Message from President of Trustees
To the Residents of Ridgefield Park,
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The Trustees of the Public Library of the Village of Ridgefield Park adopted (June 25, 2013) and are pleased to present to the citizens of Ridgefield Park the Strategic Plan for the Ridgefield Park Public Library 2013-2017. The Plan is the result of considerable input from the Strategic Planning Committee, the Library Board of Trustees, Library staff, and the community. We thank all who participated in this project by either serving on the Strategic Planning Committee, participating in focus groups, or completing survey forms.
The Ridgefield Park Public Library is an important Village asset, with special responsibilities to our entire community. It is the place where our younger children discover the world of books and learning, where our teens can find help for their challenging school projects, where our adults can find their favorite authors, and where job seekers can find the resources they need.
The Ridgefield Park Public Library has responded to the changing needs of our community. Recent challenges include the increasing digitization of information and other materials, the expanding populations of older people and new immigrants, and the recent financial recession. Based on comments by the community, the Strategic Plan focuses on customer-based, convenient services and programs, with a particular eye to the changing technology. The Ridgefield Park Public Library Strategic Plan will be an essential tool used by the Board of Trustees and Library staff to meet those challenges.
Throughout the years, at the core of the Ridgefield Park Public Library have been its dedicated staff; its Trustees; Friends of the Library, and many other generous volunteers and donors; and all of its users. We encourage you to read the plan, and we look forward to working with all of you as we implement the plan for the Library.
Philip J. McEntee
President, Library Board of Trustees
Trustees
Public libraries in New Jersey are administered by Boards of Trustees appointed by the Mayor of the municipality. The Board of Trustees of the Ridgefield Park Library meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Library except in July, August, and December. The public is welcome to attend.
Nancy Dietrich, President
Donna La Tour, Vice President
Marsha Rosen, Secretary
George Gosen, Treasurer
Anabelle Forte, Trustee
Kimberly Bouchard, Trustee
Sheila Sienicki, Trustee
John Anlian, Mayor
Staff
Friends of the Library
The Ridgefield Park Library is lucky to have the support of the very wonderful Friends of the Ridgefield Park Public Library. The Friends hold their monthly meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from March through December. Throughout the year, they sponsor events and book sales to generate enough income to support the library’s activities. The Friends have been a driving force in enabling the library to introduce new formats to the collection. The DVD, audio book, music cd, and video game collections have all been made possible by seed money provided by the Friends of the Library.
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The Friends also support the library’s free movie program, the teen gaming program, the availability of our 3 Museum passes, the Nook lending program, and all of the entertainment programs offered during the summer reading programs for adults, teens, and children.
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Without the Friends, the library would have to severely cut back on programs and new collections. The membership is aging and is desperately in need of new members who are able and willing to help at their two yearly book sales and other events. They also welcome new ideas and new members of the community.
Ridgefield Park History
Gregory Olsen Local History Room
The Gregory H. Olsen Local History Room is open to the public on a limited basis for use in researching Village of Ridgefield Park history. An ongoing project to catalogue the vast amount of photos, news articles, videos and books is underway. The collection includes a complete set of Ridgefield Park High School yearbooks dating back to 1919 which have recently been stored on DVDs. The room is staffed on Tuesday evenings from 6-9pm to provide assistance for those wishing to delve into the past.
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Did you know that many of the streets in town had different names?
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Were you aware of the fact that the pilot of the Enola Gay-the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima-was from Ridgefield Park.?
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Can you imagine people swimming in the Overpeck Creek?
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Ever wonder how things looked in town 100 years ago?
Stop in and take a stroll through our village history with Donna Rose-McEntee. Inquiries may be sent to: donna.mcentee@bccls.org
Images of America: Ridgefield Park
Long Time Villagers as well as newer residents will enjoy Donna Rose-McEntee’s pictorial history of Ridgefield Park. Published by Arcadia Publishing as a part of its “Images of America” series, Ridgefield Park is available for purchase for $19.99 at the Library. All of the profits from these sales are being donated to the library. Ridgefield Park is a wonderful keepsake for anyone who lives in or loves the Village and will make a great holiday gift.
