The Avon Public Library opened its doors to the public from one room on the second floor of an old fire station, in November of 1892. After relocating several times, the current library building was erected in 1948 and expanded in 1971, both times with trust funds from the H. Lawton Blanchard Trust. A spacious 50-car parking lot was added in 1992, and several years later the entire roof was replaced and a new HVAC system installed, all with municipal funding.

Since 1992, the library has expanded its hours and services and doubled the size of the Board of Trustees to six. Four full time and seven part timers staff the library for the 42 hours per week it is open to the public - a huge improvement over 1992 levels of only one full time employee (the director) and several part-timers.

As a member of the Old Colony Library network, online since 1992, the library enjoys all privileges and benefits of that membership, including access to the Internet, SEMLS and MLIN sponsored reference databases, and expanded access to literally millions of materials. AT&T Broadband donates a high speed Internet connection that is available to the public, as are five full-service OPAC terminals with Internet access.

The ARIS report for FY2002 shows a collection of over 38,000 items including audio and video formats, with a total circulation of over 4,000. As of FY2000 there werere 3,272 registered borrowers, of whom 2,363 are Avon residents.

A Special Town Meeting in February 2000, approved funding for three library projects totaling $58,700 (gutter replacement - $3,700. foundation level leaking solutions- $25,000. replacement of public rest rooms - $30,000.) At another special town meeting in 2002, the community appropriated $25,000 to complete all the projects as bidded upon. In February of 2003 the library has completed resshinling parts of the building and has added a new walkway to the main entrance.

The FY2004 operating budget is $301K, including membership in the Old Colony Library Network. Capital funding requests for three minor building improvements will be presented to the town to vote on May 6th.

The Library Trustees accepted the final report of JMA Consultants, Inc. of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The "Space Utilization Study and Building Program Outline for the Avon Public Library" assessed the building, concluding, "The Avon Public Library is out of space. Reorganization of services can be made to maximize current space but an expansion may be necessary if the library is to meet the long term needs of Avon."

The Avon Public Library - 100 Years

In their 1971 annual report to the townspeople of Avon, The Library Trustees described public libraries as: "essentially a diary of the human race" and stated that they would "Continue to acquire the works of the world's wisest and wealthiest men and women, to the end that our people will remain informed, and be better able to cope with the complexities of our modern society." The Trustees expanded upon this concept. The following year when they stated that they reaffirmed their "dedication to the principles of a free public library" and that "materials be chosen for values of interest, information and enlightenment of ALL people of the community; that no book be excluded because of the race or nationality or the political or religious views of the writer;" that they would "continue to resist all efforts to censor books because of Partisan or doctrinal disapproval;" and that they would not in any way" abridge the free access to ideas and full freedom of expression that are the tradition and heritage of Americans." These principles have been the cornerstone of the Avon Public Library from the first day it opened on November 26, 1892.

In 1876, when Avon was still East Stoughton, a system of weekly delivery of books from the Stoughton Library to East Stoughton residents was started. The town of Avon was incorporated in 1888. In 1889 the Avon School Committee requested, at the annual town meeting, that the town establish a public library, a request that was repeated in 1891. On November 26, 1892 the first Avon Public Library opened its doors to the public from one room of the old fire station. The building would later be described as "an antiquated wood-frame structure containing a fire station and public library, besides the selectmen's office, the town officers room and a hall used for town meetings." The library was located on the second floor in a room 15 feet long, 15 feet wide and 9 feet high. Funding for the library was provided in accordance with the laws at the time from income from dog license fees, which were appropriated to defray the cost of purchasing books and other library expenses. At the annual town meeting in 1892, voters appropriated the unexpended income of $1400.21 to the support of the public library. That year, a total of $809.31 was actually spent and a total of 961 books were purchased to serve as the basic library collection. The townspeople also voted to elect three trustees to supervise the expenditure of funds and that the trustees be elected for one, two, and three year terms, respectively, with the vacancy in each succeeding year to be filled by the election of a new trustee for a three year term, a practice which has continued to the present day. Silas S. Gifford, John T. Callahan, and Orville Stockwell served as the first trustees, with Charles Blanchard serving as librarian and Harry L. Robinson as assistant librarian.

In their first annual report to the people of Avon, the trustees stated: "we desire to congratulate our fellow citizens upon the auspicious opening of our Public Library…we have a free public library and the town of Avon takes its place among the intelligent majority of Massachusetts towns." They went on to say: "The library will broaden the intelligence of the community, will arouse high aspirations, will prove a fountain of purest pleasure to young and old alike."

