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The Rye Public Library was opened on September 6, 1911 for the circulation of books every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
Both the land and the money to build were donations to the town given by Miss Mary Tuck Rand. She presented these gifts to the people
of Rye at the annual town meeting as a memorial to her family.
It is hard to believe, but Rye was the last town in Rockingham County to establish a public library. According to the History of the
Town of Rye, N. H. by Langdon B. Parsons, a bequest of $8,000 was made to the town by Oliver Sleeper for the purpose of building a library
in 1883. A stipulation of the will was if the town declined to accept his bequest, the money would be divided equally among the two churches
in Rye. A special town meeting was called to allow the people to vote for acceptance of this legacy. Only a few voters turned out at
the polls because it was the busy hay season, and the result was unanimous not to accept the bequest.
The people who did not vote were very dissatisfied and a second town meeting was scheduled by the selectmen. The vote at this meeting
was unanimous in favor of accepting the bequest, but it would be another ten years before the problem was resolved. In the end, the churches
received what little money was left after all the years of litigation and the town continued to vote "no" by large majority
every year on the question, "Is it expedient to establish a town library?"
The first structural changes made to the library were in 1967 when the building was expanded. New facilities included a stack room
and adult reading area, staff workroom, charging desk, and a newly furnished children's room. Also added to the building was an expanded
ground floor area for library services and meeting room.
In 1980 construction began on a new children's room located next to the meeting room in the library's basement. A ceiling was torn
down, a subdivision wall was broken and the foundation was bored through to create an emergency exit. The floor to the existing children's
room was ruptured to create a new stairway. The old children's room was converted to an adult reading area with periodicals and newspapers.
New State Library standards in 1988 stated that unless a library was or was planning to be fully accessible to the handicapped, the library
could be denied state benefits. As a result of this and the overcrowded conditions in the building, the voters at the town meeting that
year agreed to allocate funds to begin feasibility studies for a new library.
A Library Study Committee was formed in 1988 to evaluate the need for expansion of the present library building, but found that an
expansion would require a total relocation of the library which was something the town did not want to do. When an alternate site was
found in 1990, the voters turned down the proposal.
As part of the plan to make the library accessible to all, a lift was installed in the building in 1992 so that physically disabled patrons
could enter and move from floor to floor without using stairs. The meeting room downstairs was converted into a new children's room providing
a larger area and much brighter atmosphere. The space left vacant was used to store periodicals and to make a staff workroom and a small
corner for meeting space.
The first step toward building a new library was made at the town meeting in 1995 when voters agreed to purchase the adjacent property
known as the Parsonage to give the library room to expand. The Rye Development Program was established that year to raise money for the
project seeking donations to be paid in pledges over a three year period. Their goal was to raise a portion of the money privately before
asking townspeople to fund the rest of the project. When this goal was met in 1997, the townspeople voted overwhelmingly to support a
bond article which would allow construction to begin. Site work began and major construction started early in 1998.
When the addition to the building was nearing completion, it was necessary to close the library for several months for the first time
in eighty-seven years to allow for the renovation of the original building. North Hampton Public Library and the Lane Library in Hampton
generously offered temporary library cards for our patrons during this time.
The librarians continued to work in the building while it was under construction. All of the library materials were put into boxes
and stored. When the books were returned and put onto the new shelving, the library re-opened on January 16, 1999. It was then that the
librarians discovered it was not only books that make a library, but patrons as well.
The original dedication speech by Mary Tuck Rand was read at the grand opening celebration of the newly renovated and expanded library
on February 14, 1999. The library, nearly doubled in size, includes a new entrance with off street parking, and an elevator. On the lower
floor is a new meeting room for community and library programs and a large children's room with programming space, a young adult section
and a computer room. Upstairs is the adult reading area with a new computer room, quiet study areas, a conference room and an expanded
stack area. Although larger in size, patrons continue to enjoy the same friendly, helpful service by the librarians.
-written by Tricia Quinn,
Adult Services Librarian, December '99
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