The library's meeting rooms include the Carl T. Valenti Community Room and the Henry Guest House. The Community Room is located on the library's lower level, adjacent to the lower entrance. The Guest House is located between the library and Morris Street.
The meeting rooms of the New Brunswick Free Public Library may be reserved by non-profit groups for public gatherings when they are not being used for library programs. Meeting rooms are available at no charge during the hours that the library is open. You may obtain a copy of the policy and application for the use of the rooms by downloading and printing the PDF provided here:
Download the complete policy and application for use of the meeting rooms here.
Download an editable PDF here, in which you can fill out the form on your computer before printing it to then sign by hand. (You must download the PDF before you can fill out the editable fields. If you have a scanner, you may scan the signed printout and then email it. Otherwise, please deliver in person or send via fax or mail. Contact details are provided on the form.)
Some highlights of the meeting room policy include:
The meeting rooms can only be used by governmental, educational, community, and non-profit organizations that serve the New Brunswick community. The use of the room is not intended for individuals.
No organization may schedule the use of the meeting room for more than 36 hours per year including meetings canceled or rescheduled by the organization.
All meetings of non-profit and community organizations must conform with all local, state and federal laws and regulations and must be open to the public. Meetings may be restricted to those who meet appropriate and legally acceptable criteria such as age, gender, or medical history but may not exclude non-members of an organization. Organizations do not have to permit nonmembers to speak, interrupt, or disrupt their programs and presentations. They do have to permit the public to attend, observe, and learn.
Meetings must be without charge unless the Library Board of Trustees authorizes an admission fee in advance. The seeking of donations is prohibited. Nothing may be sold on the premises nor may orders for items be taken.
Meetings, including setup and cleanup time, are held when the Library is open to the public. Meetings may not be scheduled to start until 15 minutes after the Library opens and must conclude at least 15 minutes before the Library closes.
Each organization must clean up the meeting room and return it to the condition in which it was found.
Application Procedure:
Application on the required form must be made by a cardholder of the New Brunswick Free Public Library to the Library Director who will act upon completed applications within 5 days of receipt. Failure to provide 5 day's notice is grounds for the application to be summarily rejected.
If the organization is not connected to New Brunswick except that it serves this community, exemption from the requirement of a New Brunswick Free Public Library card-holder making application for use of the room may be requested.
Return the completed form to Ms. Ruiz in person, via mail, or fax (732-846-0226).
Please note: The library will supply contact information of the organization and person in charge of the meeting upon public request.
The Carl T. Valenti Community Room is named in honor of Carl T. Valenti (1931-2008). A civic leader and lifelong resident of New Brunswick, Mr. Valenti served in all chairs of the Library's Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2008, and was a member of the Friends of the New Brunswick Free Public Library. The room can accommodate about 100 people or can be divided into two meeting spaces.
The Henry Guest House has two rooms on its main floor that can be used as meeting spaces for about 20 people each. Henry Guest was a prominent New Brunswick citizen with a flourishing tannery. In 1755, he bought two and a half acres on what would become the corner of Livingston Avenue and New Street. Five years later, Guest built a sandstone house in which he and his family lived until his death in 1815. In 1924, the house was moved up Livingston Avenue to its present location next to the New Brunswick Free Public Library, and has been under the care of the library since 1925.