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About

Library History

A long-time interest in establishing a Library in the village of Northville finally resulted in the formation of a group of interested citizens, about 1979-80, to begin planning for a facility. From 1980-1984, this group secured a site and building on South Third Street and started work on preparing the building and sorting and processing the books that had accumulated.

The Northville Book Station opened to the public on September 22, 1984. In April 1986, a recommendation to the State Education Department Library Development Office to have the Book Station become a School District Public Library was approved. A proposition was presented to the NCS Board of Education and, with much community support, a budget and nine Library Board members were voted upon on June 10, 1986.

A provisional 5-year charter was granted on September 28, 1986. Soon after, the Northville Public Library became the 14th member of the Mohawk Valley Library System. Steady growth of the library’s holdings and programs followed. Michael S. Burnett (BA, MA, MLS) of Gloversville was hired and became Library Director in 1991 and in September of that year, the Library celebrated the receipt of its permanent charter from the State.

By 1992 it soon became apparent that Library space was insufficient, and additional space was made available on the 2nd floor and renovations to the facility were performed as a stop-gap measure. In October, 1997, a ground breaking ceremony inaugurated the development of a 2800 sq. ft. addition and full renovation of the existing building and grounds. In January 1999, the library holdings were moved into the new addition. Since then the Library has added a computer cluster and an online circulation system and has held numerous programs in their Margaret Hamm Memorial meeting room.

In 2007, with the growth of the collection and more efficient space needed for programming, the Library began to plan for renovations to the 2nd floor of the original building. Working with Mosaic Associates, a project was completed in April 2009 which opened up the 2nd floor into one large meeting room with a kitchenette and handicap lift. The room was also designed for art exhibits. The Hamm Room now houses the reference collection and the local history collection, and has comfortable seating for research and general reading, with coffee, tea or hot chocolate for a small fee.

In the fall of 2009, the library put a new roof on the original building and further insulated the ceiling area above the new addition.

In early 2011, the library began to digitize items in its Local History Collection, beginning with postcards of Sacandaga Park. These were placed on the CDLC Digital Collections website. In the Spring of 2011, the library completed the third phase of its building renovation project. This included new siding, exterior painting, and rehabilitation of the handicap ramp. Click here to see photos of the building renovation. In July 2019, the library upgraded all lights to LED.

Also, in 2018-19, wall decor was updated or purchased: new canvas art for children’s area; Linda Finch’s depiction of Sacandaga Park and a hand carved wood piece of the Great Sacandaga Lake.  In 2023, the library installed a security system.

At the end of 2023, Director Michael S Burnett retired after 33 years of service.

The Friends of the Library

In November, 1985, the first steps were taken toward forming a Friends Organization in Northville. Throughout the early years the many fund-raisers, organized by the Friends, helped to keep the library doors open. The May Village-Wide Yard Sale (1987-2004), the Ice Cream Social (1987+) and Raffle (1991+), the Holiday Cookie Sale (1988-2008), the Mammoth Book Sale on July Fourth weekend (1989+); all of these now held on a yearly basis.
Over the years, these fund-raisers have become increasingly successful and have enabled the Friends to sponsor many programs, donate funds and to purchase books and other needed items for the library. At the time of the Building Expansion Program in 1997, the Friends contributed more than $27,000.
Throughout the years, the Friends has held an Annual Meeting in May, open to the public and offering a variety of programs. The first Friends Newsletter was published in December 1988 and it continues with three issues per year. In 1999, the Friends established a web site for the Library and began sponsoring the pre-school Story Time Programs and New Baby Reading Program for the community. Membership in the Friends has grown to over 300. In 2009, the Friends replaced the Holiday Cookie Sale with a Holiday Basket Raffle.
In 2013, the Friends financed the construction of a stone walkway from the parking lot to the yard overlooking the Great Sacandaga Lake.