Riverhead Free Library celebrates the 120th anniversary of its founding on Saturday with a program of reflections, memories and anecdotal stories. The event begins at 1:20 p.m. Library officials are asking members to share photos and stories by email to board@riverheadlibrary.org. Special exhibits are in place for the anniversary. On display are 19th century photos of Riverhead Town, as well as old maps, books and artifacts. A series of watercolors by Riverhead artist Ralph Fanning depicts the original construction on the library’s current site.
Riverhead Free Library Association was organized April 4, 1896. Riverhead had a library before that, but membership was by subscription only — and it cost $2 per year to belong. (That would be $54.22 in today’s dollars.) The new library was a new concept — it was free, so anyone could borrow a book at no charge.
In its early days, the library moved around, but was settled into its first permanent home in 1924 with the opening of the new high school and library on Roanoke Avenue (now the Roanoke Avenue Elementary School).
While a lot has certainly changed since Riverhead Free Library’s founding in 1896, the fine for an overdue book remains the same: 5 cents. Otherwise, a time traveler would find nothing familiar in the current library, which in the digital age, has changed not only its appearance but also its function. The library building is increasingly a place for social interaction, classes and programs, while research and borrowing is increasingly done remotely, via the internet.
The original 9,000-square-foot building on Court Street was constructed in 1963 on land bequeathed to the library by Alice Perkins in 1958. The Perkins family home was razed to make way for the new library building, with only the carriage house left standing. It was restored and became the Yellow Barn, which is used for book sales by the Friends of the Library. The new library was opened in 1964 and expanded with a 10,000-square-foot addition in 1981 and an 11,400-square-foot addition in 2000.
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