Bethlehem Public Library — a short history |
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On May 14, 1913, the Delmar Progress Club organized the Delmar Free Library Association. Under a provisional charter granted by the Board of Regents, Bethlehem’s first public library opened in a room on the second floor of a schoolhouse on the corner of Kenwood Avenue and Adams Street. The library was staffed and administered by Progress Club volunteers until the school district took over proprietorship in 1931. The town’s first librarian was Eula Hallam, who presided over 2,750 titles and ordered the library’s first magazine subscription. She also drove the bookmobile, the first in the state to be operated by a school district library. The library moved twice: in 1917 to the building that now houses the school district offices, and in 1971 to its current location. In 1981 the circulation desk was computerized, and in 1983 the library acquired its first public access computer. In 1998 the card catalog was replaced by a computerized catalog linked to the other 28 libraries of the Upper Hudson Library System. In 2004 the library completed a major renovation project, remaining open during construction for all but a few days. The following year, community volunteers planted gardens on the grounds. Today the library houses over 128,000 books and media, 26 public computers and a public access television studio. It provides wireless access, a website and online resources of all kinds. It sponsors over 600 programs annually and offers its meeting rooms free to community groups. Over 300,000 people pass through its doors each year. The library also partners with community organizations including the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, the school district, Bethlehem Senior Projects, and Good Samaritan health care facilities. The library continues to be a vital and relevant part of Bethlehem community life—as it was at its founding almost a century ago. —Louise Grieco |
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