SOUTH ORANGE — The South Orange Public Library will be reducing services during its upcoming construction project.
The South Orange Village Council recently awarded the library’s Building Connections Project to Grove Contracting. The project will update and link the 1960s building with the historic Connett building, home of the original library. Plans for a groundbreaking ceremony and a timeline for the project will be announced soon, according to a press release from the library.
Funded by the village with significant support from the state of New Jersey, the Building Connections Project is a once-in-a-generation project that will expand the building, its services, and public spaces, the release said.
More than a decade in the planning, the project has also garnered significant community support, with more than $1 million pledged to the Foundation for SOPL to outfit the buildings after renovation is complete.
Project bids came in significantly above the estimates developed ahead of the request for proposals. Because the cost of construction is more than what was originally estimated, the Village Council and the Trustees of South Orange Public Library worked together to identify sources of additional funding.
Earlier this year, the Village Council appropriated an additional $1 million in capital funding for the project, allowing it to award the contract to Grove Contracting.
By reconfiguring its services and operations during construction, the library expects to be able to contribute more than $500,000 a year to address the construction budget shortfall. These cost reductions will help the village manage the tax impact of the project while providing support for unplanned construction-related expenses, the release said.
To provide that level of financial support, the difficult decision was made to reduce library services and operations during library construction. During construction SOPL will commit a portion of the state-mandated share of tax revenue it receives from the village to the project, an amount that normally funds staff costs and operational expenses.
These operational expenses include energy, heating and cooling, and purchased services, such as the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS), launched in 2024, as well as programs and circulated materials.
The library will continue to deliver core services throughout construction, offering reference services and access to more than 5 million volumes of materials, notably through the library’s membership in BCCLS. Ongoing access to books, magazines, and movies will still be provided. Programming, hours, and other services will be reduced, with details to follow as changes are planned, the release said.
“We know that operational changes pose a hardship for the community and our library family,” said President of the Library Board of Trustees Hildy Karp. “We’re changing our day-to-day operations to be able to invest to bring about the modern library, one that will deliver the services that South Orange deserves and has been planning for years.”
South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum said the village council completely supports the Building Connections Project.
“With this additional funding we’ve appropriated more than $17 million to fund the project,” Collum said. “The vote to award the project to Grove Contracting, LLC is an important step. The village council greatly appreciates the work that the library trustees have done to find ways to make sure we can invest in the project while managing tax impact for our community.”
Library Director Jill Faherty said the library has managed more change over the last year than at any time since relocating to the 65 Scotland Road building in 1968.
“To allow time for asbestos removal and other preconstruction prep, we’ve relocated library services to smaller facilities at the Baird Center and on Walton Road,” Faherty said. “We’ve launched our partnership with BCCLS, restructured our programs to fit smaller spaces, and continued to adapt to meet community needs.”
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