History of the Freeport Memorial Library: Timeline - Freeport Memorial Library History

• Library was established by the Grove Street School Principal, Loren M. Burdick

• Provisional charter granted by the state Board of Regents to the Freeport Public Library

• Freeport's History was 2,250
• The library was opened to the public.  Professor C. W. Oley acted a librarian. The library consisted of 1,000 books with 200 to 300 books to be added annually

• The library had a total of 1,354 books in its collection; circulation was between 120 and 150 books borrowed per week

• A permanent charter, signed my Melvil Dewey, founder of the American Library Association and creator of the Dewey Decimal system, was obtained

• Professor Eugene S. McKinley, acting librarian, received a letter from Andrew Carnegie offering $10,000 to erect a free public library if Freeport could  provide a suitable location and guarantee $1,000 a year to be dedicated to the library.  No documentation had been found to explain why Freeport declined this offer

• Freeport Library adopted the Dewey Decimal Classification System

• Alice Rogan appointed the first librarian

See Also:

Rogan, Alice [biography]

• Library moved to the Miller Building, 28 South Grove Street (now Guy Lombardo Avenue)

• 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)

• September 9, 1920 – Contract drawn up for purchase of land for Library building

• Freeport Memorial Library Association sent a letter to the White House inviting President Warren G. Harding to the cornerstone laying ceremony
• April 30, 1921- ground was broken for the new building
• Joseph Susskind of Blossom Health Inn, located in Lynbrook, donated a Peerless automobile to be used for fundraising to support Library construction

• Lack of contributions forced the stoppage of construction and the building was shuttered
• September 12 - Residents voted to float a $30,000 bond to pay the the completion of the library building. The Village of Freeport assumed ownership of the library building and grounds (see: 1924 Contract)

• May 30, 1924 (Memorial Day) – building dedicated and became the first war memorial library in New York State

• The Freeport Public Library and the Village of Freeport confirmed the 1920s agreement that gave the Village of Freeport ownership of the library building as long as the library provided free library service to all inhabitants of Freeport

• May 30, 1927 – dedication of a bronze plaque inscribed with the Gettysburg address from the Women’s Relief Corps

• Memorial Tablet added to the main reading room. (View photo of Civil War Veterans attending the ceremony)
• Library began opening on Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m.

• After 30 years of service Alice Rogan retires

• Junior High School room and services initiated
• Homebound service offered 

• Vinyl records were added to the collection

• Columbus Avenue School served as a branch library until the coming of the Bookmobile in 1952

• Library circulation: 122,398; library card holders: 5,000

Source:

"Wings Asked for Library at Freeport." Nassau Daily Review-Star. June 17, 1944, 17. Accessed March 21, 2022. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83031113/1944-06-17/ed-1/seq-17/.

• The Library Board requested that the Village of Freeport apply for grants to fund a library expansion estimated to cost $70,000.  This expansion would include two wings

Source:

"Library Parley Set at Freeport." Nassau Daily Review-Star. July 22, 1944, 3. Accessed March 21, 2022. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83031113/1944-07-22/ed-1/seq-3/. [Note: article states library was built in 1902; it was built in the 1920s].

• Elizabeth Kelly appointed director

• Films added to the collection

• World War II memorial plaque dedicated

• 16mm film collection established

• Bookmobile garage built north of the Library

• World War II Honor Roll removed from Library grounds when Merrick Road was expanded

• C. I. T. building constructed.  This building eventually became the west wing of the library 

• A proposition to float a $330,000 bond to expanded the Library building was defeated by the Village taxpayers (779 for; 1143 against)
• Freeport Community Council sponsors a tree planting service on the Library property to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the United Nations

• Ground was broken for the building addition. The architect was Charles A. Wood

• April 19, 1959 -   New addition dedicated

• Wilfred L. Morin appointed director
• The Library joined the Nassau Library System
• Memorial plaques added to the front of the building

• July 4, 1961 - Gold Star Window unveiled

• Framed picture collection added for circulation
• Light added to Gold Star window
• October 1962, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Freeport's incorporation, the Exchange Club gave the Library the "Freedom Shrine"

• The library was selected to house a fallout shelter.  A total of 15 shelters were designated throughout the Village.  These shelters were to be to be used in the event of a nuclear attack.  The library’s shelter capacity: 116 people

• Borrowing time for books was raised from two weeks to 28 days (new books remained seven days)

• August 1966, the Village of Heiloo, the Netherlands, donated begonias to the library

• Helen Wilmont, librarian, retired from the Library after 20 years of service

• November 1968 - Vietnam monument dedicated

• Mezzanine added and skylights covered in the reading room of the original 1924 building.

