The best local public library any community could ask for! There is not only offer a full range of…read morereading - supplemented by a state wide network - but their on-site activities are spectacular! They have a special kids' room and programming. They offer movies, yoga, quilting and knitting groups and my favorite, the Tuesday afternoon mag Jong group! The employees (and volunteers) are wonderfully helpful and friendly adding a nice sense of comradery. Come down and use the computers or fax machine or just sit in the lovely, peaceful rooms and read!

Friendly staff and cozy environment! Great place with many activities available. There is something…read morehere for people of any age and staff are always happy to help.

Beautiful interior, very helpful staff, all major library functions working, historicalread more

Such a beautiful building! While the ceilings are incredibly high, making the library feel very…read morespacious, the library itself is quite small. The staff were very friendly and helpful, I saw them help a patron get a replacement library card, give directions to a book section, and help people of all ages. I spent 3 hours working on my laptop in a comfy chair in the corner (free WiFi of course). Lots of convenient outlets near all the work stations. There were a few cobwebs in my corner but otherwise it is a great place to get some work done and check out a good book!

A great library to stop and get some work done. Plenty of tables spread around the space, both on…read morethe upper and lower floors. There are also more cozy chair options if you are here to read. I love the view over the water. My only complaint is it took me a little while to find a table that had access to a power outlet - go to the lower level, take a left, and go all the way to the end! Also! They have a plant exchange!!!! Such a lovely idea. Bring a plant cutting to leave and take a new friend home :)

I have lived in this town close to 46 years. The library has long been an excellent resource and a…read morepleasant place to go to for programs and reading materials, plus access to computers and print outs before I had my own printer!

A very strange…read morelibrary The Robert Hall library was built back in 1896 and has seen several additions and renovations that no doubt contribute to it's odd configuration. It received a new wing in 1930 that now serves as a children's room and another wing was added in 1952 on the east side. In 1991 more renovations were completed that added a small two story addition at the back of the building. Lots of changes over the years. So the library seems very convoluted but in an interesting and bizarrely aesthetic way. The building is different from most libraries and has some cool and steep steps you must get up in the front although a handicap access is in the back. Take a good look and you will see the massive granite foundation, the cool stone chimney and the clapboard shingles. Once inside the main room has a fireplace and an impressive bay window that gives some nice views of the surrounding woods. Lots of cool pictures and art are scattered about the library and you must walk careful to squeeze through some tight spots and get around the usual small library stuff. The parking situation isn't very pleasant because you basically park on the street and if you are coming from the west you have to get across four quickly moving lanes of Rt 1 to get over to the library but with a bit of care it can be done. It's worth the trouble because this is one of those cool, little libraries that doesn't really look or feel like a library. It has the ambiance of a private home that some nice person invited you in to share some time with. A private home that just happens to have an awful lot of books.

Nice new building lots of books…read more comfy chairs and a big lizard Exeter Public Library was opened in 2004, which makes it the youngest library in the state. Everything is still very clean and smells really nice. No disgusting stains on the carpet and no wads of gum under the tables. The kids haven't had time to mess it up yet. Hopefully the floods of the last few days haven't washed it away. The library isn't particularly large but does have a decent selection of new books, periodicals and reference sources. Not a lot of cool ancient books or historical material but considering the age of the library that isn't surprising. The library is spacious and well lit. Not a bad seat in the house and lots of comfy chairs and places to spead out. The people working here were very gracious and helpful in answering my stupid questions and seem pleasant and amiable. Outside is a nice size parking lot and even a playground for kids that need to burn off some energy before going into a quiet and confined space. The library has the usually bake sales, used book sales, plant sales and you can even get a tote bag and a crummy t-shirt with the libraries name on it. Various lectures and some cool music performances are held. The library is a nice place to stop when going thorough the small town if you need directions, some reference materials or to use a nice clean bathroom. They even have a cool lizard and some nice plants. It might be the newest library in the state but it is also one of the friendliest and most pleasant.

My boyfriend and I are on a quest to visit every library in Rhode Island, and even after years and…read moreyears of living in the surrounding area and performing with a theatre company in town, I have actually never been to the Jamestown Philomenian Library up until yesterday! And what a mistake it was to stay away for so long! This library is smaller than some of the other ones we have visited around the state, but does not lack in charm or comfort at all. Step inside, and you'll find an ample selection of literature, lots of DVDs, and tons of community meeting space, from private conference rooms to a larger room that's used for everything from guest speakers to movie screenings (they're free! We'll be back for one soon!) There are also lots of cozy chairs to sit in and read, which is a perfect refuge for a cold island night. I could have stayed here all day! Pro tip! If you have the Ocean State Library Card, you can take out books from any of the libraries in the network, not just the one you got the card from. I learned this way too late after getting mine, and I'm glad the kind librarian here set the record straight! I ended up leaving with a stack of novels, and the greatest foodie movie of all time, Chef, on DVD. Hey, I'm a Yelper at heart, what can I say?

