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Kler Reading Room

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old, tattered books and pamphlets

 

The Kler Reading Room contains books and historic materials focusing on the Raritan Valley, making it a regional resource for genealogy and history research. Included in the collection in the Kler Reading Room, located at the East Jersey Old Town Village, are library reference books on regional history, traditional historic crafts, archaeology, historic preservation, and material culture. There are also historic materials that include both three dimensional artifacts, photographs, and archival resources. 

The Kler Reading Room is home to the artifacts found in the online History Hub which connects visitors to over one hundred thousand artifacts, photographs, documents, and other resources curated by the Division of History and Historic Preservation. 

Discovering your family’s place in history    

The Kler Reading Room is a genealogy resource for visitors. Make an appointment to visit the Reading Room and have access to ancestry information both in physical documents and via online resources.  

The Kler Reading Room offers:  

  • On-site assistance from a genealogist during your appointment  

  • Access to subscription-based genealogy services like Ancestry.com, free-of-charge 

  • Access to thousands of artifacts, photographs, and documents to further your research 

 

The Kler Reading Room’s History 

It was named after Dr. Joseph Kler whose leadership created the East Jersey Old Town Village. In the 1970s, Dr. Kler saved historic buildings from demolition and relocated them to Johnson Park. The village would grow to become a center where the public could learn about the important history of Central New Jersey. The family continued to remain active in the village for many years and contributed financially to the growth of the reading room.  

Learn more about the Village and how to visit, here. 

old books stacked