A school house to a…read more library. The Louttit library is the main library in the town of West Greenwich but actually started life as a one room school house. A simple place built in 1936 with no running water or central heat. There were four of these one room school houses in town that finally closed in 1950 when a more modern facility was opened. Since the town didn't have a real library it was decided to use one of the schools for this purpose so the diminutive building was rededicated as a library in 1951. The Louttit family, who donated money for the project, decided that the library would be more useful in the center of town so it was moved to it's present location in 1978. Of course now the building has running water and central heat and all the things a modern library has. In fact it has grown quite a bit since it's humble origins. The library was expanded in 1988, 1992 and then again in 1998and now is a sprawling building with a great community room and other additions that add greatly to it's volume and use. Even though the library is much different from the original schoolhouse, if you look carefully you can still see remnants of the past. Coat hooks and blackboards still exist and a great old bell that still rings is in the tower. Pretty cool stuff. The best part of our visit to this library was meeting the director, Elsie Palmgren Oltedale. She graciously took us around on a tour of the library and explained all the modifications of the building and discussed the history with us. She actually went to school at the old schoolhouse and talked about how life was back then. She is responsible for the progress and growth of the new library and has the new community room named after her. Definitely a deserving honor because Elsie epitomizes everything good about a library and a librarian. The Louttit Library is a useful and modern facility that hasn't lost it's history or roots. It's a great place to read or to just walk around and absorb the history of the building. As pleasant as seeing the library was the real treat was meeting and talking to Elsie. Librarians just don't get any more wonderful than her.

Great Staff, good reads, sweet location!read more

This is not a fancy library, it doesn't have a fancy building or fancy furniture. What is has is…read morethe nicest people around. It's on the corner of Wickenden and Ives in the downstairs of the Boy and Girls Club. It is usually easy to park on the street. You can go on line and order your books for pick up here. They make it easy. And the staff is super friendly and efficient. It's my go to library of choice. Be sure to check out the courtyard mural by artists Marina Katayeva!

The Fox Point Community Library is a branch library of the Providence library system. A small…read morelibrary, it shares a building with the senior center and a few other things and can take a bit of thought to find the entrance when going here for the first time. It is well organized and clean and like all libraries today has wifi and computers available. It gets a bit noisy during certain times when the kids come in to do their homework or mess around but it's generally well behaved and friendly. The library had events and activities and the local chess club meets here. The hours are odd and irregular and the last I looked it wasn't open at all on the weekends and has mostly afternoon and evening hours. I guess they don't like mornings. A simple branch library that has its quirks but is useful and convenient with friendly librarians and all the things that a library should have.

One of the best libraries in the state! Clean. Well stocked. Well run. People there are helpful…read more Not everybody knows how to use an index box or whatever they call it to look up a book. Not everyone knows how to use a computer. Even in this day and age that's right. Place is great. It's great to spend a rainy afternoon and reading any kind of book you want. Books for sale. Different events. Just a beautiful library!

There are so many free activities to be found at this wonderful library. It is a very inviting…read moreplace with friendly staff. There is a large children's area full of books and toys. There is a teen area with seating and tables for studying. There are so many activities to be found here! Story times, books clubs, art history presentations, homeschool STEAM classes, movie matinees, board game groups, science shows, musicians, the list goes on. You can get free local museum passes, participate in the summer reading program, or just stop in the shop their bookstore. I am very impressed by this library!

A library with a…read more town hall Coventry Public Library shares a larger building with the town hall. The library is on one side and the town hall on the other side and the are connected by a pleasant lobby. Makes things easy and convenient for the people that live in the town,. The library part is about 10,000 square feet and holds about 83,000 volumes. Certainly not a huge library but a lot larger than many of the itty bitty ones that many of the towns have. The building is new so the library doesn't have the charm and history of the cool ancient libraries but it is an extremely pleasant place to check out some books or do some research. The library is very well organized and has lots of comfy places to sit. A great place to get something done or just to hang out and relax. One very nice feature is that the AC is very strong, something that is very appreciated during the present oppressive heat spell. The library was crowded and I suspect a lot of folks came here just to cool off. For a small town library Coventry has a lot of events and programs going on. All kind of notices for storytellers, musical performers, CPR training, and event a artisan fair to be held at the library in the fall. A very cool library, both literally and figuratively. A place to find a book, see what's happening around town or just relax and cool off.

