MORRISTOWN -- The F.M. Kirby Foundation has announced a gift of $250,000 to the New Edition, the campaign to fund the expansion and renovation of the Morristown & Morris Township Library. In recognition of the contribution, the new gallery to accommodate exhibits of historic and artistic interest and special events will be named the F.M. Kirby Exhibition Gallery.

The gift brings the campaign to within $790,000 of the $8 million goal for the Phase 1 of the construction project, a three-level 13,800 square foot addition to the building on South Street and Miller Road. The project will triple the size of the Children’s Room, create a Young Adult’s Room, expand the Local History and Genealogy Department, add computers and space for reading areas and increase parking spaces. Phase II, which entails renovation of the nearby 1830 building at 83 South Street, will be undertaken at a later date.

In announcing the grant, S. Dillard Kirby, executive vice president and executive director of the FM Kirby Foundation, said the family foundation, headed by his father, F.M. Kirby, President, is delighted to participate in the expansion of the library and the creation of the gallery. “We look forward to an ongoing relationship in providing community access to local treasures,” he said.

Stephen Wiley, chairman of the campaign’s Victory Team, said the generosity of the F.M. Kirby Foundation would allow the Library to give the community access to its treasures.

“The library has a huge store of intriguing historic materials, including books, magazines, photographs, maps and fine arts,” he said, “but because of limited space and specialized facilities, they are now behind locked doors and unavailable to the public. This gift will permit us to provide an ideal location where they can be enjoyed by all our patrons.”

The new gallery will be located on the Library’s second floor between the balcony and the Local History and Genealogy Department, in an area, which now houses non-fiction stacks.

Architectural plans calls for transforming the space into an exhibit area. The large wall opposite the windows will be used for displays of large items and low, free-standing cases will be installed to exhibit documents, prints and open books. Window glass will be filtered to protect exhibits and correct archival practices will be employed to insure the exhibits are protected. Comfortable seating will be added so that the area may also serve as a reading room.

Library planners envision the Gallery as the setting for rotating exhibits of the Library’s own holdings, shows of borrowed items and as a venue for gallery talks, mini-courses, book signings and similar events.

The New Edition campaign has been supported by a broad array of donors, including grants from Morristown and Morris Township and the State of New Jersey, foundations, corporations and over 800 individual donors.

The F.M. Kirby Foundation, based in Morristown, focuses on funding for organizations within the geographic areas of particular interest to five generations of the Kirby family. Foundation grants are made to a wide range of non-profit organizations in education, health and medicine, the arts and humanities, civic and public affairs as well as religious, welfare and youth organizations, churches, hospitals, schools and colleges. It also supports national medical research, service organizations, and public policy organizations espousing the Foundation’s fundamental beliefs.

The F.M. Kirby Foundation has long been a major contributor to worthy Morristown causes. It has previously supported the Library through other grants. Most recently, it provided $15,000 to purchase a computer and hire an instructor to teach word processing classes at various levels of ability.

MORRISTOWN -- The Morristown & Morris Township Library has successfully reached the goal for its New Edition campaign, a fund for expansion and renovation of the library.
Stephen Wiley, chairman of the Victory Team, the group that led the final phase of the fund-raising effort, said the campaign had received gifts and grants for $8 million, the estimated cost of the construction project.
With these funds in hand, he said, the library can now proceed to the next step, completing the bid documents and putting the project to bid. Library trustees hope to confirm a contractor this fall.
The campaign, under general chairman Paula Gottesman, will continue to seek funds for furniture and furnishings which are expected to cost between $500,000- $600,000.
Wiley said the success of the campaign is due to the generosity of the community – the governing bodies of the town and the township, the State of New Jersey, corporations and businesses, foundations and 800 individuals. Donations ranged from coins contributed by school children to the $1.4 million from the Township of Morris.
Wiley also had high praise for the dozens of volunteers who worked with the campaign to help achieve its goal. “So many people lent us their time and their professional skills,” Wiley said. “Practically all of the aspects of the campaign – administration, fund-raising, communications, publications and public relations- were handled by volunteers.”
The support of both the donors and volunteers, he said, demonstrates the important position the library holds in our community.
“Our people recognize its value as a place of learning, information, culture and entertainment, “ Wiley said. “With this project, we can better serve all of the almost 1,000 people who use the library every day – from the young families who come to story hours, to the students who do research in the stacks and on our computers to the adults who learn the basics of computers and the Internet.”
The project entails construction of a three-level 13,800 square foot addition to the building on South Street and Miller Road. The project will triple the size of the Children’s Room, create a Young Adult’s Room and a new exhibit gallery, expand the Local History and Genealogy Department, add computers and space for reading areas and increase parking spaces.
For more information on the campaign and the project, call Molly Dunn, capital campaign coordinator, at 973-538-6161.