Mission Statement
The mission of the Free Public Library of the Township of Roxbury is to provide resources and technologies to fulfill the intellectual, cultural, educational, social and recreational needs of the community.
History
Formation of the Roxbury Public Library was
begun in 1959 as a project of the Roxbury Woman's Club and the Certificate of Incorporation of the Roxbury Public Library Association was filed and recorded on May 6, 1960. The members of the club were the catalyst behind the formation of the Roxbury Library Association and the opening of the Library on February 20, 1961. The first library building was the former home of the Steneck family at 103 Main Street, the site of the current Library.
In November of 1968 the residents of Roxbury voted to municipalize their Library. By 1971 the "library in the house" was bursting at the seams with books, structurally unsound, and too small to meet the needs of a rapidly growing community. A bequest from local author Mary Wolfe Thompson and funding from the Township enabled the first part of the current building to be erected on property behind the house. This new Library building was dedicated on September 8, 1974.
Since that time the Library has expanded twice. The first addition in 1983 provided additional space for adult and children's materials. The second addition, which was completed in the summer of 1993, provided much-needed quiet study space, increased seating, an expanded Reference Department, an improved check-out area, a computer resources center, a periodical reading room, and a small meeting room. In addition, the exterior of the building was modified to harmonize with the other buildings in the Main Street Historic District. A new landscape design was donated by Al Wartman, a Roxbury resident and nurseryman; flowers and shrubs have been planted and are being maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers. With this latest addition, the Library was expanded to 13,596 square feet and extensively renovated with funds from bequests and donations - tax dollars were not used.
The Library is now almost five times bigger than it was when it started, but those who look carefully will find stained glass from the original building hanging in the reading room, and pieces of gingerbread from that first Library in the Queen Anne Summerhouse in the front yard. Likewise, the Library's impetus to service remains the same -- new or refurbished spaces, and computers in place of paper, are just improved tools for its ongoing goal of providing information and serving as a community center for educational, literary, and cultural activities.