Library Children’s Room Expansion
The Township of Cranford recently announced that it has secured matching funds that will allow the Township to proceed with a long-planned expansion of the Cranford Library Children’s Room and other Library renovations. The $2 Million matching funds included in the New Jersey State Budget for fiscal Year 2024 will allow Cranford to double the size of the Children’s Room and expand services. The project, first proposed by the Cranford Library Board of Trustees in 2015, advanced in 2018 when the Cranford Township Committee committed $960,000 pending additional funds from other sources.
“The Cranford Public Library is overwhelmed with appreciation and gratitude that we are being given the resources we need to make this library the best resource we can for the people of Cranford, said Cranford Library Director Kathy Cannarozzi. “The children and their families will be blessed with the space to grow, learn, and explore. Speaking for the library staff and myself, we will put these funds to good use and create a space of imagination and growth.”
The proposed project will provide Cranford with a state-of-the-art Children’s Area, increasing the current 2,442 square feet to 4,995 square feet. The expansion will include an Early Literacy space; interactive elements such as learning walls, flannel boards, play tables; technology workstations; parenting resources and materials; and, accessible storage for games, puzzles and board books. The expansion will also provide the library with additional room for adult and child-size seating, space for strollers and carriages, and additional Library refurbishment.
