The Cranston Public Library is the public library system serving Cranston, the second largest city in Rhode Island. The first library in Cranston was formed in 1797, while the library system was formed in 1966 by the Cranston City Council. The present day library system formed in 1968 when six independent neighborhood libraries came together as one. There are six locations in the system, including a central library and five neighborhood branches. The library system is governed by a board of trustees consisting of seven members appointed by the Cranston City Council. Members serve staggered three-year terms. Meetings are open to the public.
In addition to traditional library services, the Cranston Public Library provides services such as tax preparation, 3D printing, analog-to-digital audio transferring, and educational programs among others. The system also provides mobile services to homebound residents.
Locations The public library system in Cranston began as multiple independent public libraries serving local neighborhoods. Today, the Cranston Public Library system still serves local communities through its central library and five neighborhood branches.
Cranston Central Library The Central Library of the Cranston Public Library system opened in April 1983. Since then, the Central Library has served as Cranston Public Library's reference and administrative center. The building originally boasted 22,500 square feet on three and a half acres of land, with a capacity for 110,000 volumes. The parking lot was expanded in 1992, and a 6,200 square foot addition was added in 1993/1994. The Central Library offers the community an inviting children's room, a teen space, public computers for all ages, and a range of programs and instructional technology classes.
Edward Costa Memorial Arlington Branch Located on the first floor of the Cranston Senior Center, the Edward Costa Memorial Arlington Branch, formerly named the Arlington Branch, the Arlington Library, and the Arlington Reading Room, is a popular stop for pedestrians in the Arlington neighborhood and those visiting the Senior Center.
This branch was initially founded by Henry O. Tripp and members of the Arlington Baptist Church. It was established in the neighborhood district hall in 1895 with a collection of 500 volumes. In 1907, the Arlington Library moved to a new building on Cranston Street. It also added a branch in the Cranston Print Works Brick Store, which lasted for 50 years until the building was demolished. In an agreement with the city of Cranston, the Arlington Library building on Cranston Street was turned over to the city and demolished to build a new Cranston Senior Center in 1987. The agreement called for the Arlington Reading Room to be inside the new center. In 2013, this Reading Room was renovated, with new collections and updated technology. It was reintroduced as the new Arlington Branch Library. In 2018, it was renamed the Edward Costa Memorial Arlington Branch, in honor of longtime trustee and library advocate Edward Costa.
Auburn Branch The Auburn Branch of the Cranston Public Library serves the Auburn neighborhood of Cranston. It was first established as the Auburn Reading Room in 1888. It opened in a little storefront on the northeast corner of Wellington Avenue. After moving to several temporary locations, the current Auburn Branch was built on Pontiac Avenue in 1991. At one point in time, the branch had a collection of Swedish materials for the Swedish immigrants who worked in the local mills.
The Auburn Branch currently operates Cranston Public Library's Books @ Home program, the library system's homebound delivery service. Books @ Home has been recognized as an innovative model program by the American Library Association in its "Keys to Engaging Older Adults @ your library" toolkit.
Knightsville Branch The Knightsville Branch initially opened as the Knightsville Community Library in a storefront in 1926 in the Knightsville neighborhood of Cranston. The Honorable Jonathan F. Comstock and Richard Nixon, head of the local volunteer fire company, are credited with its establishment. The library moved to several locations along Cranston Street until a land donation, made in memory of Gerard Ruggieri, made the construction of the current location at 1847 Cranston Street possible.
Oak Lawn Branch The Oak Lawn Library began as a small collection of books housed in the old Quaker Meeting House, which was the social center of the community. The books were donated by members of the Oak Lawn Village neighborhood of Cranston, most notably Reverend William A. Briggs of the Oak Lawn Baptist Church, and were supplemented by government publications and materials purchased with funds raised by women in the village.
After struggling due to a lack of materials, funds, and a permanent home, Reverend Briggs acquired the school building on Wilbur Avenue, across the street from his church, and formed the Oak Lawn Free Public Library Association. The building had been built around 1830 and was moved to this site on Wilbur Avenue in 1840. It served as the village school until 1895. The collection, now 850 volumes, began to circulate in May 1896 with the continued support of families in the surrounding community, including many members of the Shaw family who served as librarians at the branch. The library is still at this location and is Cranston's oldest library building.
It underwent construction in 1965 to create space for a children's library, then again in 1990 for the addition of a new entrance and reading room.
William Hall Library
The William Hall Library serves the neighborhood of Edgewood. The site was dedicated in 1895. It was incorporated in 1896 as the Edgewood Free Library and was renamed in 1921 after local businessman William H. Hall bequeathed part of his estate to its development.
