Freeport Memorial Library History

The Freeport Memorial Library was established in 1884 by Professor Loren M. Burdick, principal of the Freeport Schools, with funds raised by amateur entertainment. For a while, the books were kept in the clothes closet of the principal’s office in the Grove Street School. In 1895, the Board of Regents of New York State granted a provisional charter. The following year 759 volumes constituted the Library’s book collection and circulation reached 1,174. A permanent charter, signed by Melvil Dewey, was granted on December 21, 1899.

The Library was housed in the school until 1911 when it was moved to a rented room in the Miller Building on South Grove Street . Members paid ten cents for a card and were permitted to borrow two books, one fiction and one nonfiction. In 1920, the first public drive for funds for a new building was started. Elizabeth Pirodsky, a sixth grade student at the Seaman Avenue School, was the first donor. In August 1920, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Assemblyman for the Second District and the late President’s son, sent the Freeport Memorial Library Association a $20 donation. Assemblyman Roosevelt also issued a statement commending the choice made for a memorial and encouraged gifts from the American Legion members. One thousand citizens of the Village of Freeport voluntary contributed $36,500 to the fund drive. John Anderson, owner of the site of the new building at the corner of Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue, was paid for $14,775 for the land. Ground was broken for the Library on the northwest corner of Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue on April 30, 1921. The cornerstone was laid on June 25, 1922 . On Memorial Day in1924, the Beaux Arts building designed by architect Charles M. Hart was dedicated as the first war memorial library in New York State. In 1925 the Freeport Library, officially changed its name to the Freeport Memorial Library. Three years later, a memorial tablet with the names of Freeporters who died while serving in the military during the Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War I was dedicated. This table included the inscription: “In this Memorial / As in the hearts of the people of Freeport / The Memorial of the Men and Women who served in the / Wars of our Country will be enshrined forever.”

The completion of the Freeport Memorial Library building was an appropriate climax to the efforts of the citizens of the village to find a suitable and lasting memorial to the sacrifices made by those who died in the service of their country. A close look at the engravings on the original building reveals the names of the historic battles of World War I, the Spanish American War, and Civil War.

Population growth, the increased use of the Library, and a necessarily expanding book collection, soon made the original Library building inadequate. Work towards a new addition was begun to meet these needs. On Sunday afternoon, April 19, 1959, a new wing was dedicated.

In 1982, on the 90th anniversary of the Village of Freeport the residents elected to expand their Library once again. By purchasing the building adjacent to it, the Library was expanded to twice its size (48,359 square feet). The new addition was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1985. This expansion allowed the original reading room to be restored and plaques honoring Freeporters who died in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, were added. Today the Freeport Memorial Library is one of the largest public library facilities in Nassau County .

Sources:

Bentel, Maria and Frederick Bentel. “Building the Community.” Long Island Architecture. Ed. Joann P. Krieg. Long Island Studies, Hofstra University, 1991. 41-50.

Cessese, Sid. “Freeport’s Reading Memorial.” Newsday 28 Mar 2004, Combined ed.: G22.

DeLorme, John F. Photographic History of Early Freeport. Collected and annotated by John F. DeLorme, 1955.

Edwards, Guy. Study of a Public Library: Freeport Memorial Library. Graduate Paper, Long Island University, 1986.

Freeport Newsletter. Freeport, NY: Village of Freeport June, 1960.

-- "Automation Topic of Library Board." The Leader 5 August 1982: 4

-- "Break Ground for Library on Saturday." The Freeport News 22 April 1921: 1

-- “For a Free Library." Brooklyn Daily Eagle 11 Mar 1896: 5.

-- “For the Library.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2 Nov 1897: 12.

-- “For the Library Fund.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle 5 Mar 1902: 8.

-- “Freeport’s New Library.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle 4 Apr 1896: 19.

-- Freeport Library Association Correspondences (binders 1 and 2) [circa 1920].

-- “Freeport’s Library” Brooklyn Daily Eagle 25 Mar 1898: 4.

-- Freeport Memorial Library Dedication Brochure. 1924.

-- "Subscriptions to Library Fund Raised $10,000." The Freeport News 6 May 1921: 1

Groves, Marion Nash. The History of the Freeport Memorial Library, 1884-1938. Brookville, NY: Graduate Library School of Long Island Univ. 1968.

Metz, Clinton E. Freeport as It Was. Freeport, NY: Clinton Metz, 1976.

