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A
brief history of the Bayport-Blue Point Public Library...
Founded in 1938 as a Blue Point
P.T.A. project, the Blue Point Public Library began with a collection of
donated books. Tradition has it that these books were gathered by
wheelbarrow from the home of local residents (hence our logo). The
library's first home was a small room in the Blue Point School.
Later sites included part of the building now occupied by the Blue Point
Liquor Store, a small house on the corner of Madison Street, now replaced
by the dentist's office, and the Bennett House on Blue Point Avenue.
In 1957, a new building was
constructed directly behind Bennett house, which was subsequently torn
down. (Oddly enough, there was a hot debate as to whether the new
building should face Blue Point Avenue or Madison Street. Now, 33
years later, we have entrances on both streets.) The present
building, the result of two additions, is nearly three times the size of
the 1957 building.
When the Bayport and Blue Point
school districts joined forces in 1952, the library became the
Bayport-Blue Point Public Library. Until 1970, the library was
staffed entirely by volunteers, one of the last all-volunteer libraries in
the state.
The present character of the
library owes much to those early volunteers, whose dedication and
expertise laid a solid foundation for the book collection and the
philosophy of community service. Over the years, the library has
grown in size and sophistication. Today it offers not only books,
but videotapes, compact discs, and recorded books as well. A
well-staffed reference department, equipped with up-to-date computer
communication, is able to retrieve from many sources outside the library
walls. With its meeting rooms offering a broad range of public
programs, the library has become a cultural center of rare quality for a
community of this size, and one in which the local citizens can take great
pride.
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