Aglaura Public Library

Originally built in in 1927 as part of the state-wide county and township re-alignment and re-development plan, the tiny Ong's Hat Library building was primarily stocked with books donated from existing New Jersey public libraries and local citizens' private collections. A good number of the early books were from the nearby abandoned health center once run by Dr. James Still, consisting of medical encyclopedias and reference texts, general science books in the fields of botany, chemistry, electrical, and magnetic theory, as well as many metaphysical works. As the area's economy deteriorated through the early 1930's the library building was closed and sealed up, books and all, until such time as the population in the surrounding areas could support its re-opening.

As the area's population began to grow steadily through the 1970's and 80's, Burlington County began to look at upgrading its public library system throughout the county and re-opening the former Ong's Hat Public Library was seen as a relatively inexpensive alternative to building an entirely new facility somewhere in the area. In 1983 the building was officially re-opened to the residents of Pemberton Township and the surrounding Burlington County area under the direction of Head Librarian Agatha Dobbs, wife of the late local businessman Eugene Dobbs and mother of current Aglaura mayor Pat Dobbs. Tasked with "rejuvenating" the outdated contents of the library, Mrs. Dobbs began a campaign that lasted several years to augment and replace the library's outdated volumes and included bringing in a large portion of the locally famous Wali Fard collection of books and manuscripts.

The original 1927 structure has been renovated a few times, most recently in 2002 when an additional wing was added onto the facility. This provided much-needed extra space for additional collections. The 1927 structure lives on as the center (and heart) of the library. It has become a genuine landmark, both historically and to tourists.