United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ announced plans to reopen the Waldor Memorial Library in Whippany, three months after temporarily closing the facility and eliminating a full-time librarian position.

The 25,000-volume Judaica library will reopen on Monday, Dec. 3. Volunteers will staff the circulation desk, but there are no plans to hire a professional librarian at this point, officials said.

The library, located at the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus, will be open Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Volunteers will be recruited from the senior adult programs of JCC MetroWest, and senior adult program staff employed by the JCC will be based in the library.

Arthur Sandman, UJC Metro West associate executive vice president, said the staff members "will not be librarians, but they will be on hand, near the volunteers. UJC remains responsible to ensure the library is being properly maintained.

"At this point in time, we're focusing on getting the library open. We hope to be able to restore a higher level of functioning, but right now we're looking at the basics," said Sandman.

The higher level of functioning, he acknowledged, might include a professional trained in providing assistance with reference questions, catalogue use, and acquiring material.

"There have always been volunteers working in the library at the circulation desk. It's a task that can be done by volunteers," said Sandman. "At this point we don't have the resources to provide a professional librarian."

Citing a "difficult" allocations process, UJC MetroWest announced in August that the library would be closed temporarily while the umbrella philanthropy worked with local Jewish agencies to find ways to run the library "at lower cost."

The library began in 1938. It moved into the Whippany campus in 1992 and was named in memory of the parents and brother of longtime UJC supporter Jerry Waldor, who passed away in 2006. Waldor and his wife, Rita, established the Waldor Library Resource Endowment Fund, which provides the library with an annual guaranteed income for acquisition of new materials. The funds are still available, although they are not being used currently, according to Sandman.

Once the library is functioning, he said, "Then we'll work with the issues of the collection. How that will end up, I just don't know yet."