About Bristol Library
Library Hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 3 -7 p.m.
Tuesday, Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Friday, Sunday CLOSED
Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and sign up for our email Newsletter!
Services:
We offer copying, printing, and faxing services, as well as access to computers. You do not have to have a library card to use these services. If you have any tech related questions, drop in or give us a call and we can help!
History of Bristol Library:
Bristol Library has been part of the Bristol community for more than 125 years. Established in 1900 by local women, the library grew out of the reading circles that had emerged in the community during the late 1800s, when educational opportunities for women were limited. What began with local women gathering in their homes and sharing books eventually became a library serving the entire community.
On January 15, 1900, William Doyle established the Bristol Free Library in a room above his store in Baptist Hill. Later that year, on December 20, the library received its provisional charter from the University of the State of New York. Mrs. Carrie Hicks Perry served as its first librarian. In 1901, the library expanded its collection by incorporating books from the local Sunday School Library and began sharing books with residents in Bristol Center.
Bristol's library history is unusual because, for a time, the town had two libraries—one serving Baptist Hill and another serving Bristol Center. Both moved several times as their collections and communities grew. Early library spaces included general stores, a schoolhouse, private homes, a former blacksmith shop, and even buildings shared with local post offices.
The Bristol Center library eventually found a home in a former blacksmith shop purchased for $175 and renovated for library use. In 1977, the town's two library traditions were brought together as the libraries faced new municipal requirements, creating the foundation of the Bristol Library we know today.
The library's historic building has a story of its own. On September 20, 1993, the former blacksmith shop that had become the library was physically moved from Route 64, around the corner to its present location on County Road 32. An addition was later constructed at the rear of the historic building, allowing the library to grow while preserving an important piece of Bristol's past.
Today, Bristol Library continues that long tradition at 6750 County Road 32 in Bristol Center. As a member of the OWWL Library System, the library provides access to books and other materials, technology, programs, educational opportunities, and resources extending far beyond the walls of its historic building.
More than a century after Bristol residents first began sharing books with their neighbors, the purpose behind the library remains much the same: bringing people, information, and ideas together and providing a welcoming place for the entire community.