The Ramsey Free Public Library offers the community a way to connect to its past with an archive containing over 100 years of the community’s local history from various titles.
Ramsey, New Jersey is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey and is only 31 miles away from New York City. The Population was over 14,000 in the 2010 census. Ramsey, New Jersey is a town of 5.57 square miles.
“The patrons are very happy to have simplified access from a remote site to obtain historical and genealogical information.”
The Ramsey Free Public Library opened in 1907 as the Village Improvement Association laid the foundation for the library. At that time, the library had a book collection of 150 books, donated by local residents. In 1911, the Association would become a member of the New Jersey Circulating Library Commission, allowing them to grow their book collection. The association also aided in fundraising, and allowed them to purchase a desk, tables, chairs, and book shelves. In 1914, the library began to outgrow its original space in the local school, and was moved to a free room in The Journal’s building. The library operated there for only seven years, and then moved to larger quarters in the same building, with a rent of $6.00 per month – a price that included heating and electricity. In 1940, the library was allotted two rooms on the first floor of the Municipal Building. Click here to learn more about the history of the library.
The Ramsey Digital Archive is made up of historical documents from 1892-2018 and continues to grow. Explore current titles of The Ramsey Journal, The Waldwick Journal, The Journal, and the Ramsey High School yearbooks. We are proud to offer this free resource to the patrons of the Ramsey Free Public Library.
The Ramsey Free Public Library has digitized materials from our collection of local history materials, which are now available online in this archive. This project is an ongoing one, with additional materials still being processed and digitized from our physical collection. Currently, the online archive has available an assortment of Ramsey High School Yearbooks along with historic, local newspapers. Here are the current offerings:
- Ramsey High School Yearbooks: 1930-2018
- We are missing a number of years in that time span, but we are working to digitize and add those missing years.
- Years missing: 1931, 1934, 1935, 19378, 1937, 1940-1952, 1954-1956, 1958, 1960, 1964, 1978-1981, 2019-2020
- Historic Newspapers Available:
- The Ramsey Journal: 1892-1960
- The Journal: 1960-1967
- The Waldwick Journal: 1945
(Working with Advantage and Grant Kaestner was) Terrific as he helped us prioritize the process as well as assisting us in developing a landing page for our patrons.
Advantage believes strongly in building lasting partnerships, which is why we enter into them with the intent of shouldering our fair share. We take the burden off of the community for the ongoing costs associated with storage, hosting, development, and maintenance of their Community History Archive. We are proud to participate actively in the community’s efforts to make their collective history more accessible.
If you are outside of Ramsey, NJ and would like to see YOUR local history online, please contact your local library, newspaper publisher, genealogical society, historical society, or educational institution, and encourage them to learn more about creating a Community History Archive like the one the Ramsey Free Public Library has created for theirs. Ask them to e-mail us at info@AdvantageArchives.com, or have them contact us at (855) 303-2727.
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