My son has an Egyptian project for school. He needed a 3D model of the Egyptian god, Anubis. My son…read moreinquired about the 3D printer the library has. The librarians were extremely helpful. They explained the process and took the time to download the right file for the model. After all the work they did, the printer broke down. Knowing that the project is due this Friday, we didn't think we would get it in time. The librarians kept us updated and called tonight with great news. The printer is working again and the Anubis model is ready to be picked up...free of charge. Great job! Thank you so very much

Only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10-5, this library is reminiscent of the old times, with…read moreonly 3 rooms, and 3 computers. However, the staff at this library are so welcoming and helpful, that it only adds to the small town appeal of this library. Right when you enter the library there is a bookcase of books for sale ($1 for paperbacks, $2 for hardcovers) and these are not obscure books, but recent ones. Within 2 minutes I found a book I've been looking for in used books stores and was ready to leave happy. I decided to further enter the library to use a computer and found that while most RI libraries have computer areas set up, this one has only 3 - one in the main room, 1 in the RI room, and 1 in the children's section. The staff quickly got me set up on one of them and I was off and running. I wouldn't make this my go to library because of the size and limited hours, but it was a treat to experience it for the day.

Very special…read morelibrarians The Norwood Library is kind of a squat, small and bricky looking building. Not unattractive but certainly not one of the more stunning New England libraries. It looks like a bunker or air raid shelter on the outside, something that would survive just about anything. We got there just as it was closing, in fact it was closed and the librarians were leaving for the day. Itty, bitty libraries like this aren't open very often and you have to get the hours right. In fact the hours often change and are very irregular and not necessarily logical. However the very kind librarians let us in even though it kept them from leaving and didn't hurry us one bit. They were very friendly and pleasant even though it was obvious that we were keeping them from going home. They both patiently answered our stupid questions and even turned on the lights on and let us go downstairs. This library was built back in 1907 and is pretty cool if you take the time to look carefully. It is a very stout and strong looking building tucked in a small space but it does have some cool windows and an impressive slate roof. Obviously not one of the more impressive and grandiose libraries in New England but still a pretty cool place. We didn't have a lot of time to poke around the library but it was well organized and had all the usually library stuff. The kids section downstairs was especially cool. Just a little library in a small part of town. Nothing specially except for the accommodating librarians that sacrificed their time so we could poke around There are plenty of books and plenty of places to keep books, but librarians like this are what makes certain libraries very special.

Cows schools and…read more crappers Tyler Free Library is a small place. Not very many books and not a lot of the usual CD's, audio books. movies or computers. Everything is sort of cramped but quaint. More than five people in this building is probably a crowd. But what it lacks in size and resources this library more than makes up for in coolness and history. The Tyler Free Library was opened in 1900 after Casey Tyler donated a collection 2,000 books. The diminutive library slowly continued to grow until by 1925 it had over 5,000 books. Still not a whole lot, I know people that have that many books in private houses. The library continue to serve the small community of Moosup Valley not only as a place to get books but also as a gathering place. Town meetings, social events, and I suspect a great deal of gossip went on here. By the 1960's it became obvious that the tiny place needed some more room so they moved the entire building across the street and built an addition to attached it to the old school house that was no longer in use. The children's department of the library is now housed in the original school house building that was built way back in 1811. Pretty cool Walking around the library is a strange experience as you literally go into three different buildings within 20 feet. There even is a small room on the outside that I suspect was the original outhouse. Not sure what they put in it now because it was locked. The librarian was very friendly and loved talking to me about the library. Of course she had the time because it wasn't exactly crowded. The Tyler Free Library is a very special place. You can get books here and the librarian probably knows everything and everybody in this small town. But the real value of this place in it's history. The past just oozed from it's walls and you can feel it with every step. New libraries are great with their rows of computers and vast number of books but libraries like Tyler are quite literally irreplaceable.

A library that never…read morechanges I love tiny, old libraries and they just don't come any tinier or older than the Guilford Hathaway Library. It was constructed in 1895 with money donated by Florence Hathaway in memory of her father and I suspect it hardly changed over the decades. The library is indeed tiny and absolutely filled with books stacked everywhere. It's difficult to walk in some areas but the diminutive place has to make use of every nooks and cranny. Old books, new books and some unique old stuff occupies every shelve and they even have room for a few computers. The library does have electricity but no running water and no bathrooms. It smells old and stuffy but in a pleasant sort of way. This is a place that the local people of the village of Assonet probably think of as their private library. The building certainly looks like it needs some care but that's part of the charm of this place. Cool stone walls surround the ancient building and I suspect they were just found in the area and piled up to make the walls. The name Assonet actually means something like "the place of rocks" in the local Wampanoag language and there is certainly no shortage of them scattered around the village. Another more modern library was built in 1947 on the other side of town but the Hathaway Library still carries on much the way in always has. You have to occasional duck, turn sideways and step over things in this place but that is part of the fun. There aren't a lot of materials compared to most other libraries, no bathrooms and not a whole lot of room but this library certainly has it's own unique and anachronistic charm.