Libraries in Albany did not stay rooted in one spot for long. It took Librarian Jim Davies almost a year to track down all of the locales through the years.
A bank, a phone company, an old IRS building, a funeral home, an opera house and a former school all hosted Albany’s readers. The funeral home is now the site of the Delaware Avenue branch, one of seven locations of an Albany Public Library.
“I would say that it taught me that the library was always eager to improve and to act upon the interests of the patrons to provide better services through new locations,” said Davies, who used old newspaper articles and library files to build a timeline.
The Albany Public Library will honor its centennial from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday with a block party near Howe Library, the spot that holds the record for being the oldest continuously operating library building in the city.
Albany Public Library centennial
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Near the Howe Branch of the library system, 105 Schuyler St., Albany
More events are in the works, including a Centennial Summer Celebration at the Delaware Branch scheduled for June 24 featuring children’s activities, music and refreshments. Check the website for updates: albanypubliclibrary.org
“It’s a celebration of what the library means to the city,” said Andrea Nicolay, executive director of the Albany Public Library. Part of Schuyler Street in the South End will be shut down and the free event will feature a proclamation from Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan declaring May 21 as Albany Public Library Day.
Music will be by local DJ John Brown. There will be cookies and lemonade, crafts and story times in the Howe garden, self-guided tours of the Howe, special centennial library cards and a photo display of the library’s many, many buildings. If it rains, the celebration will move inside, Nicolay said.
Centennial Challenge booklets will also be available encouraging patrons to complete library visits and other activities to receive prizes. There will be a listening booth for patrons to record what Albany’s libraries have meant to them over the years to better tell the libraries’ stories.
The timeline Davies created dates to 1833, when the Young Men’s Association for Mutual Improvement in the City of Albany was formed with a mission to create a library. That entity took over the Albany Free Library (organized separately in 1891 by John A. Howe) in 1922. And in 1923, all locations were transferred to the city, and combined under the name Albany Public Library. Over the years, there have been 29 locations; 31 if you include two book mobiles.
“The timeline reflects how the city developed, especially the residential neighborhoods and the advent of streetcars and trolleys that helped settle some of these more remote neighborhoods like Pine Hills and the Delaware Avenue neighborhood. So it was nice to see that the advancement of the city residential areas was reflected in where the libraries popped up,” Davies said.
While Albany once turned down a Carnegie library, a system was developed that gave many neighborhoods easy access to a library. “And so this sort of concept of having a branch within walking distance, or within easy traveling distance from your home, was considered kind of like the gold standard, something to really strive for in a city,” Nicolay said. “And the fact that Albany has seven, even now to date, is really a testament to the value of a branch library to be a neighborhood hub.”
But you don’t have to live in the neighborhood, or even in Albany, to use the library or visit the Howe to celebrate the centennial.
“It’s easy to forget sometimes that at a public library, all are welcome,” Nicolay said. “All you need to do is abide by our very, very simple behavior policy. And, you know, not interfere with anyone else’s right to use the library. That’s really what it comes down to.”