The newly formed free library opened its doors on June 4, 1921. Circulation for 1921-22 was 34,864 items. Middletown Township Public Library was the first New Jersey library to provide service with a Model A bookmobile to the 40-square-mile rural community of less than 6,000 residents.

Actually, our library history goes back even a little further, after only a slightly hesitant start as two independent libraries (Navesink, established in 1914; Middletown, 1916), the Middletown Township Library appeared as a full-grown entity in June 1921. Middletown provided a pioneering model for rural library service nearly two years before Monmouth County voters approved the establishment of a county library. Below is the budget for 1921. Notice the postage and car maintenance budgets! They are very close to the actual building budget! In 1921 Middletown Township Library operated one of the first “book wagons” or bookmobiles to travel around the countryside and also would mail books to our rural community. If we compare 1921’s postage budget dollar value to 2020’s postage budget dollar value, we spend 48% less on postage today!