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West Islip Library to celebrate 50th anniversary
The story of the West Islip Public Library began in the late 1950's, during Long Island's post- WWII development boom. With the increase in population came the need for all sorts of civic, educational, religious, and cultural institutions, and it was at a Secatogue School PTA meeting in November of 1954 that Mrs. Grace T. Lindenberg first proposed the formation of a library for West Islip. By 1956 the West Islip Library Association had received its charter from the State of New York, and on May 18, 1957 the doors opened to the West Islip Library, with its collection of 3,218 books, thanks to the donation of a structure on Hawley Avenue by local industrialist William Dzus. The library grew quickly, thanks to the hard work of many volunteers who collected materials and donations and who staffed the Library 12 hours a week in its early days. By 1961 the Library Association was transformed into the publicly-supported West Islip Public Library. Shortly afterward, the Library moved to a new home in the Captree Shopping Center on Union Boulevard, and in 1966 voters approved the construc- tion of a new library building at the corner of Montauk Highway and Higbie Lane, where it remains today. Finished in 1968, the building underwent the addition of a mezzanine in 1977 and again in 1994, and in 2004 a major renovation and expansion of the Library was completed by the community. During much of this time the library was under the skillful guidance of Darline Carter, who retired from the Library in 1999 after 37 years at the Library, 30 of them as Director. Over the years the Library has grown from a renovated machine storage building housing 3,000 donated books to a modern 35,000 square foot state of the art library featuring a collection of more than 200,000 items. A sophisticated library automation system and high speed telecommunications network enable Library users to borrow from among the more than 8.8 million items held in the 56 public libraries of Suffolk County. The use of the Internet has brought library service to the homes of community members on a 24/7 basis, with a tremendous amount of high-quality information readily available via the library's webpage.
"As the Library continues into its next 50 years, it will continue to be West Islip's place for books...and a whole lot more," said Andrew Hamm, library director.
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