaedra (7 June 2019). "Camden County libraries to eliminate most late fees". Retrieved 4 November 2020.
2. "Fine Free Map". Urban Libraries Council. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
3. Katz, Matt (6 August 2010). "Camden preparing to close its libraries, destroy books". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
4. Picard, Joseph (9 August 2010). "Camden, NJ library rescued". International Business Times. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
5. Vargas, Claudia (5 April 2012). "Downtown library branch opens in Camden". Retrieved 4 November 2020.
6. Adkins, Lynne (2 October 2011). "Camden County Library Branch To Hold Annual Fall Book Sale". CBS Philadelphia. CBS. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
7. Barna, John (2 October 2011). "Camden County Library branch to offer 50,000 books, CDs and books on tape for sale". Gloucester County Times. NJ.com. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
8. "Camden County Library System is No Longer Accepting Book/Media Donations | Camden County Library System". www.camdencountylibrary.org. Retrieved 2020-11-04.

External links

• Official website

39.848165°N 75.001249°W / 39.848165; -75.001249