Whether you’ve enjoyed reading your entire life or it’s a newly discovered passion, you can spend countless hours at the library. In New York, people love the Crandall Public Library. After all, it offers more than just books. As you’ll discover, it’s an excellent place to learn and have fun.
Location and Hours
Located at 251 Glen Street in Glens Falls City Park, the Crandall Public Library is easy to reach. If you live in Queensbury, NY, that’s less than four miles away. When driving there, you’ll see the building on the corner of Glen and Bay Streets. As for parking, you can use lots nearby or on the street.
This library opens to the public every Monday through Saturday at 9 a.m. It closes on Monday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. Then, on Tuesday and Thursday, the library remains open until 9 p.m. It closes earlier at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Also, you can visit the Crandall Public Library on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
During the summer, as well as December and most legal holidays, the Crandall Public Holiday doesn’t operate on Sundays.
The Library’s Focus
Like all public libraries, this one focuses on providing people with excellent service. In addition, they give them access to a broad range of reading materials. However, the Crandall Public Library goes even further.
It also aims to cultivate a community that wants to embrace knowledge and inclusivity. At the same time, it hopes to inspire people through civic values combined with creativity. To accomplish all that, the Crandall Public Library features educational and enriching services and programs.
Its History
The longevity of this library is just one reason this library stands out. Born in 1821, Henry Crandall came from a poor family and had little to no formal education. So, he made money working as a lumberman. By the time he turned 29, he’d saved $1,000. He chose to invest it in lumbering and real estate.
However, after marrying his wife, a teacher, in 1858, things began to change. First, he gave land to Glens Falls to build a city park. In addition, he made a decision that would have a huge impact on the community then and still today.
Fast forward to 1892, Sherman Williams offers to donate $2,500 to purchase books and provide a place to store them. Although he wasn’t an educator, he wanted to do something good for the community. After crossing paths with Crandall, the two came up with a brilliant idea.
With Crandall’s building and Sherman’s money, they would open a library. However, Crandall made one thing clear. People could read books without paying anything. Not only that, but he also wanted to make them available to people both near and far.
It didn’t take long for the concept of free books to reach people interested in reading. Over the years, the Crandall Public Library collected some amazing pieces. For instance, it acquired roughly 2,500 pages of the Holden Collection of Americana.
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Beyond Reading Material
Today, the Crandall Public Library continues to provide free reading materials to anyone interested. However, it also offers a host of innovative services and programs.
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