Ridgefield Park 1685-1985
Published for the Village’s tercentennial, this history of Ridgefield Park is now out of print, but the library has had it digitized and the rich history of Ridgefield Park is available to you from the comfort of home.
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Depending upon your internet connection , this file may take as much as fifteen minutes to load. This file can also be accessed quickly via the public computers in the RP Library.
This history of the Village is searchable by word or phrase and the results will be shown in order of appearance in the history. To search for specific terms:
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Click on “search” (binoculars) key
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Type in word or phrase you would like to search for and click “search”
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Click on selected item in results box
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Item will be highlighted in document
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To perform another search, click on “new search”
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To return to full page document click on “hide”
Click here to load Ridgefield Park, 1685-1986, Part 1 (pages 1-95)
Click here to load Ridgefield Park, 1685-1986, Part 2 (pages 96-189)
Contact
Your questions are important to us, please fill out the necessary information and hit send. We will get back to you within 24 hours Monday - Friday. Any messages left over the weekend will be addressed on that following Monday.
Contact Form
Library Hours
Standard Operating Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
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Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
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Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
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Gregory Olsen Local History Room
Tues., 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.- Temporarily Closed
While the library is closed all library materials may be returned to the depository located outside the building. The depository is emptied every business morning.
Library closings due to unforeseen conditions such as weather are announced on the BCCLS website (www.bccls.org), the Ridgefield Park Library’s website (www.ridgefieldparkpubliclibrary.org), the library’s Facebook page, and through a blast email to our members who have signed up for electronic notifications, as well as on the library’s voice mail (201-641-0689). Fines are not charged for late return if it results from a closure of the library.
Travel Directions
Please note: If you are visiting the Ridgefield Park Public Library between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on weekdays, parking is limited to those with a Ridgefield Park parking permit. We suggest you park your car on either Cedar St. or Euclid Ave. right outside the library.
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From Route 80 East
Take Exit 67 (Ridgefield Park/Bogota). At the top of the ramp, go through cross street and up hill. At crest of hill, make a sharp right onto Main St. At first light, make left onto Mt. Vernon St. Continue for two blocks ad make a right onto Euclid Ave. Go one block further and park on either side after crossing Cedar St. Library is on corner of Euclid Ave. and Cedar St., with entrance on Cedar St.
From Route 80 West
Use local lanes on Route 80. Take exit 70 Teaneck/Leonia. At the top of the exit ramp, make a short left onto DeGraw Ave. (west) to the light. Make a left turn onto Teaneck Road. Follow Teaneck Road to next light, which is Mt. Vernon St. Go to next corner and make a right turn onto Cedar St. After passing first cross street, park on either side.
From Route 46 East
Take the first exit (Ridgefield Park/Teaneck) after crossing the Hackensack River.
Bear right and go back under Route 46. at end of ramp, make a left onto Main St. At second light make a right onto Mt. Vernon St. Go two blocks and make a right onto Euclid Ave. Go one block and park on either side after crossing Cedar St. Library is on the corner of Euclid Ave. and Cedar St. with entrance on Cedar St.
From Route 46 West
After passing Turnpike and Teaneck Road signs, pass the light at Laurel St., pass Garden St. and at next street make a right turn onto Euclid Ave. After passing tennis courts on the left, park on either side of Euclid Ave. before the next cross street which is Cedar St. Library is on the corner of Euclid Ave. and Cedar St. with entrance on Cedar St.
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From Route 4
East: Take the Teaneck Road exit—south
West: Take 2nd exit for Teaneck Road and go back under Route 4
Follow approximately 3 miles. After 6th traffic light go one block to Cedar St. and make a right. After passing first cross street, park on either side. Library is on the corner of Euclid Ave. and Cedar St. with entrance on Cedar St.