Holt secures federal funds for Public library technology refit

The Princeton Public Library will receive $100,000 in federal funding this year to ease the burden of the $17.6 million effort to rebuild the library.

The funds have been specifically allocated to upgrade the library's technology infrastructure, a small part of the total cost for the construction project.

"The new Princeton library will be a library for the information age," said Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., in a statement. "These funds will be used specifically to digitize the library and network it to the Internet."

The library trustees approached Holt late last year to request his assistance in obtaining federal funding during last-minute negotiations for the 2002 federal budget, said Leslie Burger, director of the library.

Holt successfully secured the funds from the House Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health and human services and education.

"In Princeton, it is very important that the money is coming back for education, reading and learning," Burger said, adding that the federal grant for the library is especially significant for Princeton.

"Congressmen and senators throughout the country advocate to bring back federal tax funds to their districts for building [infrastructure], and Congressman Holt was advocating for what Mayor Reed called a highway of the mind," Burger said.

The majority of the funds for the project will come from private donations. Burger expects individual contributions to amount to $12 million, while the current sum is $10.5 million. The town will provide the remaining $6 million, but may have a smaller bill as the state has already approved a $2.1 million grant which will cover some of the municipal costs.

The new library will begin construction this summer on the same site as the old library on Witherspoon Street in downtown Princeton. It is scheduled to re-open in December 2003.