• Friends of the Freeport Memorial Library established

• Bell sculpture on East building and carillon donated by Dr. Mervin L. Schloss Foundation in memory of his parents
• December - Jeanette Klempner elected first woman president of the library board

•  Library Director Wilfred Morin was presented with the LDA Award for Excellence in Library Achievement by the Nassau County Library Association

• Wilfred Morin retired
• Gerald (Jerry) Nichols, who started his library career as a bookmobile driver, appointed library director
• Freeport residents voted to expand library
• Job Education and Information Center created
• Automated circulation system initiated

• Building owned by Adelphi University, purchased by the Freeport School District for Library expansion.  This building was originally the C. I. T. building

• Online card catalog system initiated
• Zippy the Chimp received a Freeport Memorial Library card

• 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
• Tree planted in memory of Dr. William F. Gillespie, Library Board member 1968 to 1984

• Korea and Vietnam memorial plaque dedicated

• Jerry Nichols leaves to become library director at Half Hollow Hills Public Library. He later becomes director of Suffolk Cooperative Library System
• Dave Opatow appointed library director

• ALIS Corporation formed

• Paper card catalogs removed and replaced with OPACs

• Library provided free Internet service

• 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
• September 1998 - Talking about Literature book club program began

• Freeport Landmarks Preservation Committee placed historical marker on Library grounds

• Freeport population was 44,026

• American Legion dedicated a new War Memorial to the front of the Library building

• Community Services Department formed

• Tree planted in memory of Laura Marchese (Giglio) – former Library employee who died on 9/11

• Bookmobile services discontinued
• Bookmobile garage torn down to make room for additional parking

• WiFi introduced

• LILRC invites the library to join a Long Island history digitization program. Library and Freeport Historical Society partnered in the scanning process

• March 28, 2004 – Newsday featured Library in article “Freeport's Reading Memorial” (page G22)

• Freeport Memorial Library’s collection included 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

• February 5, 2006 - An article featuring FML’s popular Conversation Circles program, appeared in Newsday (“At the Libraries, The Accent is on Learning the Lingo” page G2)

• 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
• July - Librarian Anita Gordon retired after 35 years of service

• May 16, 2008 - The Salvation Army awarded the library a Special Recognition Award during its Annual Civic Dinner
• August 5, 2008 - Newsday published an article on Freeport's war dead who are honored on the Library's plaques and monuments: "They're No Longer Forgotten" (Page 12A)

• January 26, 2009 - Newsday published an article on the Freeport Library: "Booked Libraries: Recession Has More LIers Using Resources" Page A28
• April 25, 2009 - Young poets are honored in a contest organized by the Freeport memorial Library, county poet laureate committee, and Nassau's poet laureate, Maxwell Corydon Wheat Jr. ("Well-versed LI Poets" Newsday. 26 April 2009:A8)
• Crepe Myrtle tree donated by Tancredi family
• July 2009 -  former NY Knicks player, John Starks visited the Freeport Memorial Library to promote summer reading.  He signed his picture in the book Hoops

• March 13, 2010 – Newsday published an article about the Library’s Spanish language book club: “Accent on Spanish in Freeport, A Book Club’s Members Immerse themselves in the Language” Page B4
• July 24, 2010 - Newsday published an article about the Soul With Heart Book: “Shared Passion for Books: The Freeport Memorial Library Reading Group Lives Up to Its Name – Soul With Heart” Page B4
• Free downloadable e-books made available through the Library's web site
• Dave Opatow retired as library director after 24 years

• Ken Bellafiore appointed library director

• April 2012 - West wing renovations began
• October 29 - Hurricane Sandy

• Teen Resource Activity Center (TRAC) opened
• Three Freeport Librarians (Margaux DelGuidice, Rose Luna, and Tanisha Mitchell) were featured in the March 15, 2013 issue of Library Journal.
• The Board of Trustees voted to dedicate the Business Resource Information Center (BRIC) as an area within the Library where current and potential entrepreneurs could find reliable information and resources

• April 2014 - Grand Reopening and Rededication

• The Library purchased two 3-D printers to introduce patrons to 3-D printing technology

• October 24 - The Library was prominently featured in the PBS special, The Great American Read.
• November 2018 - The Library installed a digital sign outside the West emergency exit.
• November 2018 - The Library hosted its first Small Business Fair on Black Friday.

• Sailing Through Freeport History mural painted by Ji Yong Kim was unveiled in 2019.  The mural is located at the south entrance of the Freeport Memorial Library.

Source: 

Nataly, Nadya. "Sailing Through Freeport History." Freeport Herald. April 18-24, 2019, 1. Accessed April 14, 2023. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071065/2019-04-18/ed-1/seq-1/.

• COVID-19 pandemic forced the closing of the library; however, library services and programing were provided remotely

• Ken Bellafiore retired as library director
• Lee Ann Moltzen appointed new director
• Loren Agostino retired as library assistant director
• Karen Farrell appointed assistant director
• Maryellen Cantanno appointed head of Community Services
• WiFi Whenever introduced

• Maryellen Cantanno (Community Services) and Cindy Soto (Youth Services) promoted to the Librarian III title

• April 23 - Our Freeport, mural by March Josloff, unveiled