What exactly is a…read more Philomenian? The library on the island of Jamestown is officially called the Jamestown Philomenian Library. Everyone knows what a library is but what the hell is a Philomenian? Don't bother looking it up in a dictionary because you won't find it. That's because the word doesn't mean anything. Philomenian is a word that doesn't really exist. It seems in times past people in eccentric places like islands use to enjoy making up words to describe their organizations to distinguish themselves from other equally bizarre organizations. They wanted to sound unique and you can't get any more unique than making up your own words. In the early 1800's a group of fellows on Jamestown wanted to start a debating club. So I suppose they had a debate and decided to called themselves the Jamestown Philomenian Debating Society. A few decades later they decided the island needed a library so they each donated one dollar and started what was called the Jamestown Philomenian Library. The fact that philomenian wasn't a word didn't seem to bother anyone. At first the library was just some books kept in people's houses. Very casual and unorganized. Finally in 1971 a building was built to house the books and in 1993 it was enlarged and modernized but still kept the name Jamestown Philomenian Library. Once again no one seem to mind the library has a word in it's name that doesn't really exist. The library today is actually quite large and modern considering the small amount of people it serves. However it never lost it's friendly, idiosyncratic and eccentric island charm. It not only serves as storage for tomes but also contains the Sydney Wright Museum with some cool artifacts and several meeting rooms that have various art exhibitions, story times for kids and some very cool concerts with local talent. A friendly place not just for books, but it also serves the purpose for interacting and socializing with neighbors. Certainly not the largest or technologically advance library in the state but then that's part of the charm. The fact that the library has a word in it's name that doesn't really exist suits it quite well.

Being the nerd that I am, I came here the day after my birthday. Since last year, I've been…read morechallenging myself to visit all public libraries in the state of Rhode Island. This was the 11th one I visited. My friend and I came on a Saturday morning. I don't think they have a parking lot, but we found street parking right by the entrance. It reminded me more of an admin building when I walked in. To the left is a book sale, and to the right are the stairs to the main floor. There were lots of happy kids in the children's section. Down the hall, they have the walls lined with lots of information, including subsidized tickets to different events and places including the bird sanctuary nearby. They also have an extensive and well diversified library of tools and equipment to loan for a week including sporting gear, home repair tools, yard tools, games, and even a telescope. I was impressed. On my way out, I also saw a an ad for a free account to Mango through the library, which is a language learning platform (perfect for my journey to learning French).

Parking is easy behind the building. Staff are always so kind and sweet. The children's area is…read morealways such a treat for my kiddos to go visit and enjoy a little play time with friends.

If only there were 10 stars. This tiny place is the hub of the community. Its library service is a…read moresliver of what goes on here: concerts, cooking classes, a kids' postcard club, Italian lessons, yoga, art exhibits, adventure lectures, live streaming, movies, guitar lessons, crafts, story hour for tots. A cozy, comfy setting with working fireplace and native plant garden in the back. Private library open to the public, OLIS member, meets all RI state standards, including handicapped access. WiFi available. Open 1:00-6:00 M-F; 9:00-12:00 Sat. Closed Sun. All state library cardholders welcome, but do join the Willett anyway ... your support is vital.

There isn't too much in Saunderstown that's the same as it was in the 1960s. The road I grew up on…read moreis still dirt, but the pasture next to my childhood home, once filled with gentle music from the bells on Mr. Newcomb's sheep, is now occupied by a mini-mansion. My childhood home expanded and looks like a Cape Cod on steroids. The once mostly abandoned summer homes on Narragansett Bay are winterized and occupied. It is unlikely that quite so many families harvest quite so much from the bay as we did....quahogs and mussels and steamers and flounder, or that doors are left unlocked for days, weeks, years, or that mothers don't worry much if, on a summer's night, a 9 year old is so busy capturing fire flies that it is a long time after dark before they come home. I am hopeful that children still get to have a childhood in Saunderstown, that they are encouraged to go barefoot all summer, to be outside all day with few in and out privileges, to climb on the rocky shore, to learn to swim and sail in the cold bay waters, to play tennis and climb trees and ride bikes with wild abandon, to cross neighbors yards in noisy tribes, declaring an ancient right of way gives them the right. I am even more hopeful that the Willett Free Library, my childhood sanctuary, remains a welcoming and treasured place for every kid in Saunderstown - a remarkable village comprised of a post office, a yacht club, a church and a library. Reading and learning and self teaching are earnest New England occupations, and the kind librarians of the 1960s thought very carefully of all of their patrons as they added each volume to inventory. I can still see Mrs. Taylor, one of my favorites, lovingly caressing a book, thinking of the homes in the village it would visit, knowing who should be sure to get it next. I can taste the excitement and anticipation on each dash to the library, trying so hard to remember to slow my pace to respectable library standards before going up the front stairs, not flinging the door open or letting it slam, to gently place the returning books on the counter, and to politely greet the librarian and fellow readers before diving into stacks. I am pretty sure the spirit is alive, as the website for the library says "Our flag depicts a sailing ferry built by Stillman Saunders. At his home, a "Circle for Mutual Improvement" was formed in 1885; the beginnings of this library. When the flag is flying, the WFL is open". I didn't know that the library started in somebody's house, but it is not surprising, as story hour and reading never began and ended at the library in my childhood; it was alive in the home of Anna and Winslow Ames, with Anna's loving story circles for carefully selected, well behaved children, at bedtime every night in almost every home, ...in books traded from one house to another....words have always been woven through the village, spoken and written, the Willett Free Library being just one of the many places where books were honored.

