Thank you to all who have shared their thoughts about what the Library means to them!
The library plays a crucial role in providing the community with resources and programs that may not be available in either the home or the schools. This leads to a more educated citizenry, better equipped to contribute to society. The Scotch Plains public library provides excellent programs that broaden people’s horizons – from sessions on astronomy, insects, genealogy, the Constitution, to little-known historical figures that deserve to be better known. The reference librarians provide great support for finding resources and answering difficult questions. In addition, the library serves as a rallying point for the community where tutors and students can meet in a neutral place, where individuals can come to use a computer or printer, work in an area free of distractions, or simply play chess or other quiet board games. Being both non-denominational and non-judgmental, the library provides a critical alternative to other venues.
-Vivian H.
There are so many things that I love about the Scotch Plains Library!
Everyone there is always so friendly and helpful!
Balance classes with Yasmin are absolutely fabulous.
Book club with Edie is great.
Crafts are fun too- and I miss doing them together with others in the library.
I really enjoyed the field trips that we took before COVID.
Especially the one to Edison’s home and museum.
Also, I have met and made some wonderful friends through activities at the library.
Thank you so much for all that you do for our community!
-Susan K.
I go long stretches of time without entering the Scotch Plains library. I live on the other side of town and it is too far for me to walk there. But when I finally do get to the library, it is like returning to an oasis of my past and present. I breathe deeply and calming childhood memories and memories of child raising enter. It is such a warm and friendly place with many notices of events and news to take in. Why don’t I come here more often? I ask the librarians for book recommendations and I love looking at the rotating display of books beckoning to me to read. It is a wonderful place. It restores my faith in public good and democracy. I always leave with a bounce in my step and books in my arms that I rarely finish even after renewing several times!
-Anonymous
My library is my passport to unbridled adventure, happiness, knowledge, information, an escape from the sometimes dismal state of the world affairs, help with the physical and emotional concerns that sometimes beset us all, and opening the doors to new skills learned from books. It provides the education my grandparents left the countries of their birth to achieve for their children. It offers joy when you open the first page of a book not knowing what will be on the second page Pat Conroy, Charles Dickens, Louise Penny, Daniel Silva, Agatha Christie, and the characters they introduce become my friends (or enemies for life). Rebecca, Miss Havisham, Inspector Gamache, and Lucy Barton are invited to my home and accept the invitation willingly. Gray days, sunny days, rainy days…my library always welcomes me, and never charges me a cent to partake in the wealth of their inventory. My thanks for the staff who always provide me with an abundance of unselfish assistance, no matter the quest!
-Edie Scher
I love the library for being a safe and comforting place. Having a world of books at your fingertips in-person and online is one of the best parts! As an avid reader, I love how you will never run out of books with a library near by. The staff is always friendly and helpful. It’s helpful to have printers accessible because often my own never has any ink. The library always has fun summer contests with great prizes. I love the library!
-Anonymous
I love the interlibrary loan system! I feel like I have access to any book in the world.
I’ve also enjoyed Mango, the language app, and found it to be so much more valuable than something like Duolingo, which doesn’t really explain culture or grammar at all.
And since I don’t have Netflix, borrowing a DVD or watching through Kanopy has been great for watching a lot of foreign films or classics I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
Thank you for all you do!
-Amelia M.
I love the children’s section the most. The librarians are always so welcoming & accommodating! We love the crafts, the scavenger hunts (big hit), summer reading, and the carnival last summer was so fun. My kids 3 & 6 LOVE the Scotch Plains Library!
–Christine S.
Everyone is kind, pleasant and helpful. I heard a sermon one Sunday and the Pastor spoke about a movie. Couldn’t find it on youtube or other search engines. Called the library and they had it. I enjoyed it.Thank you for being there.
–Patricia J.
I always loved going to the library as a kid. My mother was a voracious reader and included me in her jaunts to the original library on Front Street. Her library card # was 32. The library has always been a welcoming environment! It offers a serene place to expand knowledge in different fields. It has also provided a safe fun place for my grandchildren to learn and explore many topics to expand their interests.
-Anonymous
All the services provided, the audio books, the children programs, the museum passes, and everything else.
-Anonymous
I see the SP library as a safe and peaceful place to go, and a one-stop resource center open to all. When educational, literary or local historical info is needed, I know where to go. Having access to a computer and a printer when in need, is priceless. Scotch Plains stands out for offering the service of tax preparation assistance by way of AARP volunteers coming in to help those of us that are a little bit overwhelmed during tax-time. I truly appreciate that service. Healthy community = local public library
–Virginia S.
