The East Longmeadow Public Library supports lifelong learning, literacy, and cultural enrichment by providing access to information, knowledge, and ideas through its collections, services and programs.
The East Longmeadow Public Library aims to be central to the town’s growth and development, responsive to the needs of the community, and committed to quality service through positive interactions and a welcoming environment for all.
The East Longmeadow Public Library values are those held by the American Library Association (ALA):
Access
Equity
Intellectual Freedom & Privacy
Public Good
Sustainability
Since its founding in 1896, the East Longmeadow Public Library grew from a couple hundred books on shelves in the Board of Selectman’s office in the town hall to the two-story building it inhabits today. During those years, library users saw the library grow and adapt through many transformations. The library quickly outgrew its space in the Selectman’s office and was moved into a room of its own within the town hall. In 1957, the library moved into a building next to the town hall, and ten short years later, the town purchased, expanded, and renovated the Carlisle’s Hardware Store, a building adjacent to the town hall, to use as the library. The role of the public library and the delivery of information changed drastically over the next thirty-seven years, and in 1994 the Board of Library Trustees and concerned citizens began many long years of studies, surveys, plans, and fundraising to create a library that would meet – and grown with – the needs of its community.
A new building, which almost doubled the space of the former library building, was opened to the public in February 2004. The library is conveniently located in the center of town, in a building adjacent to town hall.
