The Mary Jacobs Branch of the Somerset County Library in Rocky Hill Looks to be Delayed

By Barbara A. Preston | August 4, 2022

The new Mary Jacobs Foundation (MJF), in partnership with Montgomery Township, Rocky Hill, and the Somerset County Library System, expected to re-open a small section of its building in September as a little library.

Mary Jacobs Branch of the Somerset County Library

The time-table has shifted. “Our goal remains to have the Mary Jacobs branch open before the end of the year,” according to Foundation Trustee and Communication Spokesperson Michelle Jacob. “Our interior renovations are out to bid and we will begin work as soon as possible,” she said in an email correspondence with The Montgomery News.

The foundation’s architectural firm, Cornerstone Architectural Group, submitted an application to Rocky Hill’s Planning/Zoning Board in June. “We were hopeful to be on the agenda for the July [12] meeting. The Planning Board responded to us with recommendations on July 18. We are revising our application based on their recommendations,” Jacob stated.

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Rocky Hill Borough Councilman Edgar “Trey” Delaney, explained in his July Library Committee Report that: “MJF is now pursuing a two-prong renovation approach in order to try and complete interior library renovations and reopen by late fall this year.” Fall ends in December.

The small branch library would operate on a pilot basis for two years with one staff member, reduced hours, and limited books. The MJF’s 17-page architectural plan, dated from February, calls for a new street-facing entrance way to the branch library and patio. When the MJF application is deemed complete by the Rocky Hill Planning Board, it will be available for public review, electronically, as part of the agenda.