The building was completed in 1927 and served as the administrative center for the newly unified Cranston Public Library system from 1966 to 1983. The library also served as a community center. At one point, the library had a branch in the Pawtuxet Volunteer Fire Company Hall on the corner of Sheldon and Commercial Streets.
History
The Cranston Public Library system was formed in 1966, when six independent neighborhood libraries came together as one library system. The system currently has a central library and five neighborhood branches.
1700s In 1797, 37 men in the Western part of Cranston formed the Cranston Library Society. Records suggest that this society was still in operation as late as 1806.
1800s In 1824, twelve men were granted a petition by the General Assembly to establish “a library of useful books” in the Knightsville neighborhood of Cranston. The Knightsville Library Society met at the Inn of James Aldrich, and funds were raised to purchase a bookcase to house the 57 volumes in the collection.This library society operated until 1831. In 1840, the Harmony Freemason's Lodge 9 F. and A.M. in Pawtuxet Village organized the Pawtuxet Masonic Library Association for the lodge's members and their families. Around 1840, the village of Fiskeville and Jackson built a Reading Room on Main Street. The Auburn Public Library opened as the Auburn Public Library Association in 1888 in a little storefront on Wellington Avenue with a collection of between 500 and 1000 volumes. Arlington Library opened in 1895 in the Arlington neighborhood district hall with a collection of 500 volumes. Oak Lawn Library opened in 1897 in a building that was formerly a schoolhouse. The Edgewood Public Library opened on March 13, 1897 with a collection of 800 volumes in a small school at Park and Warwick Avenues. On November 4, 1897, the library moved into a new building on Norwood Avenue near Broad Street.
1900s In 1907, the Arlington Library moved to the new Cranston Street building. Arlington also added a branch in the Cranston Print Works Brick Store, which lasted for 50 years until the building was demolished.
1920s A bookmobile made monthly visits to residents in Oaklawn Village and other villages in the Western part of Cranston in the 1920s. Knightsville Community Library opened in 1926 in a storefront on Cranston Street near the old town hall. The William H. Hall Free Library opened to the public November 13, 1927. The Hall Library replaced the Edgewood Public Library.
1930s In July 1932, residents of the Thornton neighborhood of Cranston formed the Thornton Community Free Public Library, which opened in a store front. The library would move several times over its history to different locations on Plainfield Pike.
1950s In 1952, the William Hall Library announced the opening of a branch on the second floor of the Pawtuxet Volunteer Fire Company Hall on the corner of Sheldon and Commercial Streets.
1960s The Cranston City Council commissioned a study by Kenneth Shaffer of Simmons College in 1965 to craft recommendations for library development in the city. Based on the Shaffer report and in accordance with Rhode Island law, the City Council established the Cranston Public Library system in 1966, and James Giles was appointed the first Library Director. The six neighborhood libraries were invited to join; Oak Lawn Library was the first to join in 1968. In 1962, Knightsville Library moved into its new location at 1847 Cranston Street on land donated by the estate of Gerard Ruggieri. An addition was put onto the Oak Lawn Library building in 1966 in celebration of its 77th anniversary.Oak Lawn Free Public Library to celebrate 77th year this Sunday. (1966, September 29). Cranston Herald, 72(39), 3.
1970s In 1972, CPL voted to create restricted library cards for minors which allowed parents to decide what kind of content their children could check out. The Thornton Library branch closed in 1977 due to budget cuts and low use of the branch. A new book van service was established to continue to serve residents of Thornton and other neighborhoods in western Cranston.
1980s Cranston's Central Library opened in 1983 on Sockanosset Cross Road and became the administrative center of the library system. In an agreement with the city of Cranston, the Arlington Library building on Cranston Street was turned over to the city and demolished to build a new Cranston Senior Center in 1987. The agreement called for the Arlington Reading Room to be inside the new center. The William Hall Library was renovated in 1989.
1990s The wave of library development in Cranston continued in the early 1990s: The Oak Lawn branch expanded and was renovated in 1990, a new Auburn branch building was constructed in 1991, and an addition to the Central Library was completed in 1993. James Giles retired in 1994 after 26 years as Library Director. David Macksam was appointed Library Director in 1995.
2000s In the 2000s, Cranston Public Library began offering free use of public computers and wireless Internet access. In 2006, a $900,000 bond initiative was passed to complete major infrastructure projects throughout the library system.
2010s In 2010, The Cranston Public Library received a Chinese collection from the Confucius Institute at the University of Rhode Island. The collection includes more than 1,100 historical, cultural, and artistic works in various media formats, in both English and Mandarin, and is valued at $30,000. In 2012, David Macksam retired as Library Director. Edward Garcia was appointed as Cranston Public Library's third Library Director. The Arlington Reading Room at the Cranston Senior Center was renovated, with new collections and updated technology, in 2013. It was reintroduced as the new Arlington Branch Library.