Thursday, April 28, 2011

Branch of Defunct Free Library of Camden Now Part of County System


Camden library reopens as a county branch after upgrades. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/27/2011)

ExcerptFollowing two months of extensive upgrades, the former Free Library of Camden branch on Ferry Avenue celebrated its new look Tuesday with a new name.

The facility, incorporated into the Camden County library system this winter, has been christened the Riletta Cream branch in honor of the longtime Camden educator and former county freeholder, authorities said Tuesday.

State and local officials joined Cream in marking the occasion at the one-story, 15,000-square-foot building, where recent best-sellers were on display, the computer lab was filled with people browsing job sites and Facebook, and preschool students were having story time.

It looked just like its suburban counterparts, said Cream, after whom a Camden elementary school has already been named.

"Now it's a library," she said.

The county Library Commission voted in January to absorb Camden's main library and two branches after the city cut their funding more than 57 percent.

The small Fairview branch, which was shut in September, has remained closed, and the large downtown library on Federal Street was shuttered in February. The county took on the Ferry Avenue branch, built in 2005, and revamped it
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Related articles:
Downtown library closes for good.  (2/10/2011)
Library decides to puts a positive spin on the situation.  (1/16/2011)
Camden County Library System takes over Camden Free Public Library.  (12/30/2011)
Reformatting the library.  (10/16/2010)
2011 budget outlook remains bleak for Camden New Jersey.  (10/9/2010)
Fairview branch library is closed for good.  (9/8/2010)
Library board postpones decision on closing branch.  (9/2/2010)
"An oasis in the desert".  (8/15/2010)
Camden New Jersey squeeze play?  (8/11/2010)
Camden mayor plays an odd game of library advocacy.  (8/9/2010)
The library dumpster solution.  (8/6/2010)
Mayor proposes 70% cut in library funding.  (7/19/2010)

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