As the heart of the Westfield community, the Westfield Memorial Library has been a cherished resource for residents of all ages. Each year, the library hosts its Annual Appeal Fundraiser, an essential initiative that directly supports its programs, resources, and services. This year, the campaign specifically aims to raise vital funds that will enhance and maximize the library’s physical space. The Annual Appeal Fundraiser invites community members to contribute, fostering a sense of ownership and pride in this vital institution. Donations will support various initiatives, including enhancing...

It’s October, which means that the orange of autumn is everywhere — on the leaves, on the pumpkins and, of course, on Halloween decorations. But this year the orange of the season is “green” at the Westfield Memorial Library, where the second annual Halloween Costume Exchange is a fun, ongoing eco-friendly event that also reduces waste. “I’m delighted that the library is helping Westfield residents to clean out their closets and celebrate Halloween in a more responsible way,” said Allen McGinley, Library Director. “Reducing waste and increasing environmental sustainability is what the...

As you may recall, Westfield Memorial Library hired professional consultants from Library Development Solutions in 2020 to evaluate the library and make recommendations for improvement. Their space assessment, and later the library’s 2021-2024 strategic plan, called for reducing the overall size of the library’s collections to better serve Westfield residents. In 2023, we joined a shared services consortium STELLA (formerly LMxAC), which enables us to provide Westfield residents with more materials (approximately 3,000,000), while physically storing fewer items in our library building. Our current...

The Westfield Memorial Library is excited to announce that library cardholders now have unlimited access to the world’s best digital publications through the new service PressReader. The library is located at 550 East Broad Street. Easy to read on a mobile phone or tablet, PressReader provides access to more than 7,000 of the world’s top newspapers as soon as they’re available on the shelves. There are no limits on downloads, and the patron can keep them indefinitely. Some of the newspapers Westfield cardholders can access on the library’s website wmlnj.org are: The New York Times, USA Today,...

Registration for the Westfield Memorial Library Summer Reading Program “Adventure Begins at Your Library” for kids ages 0 through 17 began Monday, June 17. Westfield library cardholders can register at http://wmlnj.readsquared.com,  through the READsquared app, or come to the library. The library is located at 550 East Broad Street. “Summer reading is critical to help students avoid the summer slide, which is the tendency of students to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year,” said director Allen McGinley. “Reading throughout the summer also fosters social-emotional...

The Westfield Memorial Library has collaborated with local fine artist Ricardo Roig to design a Limited-Edition library card. The card, which is a colorful digital replica of Roig’s hand-cut print of the library, is based on an aerial photograph taken by Garrett Maney. The limited-edition library card will be available for free to anyone who signs up for a new library card. Existing cardholders can purchase one as a replacement for $2.00. All replacement cards will have new library card numbers. The original framed “artist’s proof” of the card will be on permanent display in the library’s newly...

The Westfield Memorial Library and the Westfield Art Association are pleased to announce that two artists have been chosen for the new Artist-in-Residence program at the library. The Westfield Art Association is a non-profit volunteer organization founded in 1922 that provides public art education and public exhibitions. The two artists selected for the inaugural residencies are Jennifer Wilner and Kiyanna Lawrence. Wilner’s residency will be May 1 through July 30, followed by Lawrence’s residency November 1 through January 31. A BFA graduate in Communications Design at the Syracuse University...

By Glenn Alexander Hey Beautiful people… Shadowland has just released a new song called Wada B. Merky. It’s a groovin toe tapper with the incomparable Oria singin, the delicious Juke horns(Chris, John & Neal), funky bass by Greg Novick, Dave Anthony throwin down, a little organ by Scott Healy and yours truly singin and strummin da geetar. It’s available on all digital platforms including Spotify – https://tinyurl.com/4nhnasyc iTunes – https://tinyurl.com/y7tzjb9n Apple music – https://tinyurl.com/9bv7bhrv Hope ya dig it!!