Friday at 3 p.m., the lines had already built for a snack and some face painting. But the real cause for the celebration was that the Belmar library had reopened.

A special event featuring municipal, school district and library officials kicked off the reopening party, marking the first day since Hurricane Sandy that the Belmar library was open for business.

The heat had kicked on that morning, and the lights and computer systems were up, but the first floor meeting space, computers and other items remain destroyed.

However the library is open as a lending library as well as a place to congregate and seek answers from librarians. And that began anew Friday as the Belmar institution opened for the first time in a month.

Check out our gallery from the event.