Montgomery Township will build a new library

The Mary Jacobs Memorial Library in Rocky Hill.

A new library will be built in Montgomery as part of the new town hall project. The township currently is developing plans for municipal services at the Convatec property. The Somerset County Library System is partnering with Montgomery Township on the project, and officials hope to receive funding from the referendum that passed in November that will fund library capital projects.

Montgomery is conducting a survey to find out what residents think about potential library features. You can take the survey online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/montylibrary.  The Somerset County Library System would operate the new library.

A homework center, a community theatre, a technology resource center, an early childhood reading readiness center, a co-working space, a self-publishing center, and new digital equipment are just some of the offerings that are being considered for the new library.

Construction on the new library is expected to be complete in about three years.

The fate of the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library in Rocky Hill is unclear. The trustees of the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation said they only learned about the new library after the decision had been made by Montgomery Township. The Mary Jacobs Memorial Library Foundation owns the building and grounds of the current library.

“Going forward, we are fully committed to the stewardship of Mary Jacobs’ legacy and to her husband’s wishes that the foundation serve the community,” wrote the trustees in a recent letter about the future of the library. “As the foundation’s future plans come into focus, we will update community members in order to be as transparent as possible.”