Princeton Public Library (PPL) has served the community since Dec. 30, 1909. For nearly 116 years, it has been a home to good books, listening ears and open hearts. While the building, services and processes have changed, the mission has remained: “To connect everyone in our dynamic and growing community by advancing knowledge, encouraging dialogue and providing opportunities for discovery and joy.”
The history of libraries in Princeton begins in 1750, when Gov. Jonathan Belcher gave his private library to the College of New Jersey, later named Princeton University. Eventually, the collection was cataloged and a librarian was hired. Throughout the 1800s, Princeton University’s library was open to Princeton Borough residents. In the 1870s, subscription libraries also appeared around town, including the Ivy Hall Library and the Witherspoon Street Library, though it is unclear who was allowed to be a member and borrow books. By 1909, a movement was brewing in Princeton for a “free” library, as many residents wanted a broader selection of books. On Nov. 2, 1909, Princeton Borough residents voted in favor of establishing one. According to an article published in The Princeton Press on March 20, 1909, “The Witherspoon Street Library and the Ivy Hall Library agreed to give their books, 2,900 books and 2,000 respectively.” Agnes Miller was hired as Princeton Public Library’s first librarian, and the library was born.
The library has seen many changes over the past 116 years. What began as a small library on the second floor of 16 Witherspoon Street, with 605 cardholders checking out 7,046 books in 1910, is now a modern, three-story facility with more than 25,000 cardholders and nearly 590,000 items checked out in 2024. Today, librarygoers can use a sophisticated website and computers to browse a print and digital collection. Back in Ms. Miller’s time, card catalogs were the norm and the word “kindle” existed only as a verb, evoking the spark that reading and literature could ignite. The current building includes a Business Center with scanning, copying and printing services — the sorts of technologies one could only imagine in 1909. Despite these and many other changes — new buildings and locations, new furniture, new technology and new cardholders — more than just books have endured.
For all the technology available to locate information and communicate with one another, Princetonians find comfort within the walls of the library and in interacting with PPL’s librarians. On more than one occasion, I’ve heard a visitor quip, “Why go to the self-checkout station when I can talk to a librarian?” Connecting with the community is a top priority at PPL, and it certainly was for Ms. Miller. In her first annual report, covering December 1909 through Dec. 31, 1910, Miller highlighted the need for outreach to the community and to local schools. By her second year, she was already thinking about book clubs, story times and was even borrowing books from other libraries for Princeton residents – all services still in place today.
We may be living in a time of rapid technological change, but through it all, PPL’s mission will carry on, and our librarians will be here to help.
Image courtesy of the Princeton Public Library Office of Marketing and Communications.