The first library was housed in
an annex to the Arthur Closson store, which
stood on the spot now occupied by the Hillsdale Supermarket.The current library was opened to the public on
January 3, 1925. We have such an admirable library structure due to the
generosity of Miss Flavia M. Bristol of
Hillsdale, who, in her will, left a bequest of $30,000 for the erection
and maintenance of a library.
In December 2004, the Regents
of the University of the State of New York granted an amendment to the
library's charter to expand the service area to include the towns of
Hillsdale, Copake and Ancram. The library's
name was changed to Roeliff Jansen Community
Library.
This spirit of association is
currently manifested by the efforts of our active volunteers and Friends
of the Library, who make it possible for our Library Director, Carol
Briggs, to single-handedly run a full-service library.
We are now at another historic
moment in our library’s history and have the opportunity to make our
forebears proud by honoring their spirit of association and, like them,
build a new library to serve our community. As it was nearly a century
ago, it will be today’s library associates who make our library dream
become a reality.
For more about the history of
the library and the Roe Jan area,
click here.