1884	Library was established by Grove Street School Principal
1895	Provisional charter grated by the State Board of Regents to the Freeport Public Library
1896	Freeport ’s population was 2250
1899	Permanent charter, signed by Melvil Dewey, founder of the American Library Association and creator of the Dewey Decimal Classification system, obtained
1903	Professor Eugene S. McKinley, acting Librarian, received a letter from Andrew Carnegie offing $10,000 to erect a free public library if Freeport could provide a suitable location and guarantee $1000 a year be dedicated to the Library. No documentation has been found to explain why Freeport declined Mr. Carnegie's offer.
1908	Alice Rogan appointed the first Librarian
1911	Library moved to the Miller Building , 28 South Grove Street (now Guy Lombardo Avenue)
1919	September 1, 1919 - Monument and tree dedicated in memory of Freeport firefighter and World War I casualty, Henry Theodore Mohr by the Freeport Fire Department. Monument and tree later relocated to the Library grounds
1920	Freeport ’s population reached 8600
1920	Drive was started for public subscription for funds
1920	August 10, 1920 - $20 donation sent to the Freeport Memorial Library Association from Assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt (the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt and a founder of the American Legion)
1920	September 9, 1920 – Contract drawn up for purchase of land for Library building
1921	April 30, 1921- ground was broken for the new building
1922	Cornerstone was laid after a week of delay from the rain
1924	May 13, 1924 (Memorial Day) – building dedicated and became the first war memorial library in New York State
1925	Name officially changed to Freeport Memorial Library, honoring the War Dead
1927	May 30, 1927 – dedication of a bronze plate inscribed with the Gettysburg address from the Women’ Relief Corps
1927	Children’s Room and services initiated
1928	Memorial Tablet added to the main reading room. (View photo of Civil War Veterans attending the ceremony)
1938	After 30 years of service Alice Rogan retires
1939-45	Lena Ruppert served as Librarian. Resigned in 1945 to work in US Overseas Information Center
1939	Junior High School room and services initiated
1943	Columbus Avenue School served as a branch Library until the coming of the Bookmobile in 1952
1944	Collection of recordings was started
1945-59	Elizabeth Kelly appointed Director
1951	16mm film collection for family and group was started in 1959
1952	Bookmobile begins neighborhood and school stops
1957	Ground was broken for the building addition. Architect: Charles A. Wood
1958	New addition dedicated
1960	Wilfred L. Morin appointed Director. Formerly library specialist with U.S. Office of Education
1960	Joined the Nassau Library System
1960	Memorial plaques added to the front of the building
1961c.	Gold Star Window added
1962	Framed picture collection added for circulation
1975	Friends of the Freeport Memorial Library established
1978	Bell sculpture on East building and carillon donated by Dr. Mervin L. Schloss Foundation in memory of his parents
1978	December - Jeanette Klempner elected first woman president of the Library Board.
1982	Wilfred Morin retires
1982	Gerald (Jerry) Nichols, who started his library career as a bookmobile driver, appointed Library Director
1982	Freeport residents elect to expand Library again
1982	Job Education and Information Center created
1982	Automated Circulation System initiated
1983	Building owned by Adelphi University, purchased by the Freeport School District for Library expansion.
1984	Online card catalog system initiated
1984	Zippy the Chimp gets a Freeport Memorial Library card
1985	May 19, 1985 - New Library addition dedicated on Memorial Day – FML becomes Nassau County ’s largest public Library until Hewlett Woodmere Public Library expansion in 1996
1986	Jerry Nichols leaves to become Library Director at Half Hollow Hills Public Library. He later becomes Director of Suffolk Cooperative Library System
1986	Dave Opatow appointed Library Director
1989	ALIS Corporation formed
1991	Paper card catalogs removed and replaced with OPACs
1996	Library provides free Internet service
1998	April 19, 1998 – Children’s Wing dedicated to Vincent S. Palladino, M.D., to mark his 25 years of services a member of the Library Board of Trustees
1999	Freeport Landmarks Preservation Committee places historical marker on Library grounds
2000	Freeport population is 44,026
2002	Community Services Department formed
2002	Tree planted in memory of Laura Marchese (Giglio) – former Library employee who died on 9/11
2003	Bookmobile services discontinued
2003	Bookmobile garage torn down to make room for additional parking
2003	American Legion dedicates a new War Memorial the front of the Library building.
2004	WiFi introduced
2004	LILRC invites the Library to join a Long Island history digitization program. Library and Freeport Historical Society partner in the scanning process
2004	March 28, 2004 – Newsday features Library in article “ Freeport ’s Reading Memorial” (page G22)
2004	Freeport Memorial Library’s collection includes 217,385 books, 48 subscription databases, 7,000 video recordings, 19,409 audio recordings, and 434 periodical subscriptions. The Library provided 8,000 adult, YA, and Children’s programs. The annual number of visits was approximately 426,843.
2006	February 5, 2006 - An article featuring FML’s popular Conversation Circles program, appears in Newsday (“At the Libraries, The Accent is on Learning the Lingo” page G2).
2007	Freeport Memorial Library featured as a "Library of Distinction" in Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love: Treasured Libraries of the United States and Canada
2007	July - Librarian Anita Gordon retires after 35 years of service