Maury Loontjens Memorial Library used to be called The Narragansett Public Library for years…read more Recently (maybe 2 or more years ago,) the name was changed to memorialize someone who if you asked anyone on the street who he was wouldn't have a clue. That is okay though because in Rhode Island everyone who knows this library will still be calling it the Narragansett Library until the day everyone remembers it was called that dies. That's how Rhode Islanders operate. This library used to be a rinky-dink place with only about 2 rooms. It has expanded into 5 or more since the 1970's. I'm estimating this so don't take my word for granted. I just know, growing up that this was a cute little library that wasn't very big and wasn't very active. Now it has 4 basic computer/internet classes and shows movies on Tuesday nights. It has Book Clubs and Book Talks, story times for preschoolers and kindegarteners, a Scrabble Scramble, card crafting, tutorials on e-books and even a "friends meeting". Much much more than 20 years ago I'd say. Like most libraries, their website is full of things to do as far as the library goes. You can even temporarily apply for a member card. One of the better ideas is an account that helps you remember that your borrowed books are coming due. Sign up for an Elf account to help yourself remember! Like all libraries too they have an online book search. You don't just get a list of books from The Narragansett Library, you get a list of all the books from all the libraries that are connected with this library through the Ocean States Library Catalog. Although the building has grown the atmosphere hasn't changed much. They've added a little area where you can sit on a comfy couch or relax in some stuffed chairs to read the paper or a book. They have the computer rooms in the back as well as the stacks. Yes of course technology has been accepted into the libraries now. I still would rather read a book with pages than an e-book. And I still consider the library one of the better public places where quiet is encouraged and children should be watched. This library is small but it is located next to the Narragansett Fire and Police stations in The Pier. It is down the street from the Narragansett Town Beach too. I dare say that this is probably one of the best places to relax inside and out. There is a public bathroom outside in the parking lot as well as one inside the building. The Pier Marketplace is next door (but not full of any really useful shops anymore.) For a relaxing day take a walk on The Wall then come to the library and read a book or the paper. You can also use the computers if you wish to jump on the Net.

The Wheeler Library is gorgeous and was once the town's public school, but before that, it was a…read moreprivate school. The upstairs was used as dormitory space, and the restoration retained much of the beautiful woodwork. Meanwhile, the downstairs is inviting and the renovation is more recent but attention has been paid to making it quite attractive after it having served as an office space for many years. Be sure to catch the many busts of famous people on the second floor and also the monthly artist's exhibits.

Lions schools and…read morebusts The Wheeler Library was open in 1900 from money donated by the Wheeler family. Constructed with huge blocks of granite it had a duel purpose. The upstairs served as a lovely library while the bottom floor was an elementary school house. The arraignment lasted for almost 50 years until the town decided to get rid of the 15 little one room school houses and consolidated them into one large regionial school. So the school left and the library expanded into the entire building. Most of the library is now on the first floor and the higher level is a grand room with absolutely stunning widows. cool old photos and lots of busts of old dead guys. The library is lovely in an odd sort of way. Very square and symmetrical, the huge granite blocks look like that will last forever. Not as elaborate as many other libraries but it definitely looks solid and two cool lion statues guard the entrance. The inside is a different story. The first floor has the books and usual library stuff along with a very pleasant librarian but a trip upstairs is what really amazes. A huge open hall with stunning windows and ceiling and cool stuff whenever you look. A few old books are up there but it's most open space. I suspect they use the area for lectures and concerts. The library had some major renovation in 1992 and is a useful and practical facility. But it's the buildings uniqueness that makes it so cool. There are no other library that look quite like this one.