WESTMORELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY (original) (raw)

33 South Village Road • Westmoreland, NH 03467 • 603-399-7750
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 am - 6 pm, Saturdays 9 am - 1 pm

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Holiday Hours

The Westmoreland Public Library will be closed on December 24th and December 26th for Christmas.
The library will be open a half day on December 31 until 1 pm for New Year's Eve.

Story Hour Story Hour is usually held on the Second Tuesday of the month at 11 am. Though geared toward 3 year-olds, all are welcome!Next Story Hour is:Tuesday, January 14th, 2025, 11:00 am Book Group Each month the Book Group meets to discuss what they have read.Next Book Group is:Tuesday, January 14th, 2025, 4:00 pm	Board Meeting The Board of Trustees meetings are open to the public, and minutes are available at the library to anyone who wishes to read them.Next Board of Trustees Meeting:January 16th, 4:00 pm Downloadable Books The Westmoreland Public Library has downloadable Ebooks and Audiobooks. See the Downloadable Books page for instructions on how to access hundreds of available titles.

A Brief History of the Library

Early records show the first libraries in Westmoreland were subscription libraries maintained in the private homes of W. J. Reed on Park Hill and Deacon Jon Cowdery in South Village.
In 1876, Willard Bill, Jr. and Reverend Charles N. Flanders took the first step to provide the Town of Westmoreland with a public library. They raised an initial sum of $116 by hosting a lecture series. The following year, a library association was formed which voted to formally gift these to the town for the purpose of organizing a free library. The town voted to accept the gift at its town meeting in 1888. The books previously held in the private libraries were then placed in various homes throughout the town and freely exchanged.
Almost twenty years later, in 1903, Mary Ruland, wife of the local minister, catalogued 2,955 books and the town voted to provide a suitable place to hold all of these books. The No. 3 schoolhouse in South Village which had closed three years before was chosen as the preferred site. Under the direction of Willard Bill, renovations soon began on the old brick schoolhouse which had been built in 1830. The first librarians were Misses Mary and Carrie Warren.
In 1905, the old school reopened as a public library with a new brick façade and a tower on each front corner in tribute to the two men who had been the visionaries so many years before.
In 2001, the town celebrated the addition of the Children's Room.

Book REturn Box

A Book Return box is outside the door for your convenience so you are able to return your books even if we are not open.

Please do not leave donations or anything else that is not a returning book in the Book Return.

A BIG Thank you to Michelle Priebe for painting the book spines on the box. It looks great!

Please feel free to contact the library with any questions.
Telephone: 603-399-7750 • Email: [email protected]