By Carol Clarke, Archivist © 2017
Although small, private lending libraries had existed in Roslyn as early as 1791 and a school district library had been established by the late nineteenth century, the earliest mention of the Bryant Library, recognized today as the oldest continuing public library in Nassau County, is found in a June 18, 1874 letter penned by noted poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant. Writing to a friend from Cedarmere, his Roslyn Harbor home, Bryant anticipates showing “where I am laying the foundations of a Reading Room and Lecture Hall for the village – for the people have no places to meet in the evening save the bar rooms.” Located on Bryant Avenue, and known as “The Hall” (and later, “Bryant Hall”), the building included space for a library and reading room, as well as a public hall and an apartment for the librarian/caretaker. Records show that one of the earliest community gatherings held at “The Hall” was a “Programme of Exercises” for the village’s July 4, 1876 Centennial Celebration.
Shortly after Bryant’s death in June 1878, a group of citizens began making plans to create a library in his memory. The Bryant Circulating Library Association was formed at a public meeting held at the Hall on November 13, 1878. In January 1879, Bryant’s daughter, Julia, deeded the property and building to the Library Association for $1.00. Operating funds came from the sale of shares of stock as well as by leasing the building “for reading rooms, public meetings, lectures, concerts, and reputable amusement that is not inconsistent with its use as a public library.” An early advertisement notes that the reading room was open to the public daily (except Sundays and holidays) for reading newspapers and other periodicals. Stockholders and subscribers who paid an annual fee could borrow books on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. In 1901, Mrs. Katherine Mackay, owner of the Harbor Hill estate, provided funds to physically improve the reading room, purchase new books, and hire Pratt Institute-trained librarians to catalog the collection. Interviewed by a local newspaper, one of the librarians stated “it was the most complete and well selected country library she had ever seen.”
By 1924, use of the library had waned and the trustees of the Roslyn Circulating Library Association were having a hard time maintaining the building and operating the library. At the same time, the circulating library organized by the Roslyn Neighborhood Association in 1917 had outgrown its space at the Neighborhood House (Valentine House) on Paper Mill Road, and recognized that Bryant Hall provided “a reading room far superior to those we have in the Neighborhood House.” The trustees of the two associations voted to merge the two libraries, and the library reorganized under the name “Bryant Library” in 1924. The library was open to the public every afternoon from 3-5 pm and Thursday evenings from 7-9 pm, with a children’s story hour each Friday at 3 pm. In 1945, the library received a provisional charter from the New York State Board of Regents to provide library services to any resident of Roslyn School District #3. An absolute charter was granted in 1950.
Having served the community in its Bryant Avenue location for close to 70 years, Bryant Hall was condemned and demolished by New York State in 1946 to make way for a bridge over Hempstead Harbor. While the library board and residents debated the best location for a new library building, library services were provided at several storefront locations in Roslyn Heights. After considering several locations, including a former harness shop on Main Street, the Bryant Circulating Library Association accepted the Roslyn Neighborhood Association’s donation of the War Memorial Building on East Broadway in 1951. Designed by Frederick M. Godwin, great-grandson of William Cullen Bryant, the War Memorial Building had been dedicated in 1921 as a memorial to Roslyn soldiers who fought in World War I. For more than a decade, the building served as a community center for Roslyn residents, with recreational facilities such as a rifle range, bowling alley, pool tables and a basketball court, as well as spaces for plays, dances and other entertainments. In 1935, the building was remodeled as a 500-seat playhouse. It operated as the Theatre of the Four Seasons between 1935 and 1939 and as the Millpond Playhouse in 1940 and 1941.
The Bryant Library opened in its new home in March 1952. Increased circulation was accommodated by the gift from the Hempstead Public Library of a circulation desk “especially arranged for the quick and efficient charging of books” and by acquisition of an electric charging machine. In 1953, the library sponsored “Old Roslyn Day” to raise funds for bookcases and other improvements. During that same year, the Local History Collection was established with a donation of books and documents from the Grist Mill Historical Society, a music section was started following a resident’s donation of record albums, and children’s and adult education programs, including a Great Book discussion group, began.
The Roslyn community experienced a population surge between 1950 and 1955. To accommodate increased usage, the library underwent both physical and operational changes in 1956. Structural work completed to strengthen the foundation and make the basement usable resulted in removal of the terrace and balustrade that originally fronted the building, but allowed for creation of book stacks and a Children’s Room in the basement. The Bryant Memorial Reading Room, which also housed the Reference department, opened to the public in 1957. Paid staff replaced volunteers during this period, and the library began to increase its offerings of exhibits, film showings and young adult programs. The library joined the Nassau Library System in 1960, providing patrons with access to specialized reference collections and interlibrary loan.
By the mid-1960s, the library was bursting at the seams, with patrons complaining of “crowded aisles, insufficient seating, parking problems and an undesirably high noise level.” In early 1966, following several years investigating ways to expand the library, the Library Board began public hearings on its proposal to demolish the War Memorial Building and construct a new building on library-owned land on the south side of Paper Mill Road (site of tennis courts). Residents took sides over whether to preserve the Memorial Building as a library or build a new library.
Following the defeat of its proposal, the Board established a citizen’s advisory committee and retained a professional library building consultant to reassess ways to expand the library. In October 1967, voters approved the Board’s proposal to move the Valentine House (which had served as Roslyn Village Hall since 1962) across Paper Mill Road and to construct a two-story 10,000 square foot addition on the west side of the War Memorial Building. The Valentine House was moved and groundbreaking for the expansion took place in November 1968. The new building opened in January 1970 with an expanded adult reading room on the middle level, a meeting room on the upper level and a new children’s room on the lower level.
The Bryant Library continues to serve the residents of School District #3 and beyond, offering extensive programming for adults, young adults and children, providing patrons with the latest in information technology, and facilitating research into the history of the greater Roslyn area through the Bryant Library Local History Collection.
