Significant Donation Made To Ocean City, NJ Public Library

A community library is a community centerpiece for many towns and part of the lives of those who grow up in those communities. One South Jersey resident used his will to bestow some of his wealth to help a Cape May County town's Library.

The Ocean City Free Public Library will be receiving $148,000 thanks to William Landis Haines, who passed away on Sunday, June 27, 2021, but the first payment from his estate came in this year for the South Jersey Coastal Community.  OCFPL Board of Trustees Attorney Steve Barse explained at the Monday, November 13th Meeting that $48,000 of the money has already arrived for the Ocean City Free Public Library.

According to his obituary, William Landis Haines was an Ocean City, New Jersey resident who originally grew up in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from S. Horace Scott High School. Haines worked for many years as an Academic Librarian for colleges in the state of New York along with Chicago, finishing his career working at the Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York before retiring to Ocean City.

Haines' passion for books was a major part of his life and in his Will, he wanted to give money to the Ocean City Free Public Library along with nine charitable organizations. The rest of the $100,000 set aside for the library will come to the OCFPL Board of Trustees Attorney when the Will's Executor approves the release of those funds.

Located between 18th and 17th streets with entrances on Simpson and Haven Avenues, the Ocean City Free Public Library is independent of the Cape May County Library System.  The popular Ocean City Library is located inside the Ocean City Community Center. That building is also home to the Ocean City Historical Museum, the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center, Ocean City Aquatic and Fitness Center, along with the Ocean City Arts Center.