Warren Township Library Reopened With New Paint Job

At noon sharp on Thursday, the Warren Township branch of the Somerset County Library reopened its doors after almost a month of being closed, with a new paint job and other interior improvements.

One of the more obvious changes is the purple walls in the children's section on the main floor of the building at 42 Mountain Blvd. in the center of Warren.

The library has been closed since Nov. 11. It was due to reopen this Saturday but was back to the usual schedule two days before planned, said Marcela Dunham, adult programming and public relations director at the library.

Library patrons already were inside the building shortly following the official reopening at noon, when other than being bright and clean, the library's staff was back in place and the inside looked light it might never have been closed.

Nevertheless, Dunham said that the staff removed books and materials from all over the building, upstairs and throughout the building, before the township's Department of Public Works removed the shelves.

The library employees were back in the building this Monday, unpacking and restocking the shelves, she said. The staff's efforts in putting the materials back in place were a good part of the reason the library reopened two days ahead of schedule, she said.

The library staff also was involved in some of the planning. Eloise Costello, youth services librarian, said the staff picked out the orchid color in the childrens' section of the library, after also considering orange and yellow.

Some library patrons were so eager to return, that they came in the building even when the staff still was working on getting the facility open again, Dunham said.

The book drop is now open and patrons may bring their returns back to the Warren library, according to information from Dunham.

Starting on Friday, patrons again may start placing holds on Warren items. Those library patrons who have any existing holds to be picked up at other locations of the county library system can change the pick-up location back to Warren starting on Friday morning, Dunham said.