Kurt Landsberger (1920-2014) will be remembered as a successful businessman, an environmentalist, and a community activist, and the Pequannock Township Public Library will also fondly remember him as a writer, researcher, and benefactor. Kurt Landsberger founded Bel-Art Products in 1946, a United States based manufacturer, headquartered in Pequannock Township. Kurt Landsberger approached the Pequannock Township Public Library Board of Trustees with the idea of creating a Holocaust collection In the early 1990s. The collection was to be funded by the Landsberger Family and would include books and media, and also a donation of seating. Over the years, more books were purchased. The Pequannock Library has since developed a collection of hundreds of volumes that can be used not only by Pequannock Library residents, but by anyone doing research on the Holocaust. The Landsberger Holocaust Collection is located immediately following our Non-Fiction Collection, near the Local History Room.
In 2014, the late Virginia Forde, who grew up in Pequannock, left the Pequannock Township Public Library an incredibly generous donation. Virginia Forde’s will left money to the library in memory of Forde’s grandmother, Anna Schmidt, who was the first board president of the Pequannock Township Public Library. The money allowed the library to construct “Ginny’s Corner,” a beautiful expansion of our library’s children’s department, for the whole community to enjoy. Virginia Forde also left us a small collection of books from her personal library, which include books on Russian history, dance, and performing arts. These books have their own section in the library, near our adult public computers, and are available for checkout.
The New Jersey & Local History Collection includes extensive non-fiction books, pamphlets, historical records, and more, related to the history of Pequannock Township, Morris County, and the State of New Jersey. Many materials are available for check-out, and some materials are reference and can be used in the Library only. The collection is located at the end of our Non-Fiction Collection, near the Local History Room.