The library has been a really nice community center as we get to know our neighborhood after relocating during the height of the pandemic. We love the organized activities for our little ones as they develop their love of reading. And it’s just about the only thing you can still do for free!
-Jeremy W.
I love that we were able to rent a telescope. I’ve never looked through one outside of an observatory, so being able to learn how to use it and show my son the moon and stars was a great experience. I think not many people know about this option, so I share it at every chance I get.
–Jon Stavrou
I love the librarians at the Scotch Plains Library! They’re always friendly and make sure the newest and best titles are available for us. During quarantine, one of the highlights in an otherwise strange time was visiting the library to go pick up my holds in a brown bag from the tables out front. It gave me something to look forward to and reminded me of the care these workers took to package our books and label our bags. Now I appreciate that my son is loving the library just as much as I do. I can’t wait until the summertime when we can make morning trips to the library each week.
–Suzanne H.
Your children’s librarians are wonderful. During the pandemic I began to read books with my grandchildren on Zoom. The librarians were always available by phone, even when the library was closed, to make excellent recommendations and provide the books for touch-free pickup. We continue our Zoom calls, but now I can visit with these excellent professionals in person and their recommendations continue to be right on the money.
–Anonymous
One of the biggest challenges for parents of children with disabilities is finding communities where their kids will be included AND accepted. The Scotch Plains Public Library has ALWAYS been a safe haven for our children, instilling a love of books, reading, and learning from a very early age. When your kids are greeted with kindness in a place of learning and growing, and said place inspires a love of reading for all of your children at different stages of their lives, it’s hard to see why anyone wouldn’t want to continue supporting such a profoundly impactful community resource. It’s a well to which our family continues to go, week after week, month after month, and year after year…and it thankfully always delivers!
–Anonymous
Staff is very helpful. Fun activities. I have recently started to use the library again.
–Rebecca L.
Taking my daughter to the library to book shop on the weekends and topping it off with the scavenger hunts in the kids section is a nice mid day treat for us.
-Maria T.
We have the best, most helpful librarians and great programs! I attended an event with an expert on ospreys which was very informative and awesome!
–Anonymous
Absolutely enjoyed using senior adult help desk services in many ways. Coordinators always professional and available to assist over phone and in person. Especially helpful when searching for books hard to find on line. Wonderful home pick up/delivery especially during scary covid months and bad weather for shut ins. Easy way to be put on waiting lists for newly published books. And fun getting a call when available. Made using our library a joy.
–Anonymous
My first day in the library was in 2005 and my wife and I suspected our son might be autistic. I turned to the library, worried and in desperation. When I voiced our concern about or son to the librarian – looking for resources- she and someone in ears reach directed me to a program within the school system. We were connected to Children’s Specialized… we had just just moved to Scotch Plains from Manhattan. The outcome was a clear diagnosis and enrollment into the special needs program within the Scotch Plains school system where our son received early intervention. The library saved us frustration and worry and our son, now 21, is in community college, drives, and has been employed by Home Depot for two years now. An amazing outcome and journey that started in our local library.
–Larry Cardarelli
Everything costs so much money these days but here we are with all the knowledge we want, at our fingertips, for free from our Scotch Plains Library. What a deal. I love to read. I spend every night before going to sleep, reading a book for about an hour. My inquisitive mind loves not only fiction, but also learning about so many things and people. All I have to do is go to the library and take out some books or research what I’m curious about. I really would be lost without my library.
–Gloria M.
The new book acquisitions and the friendly staff.
–Richard E.
The SPPL, like every library, is a passport to any and every where in this world, worlds past and the worlds that writers imagine as our future. From that one place, one can go to some many places.
–Jeff Flynn
Great resource for adult, youth and children’s books. Welcoming atmosphere. We love the little readers program for my grandkids!
-Denise M.
The Scotch Plains Library staff is very helpful!
–Anonymous
Love the smell of a book, and turning the pages. It’s nice to be able to borrow a book. You can have some many adventures, learn a new language, cook something new, or even figure out how to design your home. This library is clean and friendly, with lots of media options. Thanks.
–Jennifer M.
I love the children’s section the most. The librarians are always so welcoming & accommodating! We love the crafts, the scavenger hunts (big hit), summer reading, and the carnival last summer was so fun. My kids 3 & 6 LOVE the Scotch Plains Library!
–Christine S.