SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — South Orange Public Library will celebrate 150 years of history and service with a Birthday Bash on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. as part of Stay & Play weekend. Live music, dancing, tours of the historic Connett Building for adults, and children’s activities make this an event for all ages.
Performers include 20-piece band Swing Town, African drumming group Sawa, Good Times String Band, Wilma and the Wingers, Island Music Steel Drums and master of ceremonies Bobaloo. The Birthday Bash kicks off with a parade from Cameron Field to the library at 2:30 — when the historic baseball game ends — featuring giant mixed media puppets of figures from the last 150 years of literature made by local artists. The event is free to the public.
More than 400 people on an average day walk into the SOPL to access a wide range of services and constantly-evolving technologies that support learning, literacy and creative endeavors. Many others use library services online. Walk-in visitors can view “Library Timeline,” a graphic presentation that highlights the library’s 150-year history in the context of the community, the state, the nation and the world. The timeline is on display through the Birthday Bash.
Founded at the end of the Civil War with 567 volumes for members only, the South Orange Public Library has since occupied several locations, including a second-floor space above a hardware store and the historic Connett Memorial Library Building, which is currently undergoing preservation work. The library, by referendum, became publicly funded in 1920. The vision for the library’s future calls for linking the Connett Building to the current facility to accommodate programmatic expansion.
SOPL is located at 65 Scotland Road. For more information on the Birthday Bash, contact librarian@sopl.org or 973-762-0230. For more information on the library, go to www.sopl.org.
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