By 1894, the library had already started to outgrow its dimensions. By 1895, the library's collection of books had grown to 1225 volumes, with the annual circulation that year totaling 6864. The library was open on Saturdays only, 52 weeks a year. By the end of 1895, library use by the citizens of Avon had increased so dramatically that it was noted by the trustees in their annual report that a number of patrons had turned in their library cards that year because of the "limited number of volumes contained in the library, as repeated calls for certain books found them loaned, and it was nearly impossible to obtain them from the library on account of demand."

The popularity of the library continued to grow and in 1898 plans were made to establish a reading room to be open four evenings a week. A donation of $500 by Lucius Clapp, Esq., of Randolph, was used toward that end. Former Avon resident Orlando Leach wrote in a letter to the library trustees, "I hope the day is not far distant…when the town will be fully equipped with a good library building of its own…Next after church and the school, if not co-equal with them almost, comes the influence of a good library and reading room." The trustees noted that year, "The true university of these days is a collection of books." By the year 1899, only 7 of the 353 cities and towns in Massachusetts did not have public libraries.

In 1902, a branch library was established at the Gifford School. The principal loaned books for "indefinite periods as required by the studies in literature." Students at the school raised money to purchase their own set of encyclopedias and returned the set on loan to them by the public library.

The library was destroyed in a very bad fire in 1903, but when it reopened several weeks later, there were several hundred new books, the room that housed the library was entirely renovated, damaged volumes rebound and the library was described as "in many ways…in better condition than ever before."

In 1912, for the second time in a decade, the library was badly damaged by a fire in the town hall, which housed it. The years 1913 through 1927 were affected by marked decreases in monies appropriated to support the library. In 1938, the library was established in a new home, one half of the lower floor of the Blanchard homestead donated that year to the town by H. Lawton Blanchard. Funds for moving the library and purchasing new furnishings came from the Clapp and Dalton Funds and no taxpayer funding was required.

On January 11, 1945, H. Lawton Blanchard died and in his will left to the trustees of the Avon Public Library, 500 shares of common stock of the E. I. Dupont de Nemours Company and at the March town meeting that year, the town voted to accept the gift.

On February 22, 1949, a brand new public library, built with funds from the H. Lawton Blanchard trust, was officially opened. Over 400 people visited the library that day. The library was now open 5 days a week.

In 1963, a nationally recognized award was bestowed upon the library. The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, in the under 25,000-population category, declared the Avon Public Library to be the best in the state of Massachusetts and one of the ten best in the nation! A cash prize of $1500 accompanied the award.

The 1970 annual report of the Library Trustees beckoned the citizens of Avon to "Come to where the action is." By that year, a new addition had graced the original library building. Boston architect Maurice H. Fingold designed the addition, which was described as "functional, economical, and remarkably symmetrical." There was now added capacity for 75 people and enough shelving for 50,000 volumes. The cost per square foot was $23 for a total project cost of $160,000. The funds were derived from the sale of some of the stock left to the library by H. Lawton Blanchard. The loss of revenue from stock dividends, and the added costs of operating the newly expanded facilities placed an added monetary responsibility on the taxpayers. By 1981, the cost of books had risen over 120% while the library's annual book budget had risen only 50%.

By 1983, the library had officially entered the age of computers, acquiring and Apple 11e computer for patron and staff use. Citizens were invited to "take advantage of this facility" and to acquaint themselves with "this part of modern life that is here to stay." In 1985, the trustees sponsored and article on the town meeting warrant requesting funding for the library to join the Old Colony Library Network. "In essence, card catalogs of all participating libraries will be pooled together into one huge database and patrons in each individual library will not only have access to over 1.9 million titles, but will immediately know the location and status of any desired item. With daily delivery service, interlibrary loans will be available within 24 hours. State and Federal grants have been received that will cover the costs of the central site hardware and software" and "each town needs to provide funding for local terminals and annual maintenance costs."

As we celebrate our 100th anniversary, the Library Trustees, Director and Staff are pleased with and proud of the progress that has been made in that century of time. From its first day of existence, the library has moved continually forward, both technologically, intellectually and socially, providing users with the latest in materials which will "provide stimulation, education and recreation for all citizens of the community" and by "supporting the educational, civic and cultural activities of groups and organizations within the community." We endeavor to provide "Something for everyone">

In the next few weeks, the library will begin use of its computerized automation system and in doing so, will be well on the way to the 21st century in technology and shall continue to provide patrons with materials and programming that are enjoyable and culturally enriching, as well as timely and informative. As John F. Kennedy once said, "Books and libraries, and the will to use them, are among the most important tools our nation has to diffuse knowledge and to develop our powers of creative wisdom. The community of the public library is one of the richest and most enduring assets of our historical heritage."