Welcome to Westmoreland Public Library 

Curbside Service is Here

The library is now accepting returns and 
offering curbside pickup by appointment.

 

In an effort to keep everyone as safe as possible, we ask that you please wear a mask while returning and picking up books and that you practice social distancing. If another patron is at the return table when you arrive, kindly wait until they have returned to their car before venturing out. 

 

Returning Items:

We have removed the book deposit box and request that you return all books to the white box marked as “RETURNS” on the table under the tent. All returned books will be quarantined for at least 72 hours before they are checked in and made available to others, so please don’t worry if they remain on your account for a few days after you have returned them. Returns may be made any time during the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, no appointment needed. 

 

Pickups:

Curbside pickup is by appointment only. You may place a hold on a book in our catalog by logging into your account. See the "Need Help?" page for instructions on how to use the catalog and place a hold. When the book you requested is ready for pick up, you will be notified by phone or email. Please call the Library at 399-7750 to schedule a time to pick up your book. The book will be placed in a paper bag with your last name on it and left on the table under the tent. It will already be signed out to you so you can grab and go!

 

The library building will remain closed but you can still just call or email us and leave a message with the title of a book you are interested in and we will return your call. At this point we will only be able to offer books from our own collection. There is currently no van service to allow for us to borrow books from other libraries.

 

  

Lastly,

Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. We know you have missed being able to come into the library to browse the new shelf and visit with friends. Please know that we have missed our patrons and are eager to get back to putting books in your hands. Feel free to call us with any questions.

 

 

 

Ancestry.com for FREE!

The New Hampshire State Library has just made Ancestry.com available to our patrons for free during the library closure.

1. Click the "Search our Catalog" button (the purple button to the right of the web page).

2. Log into your account, top right hand corner of the catalog screen, using your library bar code as your username and the last four digits of your phone number as your password.

3. Click the Ancestry.com button on the left hand side of the page. This should bring you to Ancestry.com. You need to access the site by going through the catalog so that it knows you are one of our patrons and have permission to use it.

Enjoy!

 

 

TOWN WIDE READ - POSTPONED UNTIL LATER DATE

Join your friends and neighbors and read the same book at the same time, then come discuss it!
 

 
We will be reading "Waking Up White" by Debby Irving.
The book discussion will be at the Westmoreland Public Library.

The library will provide copies of the book.
Please let us know if you need a copy by March 17th to ensure we have enough.
To order or for more information, call 399-7750.

Everyone is welcome!

Please check back here for new information

 

 

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 and all other raised monies 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.

 

Next Library Board of Trustees Meeting:
7/16/2020 5:00 pm

 

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Next Book Group meeting is postponed.
See Book Group page for more details.