POMPTON LAKES PUBLIC LIBRARY
Emanuel Einstein Memorial Building

In a 1953 referendum vote the residents of Pompton Lakes supported the municipalization of this necessary part of the cultural life in Pompton Lakes. Incorporated as the Free Public Library of the Borough of Pompton Lakes, the library continues to maintain the facility donated to the community in 1912.

Emanuel Einstein, President of Somerset Manufacturing Company and Vice President of Raritan Woolen Mills, summered in Pompton Lakes for many years prior to his death in 1909. It was announced the year after his death that his wife, Fannie Einstein, and children, Alice and George, had decided to perpetuate his name by erecting and presenting to the Borough of Pompton Lakes a two-story building to be named the Emanuel Einstein Memorial.

The original building contained a library with a reading room open at all hours for public use. The second floor had a gymnasium and an assembly or meeting room. The building was for the public good and in the words spoken, at the dedication, by Judge Watson of Passaic "the magnificence of the gift to the people of this community... It meant more to the people than a mere gift because it represented higher education".

In early years the library offered a monthly Baby Welfare Clinic with Dr. Vreeland and Dr. Colfax in attendance to examine babies and advise mothers. The Assembly room was the scene of many dances and gymnastic classes. During WWII the Red Cross used the space to hold first aid classes. In 1954, part of the second floor was converted to a children's room. An air conditioning system was installed in 1970. The last renovation and redecoration of the interior was accomplished in 1975-1976. Parking spaces were doubled and a ramp built to accommodate the handicapped.
Over the years, the library has had ten Directors: Mrs. Thomas Wood, Miss Mary Jacobs, Mrs. David Boyle, Mrs. Laura J. Connolly, Mr. John D. Philip, Mr. Robert Pierce, Mrs. Dorothea DeBrettville, Mr. Joseph Rosenbloom, Dr. John Donovan, and current Director, Dr. Margaret M. Freathy.

A special Reading Garden was constructed and dedicated, in 1991, to Alice E. Van Orden and the Einstein Family in recognition of the gift bestowed on the citizens of Pompton Lakes.