Hurricane Ida slammed into New Jersey, and Woodbridge, on September 1, 2021, leaving a trail of destruction and flood damage in the hard-hit Colonia section of the Township. In particular, the Henry Inman Branch Library, located at 607 Inman Avenue, suffered severe flood damage from the rising waters of the Pumpkin Patch Brook.

In the aftermath of the storm, the Township surveyed the damage and reported that the library incurred significant damage to all of the building floors, including water damage to at least four-feet of wallboard around the entire building, most of the furnishings and shelves, along with more than 3,000 books, were heavily damaged and lost.
The Inman Branch was closed to the public and the Branch Librarians and staff members were relocated to the Evergreen

Senior Center located at 400 Inman Avenue on October 8 offering limited services.
The Township Administration, along with the Library Board of Trustees, is committed to re-opening the Henry Inman Branch Library and has retained an independent architect – The Vaughn Collaborative – to survey the damage and provide an estimate to repair and replace the library building and interior furnishings. The review is underway and it is anticipated that work will begin as early as this Spring.

“We are grateful to the Township Department of Public Works for their quick response, the Evergreen Senior Center for allowing us a location to maintain some library services to Colonia and to all of the library patrons who have called to offer their time to help with the recovery efforts,” said Library Board President Isha Vyas.

The Library Board of Trustees invites Colonia residents and all regular Henry Inman library visitors to use other WPL branches during this time. The Main Library is located at 1 George Frederick Plaza in Woodbridge, the Iselin Branch, 1081 Green Street in Iselin, and the Fords Branch Library, 211 Ford Avenue. Woodbridge Township Library cards are valid in more than 50 area libraries in the MURAL system in Middlesex and Union County, as well.

Contact the Main Library, 732-634-4450 ext. 5, for more information or visit the Woodbridge Public Library website, woodbridgelibrary.org to “Ask-A-Librarian” by e-mail or chat.