Smith Library, Chautauqua, New York

[LIB7716] Smith Memorial Public Library anchors the southern end of Bestor Plaza inside the grounds of Chautauqua Institution.

Public Library, Brooklyn, New York

[LIB7715] The Circulation Hall or Ingersoll Building offers easy access to card catalogs, book charging and information desks, and subject divisions.

Library, Chicago, Illinois

[LIB7714] Published by H. C. Leighton Co., Portland, Me. Manufacturers of Postal Cards. Made in Germany. No. 692

Ray Memorial Library, Franklin, Massachusetts

[LIB7713] The Franklin Public Library is considered America's first public library. In 1778, when the town was incorporated, the designated name Exeter was changed to Franklin in honor of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. In return Franklin was asked to donate a bell for the town's church steeple. Acknowledging that "sense" was preferable to "sound", Dr. Franklin responded with an offer of books for the use of the town's residents. When the volumes arrived, a great controversy arose over who should be allowed to use them. On November 20th, 1790, those attending Franklin's town meeting voted to lend the books to all Franklin inhabitants free of charge. This vote established the Franklin collection as the first public library in the United States. The original Franklin collection is still housed in a book case in the library's Reading Gallery.

In 1904, the Ray Memorial Building was dedicated and the Franklin Library got a permanent building - a gift from the Ray family. That same year, the Ray family also established the Ray Memorial fund to provide for and maintain the building.

The Franklin Library Association ran the library until 1981 when the Franklin Public Library became a department of the town of Franklin. From 1987 to 1989, the Library underwent extensive restoration to maintain the original beauty and splendor of this beautiful classical Greek structure and to add a children's wing.

In 1990,  commemorate the library's bicentennial, the Franklin Public Library Bicentennial Commission published a short history of the library, "A History of America's First Public Library at Franklin Massachusetts, 1790 ~ 1990" written by John Peters and Nina C. Santoro.  Click here to read and enjoy. [Website]

Windsor Library, Windsor, Vermont

[LIB7712] The Georgian Revival structure, as designed, was opened to the public on June 4, 1904. The library building, on State Street in Windsor is one story, 60 by 28 feet, with an annex, 26 by 16 feet in the rear. The roof is the “finest Maine slate”; the foundation, Ascutney granite; the exterior walls are red brick and the base, cornices and all exterior trimmings, with quoins and dentils, are of Fitchburg granite. Two sets of elongated windows are on each side of the entrance in front, a portico with Doric columns, of the same granite. In the vestibule entrance, on the left, is a bronze relief of Mr. Blood, and a plaque bearing his birth date and place together with the following inscription: This building was erected by Benjamin F. Blood, of Waltham, Massachusetts, A.D. 1903, and by him presented to the people of Windsor to be forever used as a public library. A former citizen of Windsor, by industry and ability, he accumulated a fortune, and this he dedicated to the best interests of the descendants of his early associates and providing for them church, school and library advantages. [Website]

George Maxwell Memorial Library, Rockville, Connecticut

[LIB7711] The history of the Rockville Public Library began in 1893 with the bequest of $10,000 from George Maxwell to the town for a free public library.  Previously, private subscription library services, which charged a fee, existed in the area. The bequest was given with the provision that the town raise an equal amount in five years.

In 1893 the Rockville Public Library was incorporated and the Rockville Public Library Association was organized. The town appropriated the matching $10,000 in 1895, and the following year the library opened in the Hartford Connecticut Trust Company building on Elm Street.

The present building, constructed in 1904, was designed by Charles A. Platt of New York. It was a gift from Mr. Maxwell's wife and children after his death. In addition to the building, the gift included funding to maintain and operate the facility. The majority of the library's current operating budget continues to come from this source. The total cost for the lot, building, and furnishings was approximately $150,000.  The library was dedicated and opened on June 29, 1904. [Website]