On April 9, 1889, after two earlier attempts, citizens of Jersey City voted for the provision (15,304 to 345) after which Mayor Orestes Cleveland appointed a board of trustees.

Despite the state mandate to fund public libraries the city resisted appropriating the resources; he took the matter to court, where the case was easily won.

[7] The Main Library, a four-story Renaissance Revival granite building, is located on Jersey Avenue at Montomgery and Mercer in Historic Downtown.

[10] Following a design competition, the architectural firm of James Brite and Henry Bacon was selected and on August 16, 1899, the cornerstone was laid.

The room was created in 1964 to merge the collections of William H. Richardson and the Hudson County Historical Society with the material the library already possessed.