More Cuts at the Jersey City Library: Biblioteca Criolla Will Move to Main Branch

By • May 5th, 2010 • Category: Arts, Blog, News

The “severe budgetary constraints” Jersey City’s Free Public Library system is facing have led to another casualty, the library announced today: The Biblioteca Criolla, which was founded in 1972 to focus exclusively on Spanish works and to present Latino culture, will close its 1st Street storefront branch on Monday and move into the 4th floor of the main library branch on Jersey Avenue.

When it reopens in the main branch on June 14, Criolla will resume all of its programming, but will focus on providing Spanish services only, with its Children’s Story Hour becoming exclusively Spanish. Most books will be in Spanish, but the collection will continue to include some books in English that pertain to Spanish authors.

The main library space, which used to house an art gallery, was redesigned by Jersey City firm Helena Ruman Architects, and will include a children’s reading area, six computer banks, tables in an open space that can be removed for larger programs and exhibits, an adult reading area and a stacks area.

“Recognizing the financial times we are in, and still wanting to provide the most comprehensive Spanish collection and services in Spanish to our loyal patrons, both local and from afar, we believe the new Criolla, now a unit instead of a neighborhood branch, will continue to satisfactorily serve the needs of the Spanish communities,” assistant library director Sonia Araujo, who oversees Criolla, says in a statement.

The budget woes at the library, which has seen reduced funding from Jersey City as the city itself struggles with budget issues, have this year led to the closing of the Pearsall Branch in Greenville, a reduction of hours at the main library, and the laying off of 28 part-time employees.

Criolla will be closed Monday, May 10, but book returns will be accepted at the branch until Friday, May 21. During the transition — from May 10 to June 14 — no overdue fines will be charged.

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is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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  • Would-Be/Soon-To-Be?JCres

    Um, how about cutting out spanish altogether?

    Yeah, people should learn English or go somewhere where you’re actually forced to learn spanish.

    Really, with all the budgetary woes I think most people would have liked to have seen even one part-time employee working than yet another misguided multi-culti program promoting politically correct agenda.

  • Alb

    Sorry, but, if Jersey City were going to handle languages using a “majority rules” approach, it would probably cut out English.

    Look in the classifieds here for employers seeking receptionists. Almost all of them say “bilingual in Spanish” either required or strongly preferred.