Merrick Library

Merrick Library Lifelong learning, literacy, and community service, since 1891. http://wlkswiki.pbworks.com/w/page/24730042/Merrick%20Library%20History

See what’s happening this week at the Merrick Library! 📆Visit merricklibrary.org for more details and registration.
06/01/2026

See what’s happening this week at the Merrick Library! 📆

Visit merricklibrary.org for more details and registration.

See what's been happening at the Merrick Library and take a look at what's up next at merricklibrary.org/events. Find mo...
05/29/2026

See what's been happening at the Merrick Library and take a look at what's up next at merricklibrary.org/events. Find more programs like Happy Birthday Belle, The Great Merrick Book Swap, and Veteran's Information and Benefit Seminar.

MERRICK LIBRARY SUMMER HOURS BEGIN THIS SATURDAY, MAY 23Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Saturd...
05/22/2026

MERRICK LIBRARY SUMMER HOURS BEGIN THIS SATURDAY, MAY 23
Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Sunday: CLOSED

Image From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 5, 1902. This historic article captures a moment of rapid transformation in M...
05/21/2026

Image From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 5, 1902.
This historic article captures a moment of rapid transformation in Merrick as developers Kenney & Foster begin reshaping roughly 200 acres stretching from the railroad to Hempstead Bay into an upscale residential community. The plan includes new streets, villa sites, water mains, drainage systems, electric service, parkland, and strict building requirements designed to maintain a high-end suburban character.
A major canal project by the Empire Dredging Company is also underway, cutting a 100-foot-wide waterway from Hempstead Bay toward Merrick Road to improve boating access while raising surrounding meadowlands to reduce mosquito breeding.
The article further highlights the construction of large Colonial-style homes and landscaped estates for prominent residents such as William George Foster and William J. K. Kenney, along with ongoing improvements led by landowner H. H. Camman. Additional developments include over 1,000 shade trees planted, park space near the railroad depot, and acre-sized residential lots with home construction minimums ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, positioning Merrick as a desirable suburban enclave for affluent New Yorkers.
In the middle section of the article are several historic images with captions, including early development illustrations and planning visuals. One notable image features the 1897 Merrick Library building, which still stands proudly on Merrick Avenue today as a true historic gem.

The Merrick Library will be CLOSED on Monday, May 25 in honor of Memorial Day.
05/21/2026

The Merrick Library will be CLOSED on Monday, May 25 in honor of Memorial Day.

05/20/2026

Thank you, Merrick! 👏❤️📚
We’re happy to share that our library budget passed 500 to 111. Board President Rachel Mathieu-Leo was re-elected to another five-year term, and we’re excited to welcome new trustee Rachel Levine to the Board.
Thank you to everyone who voted, encouraged others to participate, and continues to support the library. Your engagement and support make a real difference.

The Library budget vote and trustee election will be held alongside the school district budget vote TODAY Tuesday, May 1...
05/19/2026

The Library budget vote and trustee election will be held alongside the school district budget vote TODAY Tuesday, May 19, 2026 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the Katherine E. Reif Administration Center, Levy Lakeside School, 21 Babylon Road, Merrick, NY 11566.

Stop by for a comfortable place to work! We are open daily.
05/18/2026

Stop by for a comfortable place to work! We are open daily.

Congratulations to NATHAN on reading 1,000 books before kindergarten! The staff at Merrick Library is so proud of this i...
05/15/2026

Congratulations to NATHAN on reading 1,000 books before kindergarten! The staff at Merrick Library is so proud of this incredible accomplishment. Take a look at Nathan’s achievement, along with other highlights from around the library this week, and see what’s coming up next at merricklibrary.org/events

Exactly 129 years ago this week, the little Merrick Library opened the doors of its new building on Merrick Avenue in 18...
05/15/2026

Exactly 129 years ago this week, the little Merrick Library opened the doors of its new building on Merrick Avenue in 1897, constructed at a cost of $1,150 on land generously donated by Katherine L. Cammann.

Though the library itself dates back to 1891, founded by two industrious teenagers, Edward C. Cammann and Richard P. Kent, who recognized a community need and began collecting books for public use, the beloved building we know today would not be constructed until 1897.

Before settling into its permanent home, the library had already lived several lives of its own, with three earlier locations including a barn, a shack, and even a room on the ground floor of a water tower.

That same pivotal year, Miss Lina Miller became Merrick’s librarian, helping shape the early stewardship of this growing community institution.

The building itself was made possible through the collaboration and generosity of many of Merrick and Long Island’s most notable founding families, including the Cammanns, Birches, Jennings, Willets, Hewletts, and Kents. These families helped lay the foundation for a space built truly for the entire community.

A May 14, 1898 president’s report reflects the optimism of that first year in the new building, capturing a community energized by possibility and shared purpose.

When you look closely at these historic photographs, you see more than images. You see patrons of the past, some dressed in elegant Victorian attire, others in the modest clothing of wartime America, all united by a shared public space in the heart of the community.

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2279 Merrrick Avenue
Merrick, NY
11566

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