Lenox Library Association Your town library

When is a Town Library not a Town-owned library?

Answer: when it’s a nonprofit corporation library. The history of libraries in Lenox is an interesting one.  The very first library in Lenox that we know of dates to 1797, when Lenox was barely 30 years old.  A number of movers-and-shakers in town decided to pool their money to buy books, and anyone who bought in could also borrow the books.

Other Lenox groups put together proprietary libraries such as that first one, but by the mid-1800s an attempt was made to form a truly public library, where the books would be available to all, regardless of ability to donate.  In 1853, the Town of Lenox proposed a 50-50 proposition: it would contribute $300 toward a public library if an additional $300 could be raised.  The new library raised more than it needed, and Lenox Library Association was born, incorporating in 1856 with Lenox Academy Principal John Hotchkin as its first president.

Many other town libraries in New England began in a similar fashion, including 60 non-profit public libraries in Massachusetts.  They had wanted libraries before there were strong enough local governments to support them, but they also wanted to take advantage of state laws allowing for the support of public libraries with local taxes.  So they formed non-profit organizations to run their public libraries with some support from local taxes.  In Lenox’s case, the town actually had 2 public library organizations at once for a time: the Sedgwick Library and Reading Room and the Lenox Library Association.  Both were housed in the former courthouse building in 1874, after Adeline Schermerhorn bought the building to be used as a public library for the benefit of Lenox.  (The Town also rented space in the courthouse during that time.)  In 1907, the two library organizations became one. 

Lenox Library Association continued to own and operate out of the courthouse building until 2007, when the organization found itself unable to pay for the costly but necessary building renovation it had recently completed.  (Scorch marks found on the walls of the building hinted that the building’s days may have been numbered!)  The town agreed to use Community Preservation funds to purchase the building and make major repairs as needed, while allowing the Lenox Library to remain in the building and operate the library.  Other non-profit libraries also operate in town-owned buildings, such as the  Auburn (Maine) Public Library.

Lenox Library, like other cultural institutions, exists in large part because of donations, as it has from the beginning.  We continue to offer classic and current titles to everyone, freely.  We also look for other ways to share information – through audio and video technologies, and through live discussion.  Our staff is trained to help meet your need for educational and recreational resources.  We maintain the courthouse building and its treasures for your enrichment.  All of this, of course, is expensive – it will cost us about $540,000 this fiscal year, $233,000 of it from fundraising alone.  Though it sounds like a lot, it is less than $50 per Lenox resident.  We hope you will respond to our annual appeal with your financial support, and keep Lenox Library in the center of Lenox life.