Islip Public Library

In 1898, an Association Library was formed by women of the Islip community. There was a $1 annual membership fee and a rental fee of 5 cents a week for each borrowed book. Rent for the early Library was $12 per month and heat was provided by a potbellied stove. A Provisional Charter was granted by New York State in January, 1924 to the entity known as Islip Public Library, which moved from a Main Street storefront into the Islip High School (now the Islip Town Hall annex), and in 1941, the Library received its Absolute Charter. Eventually, the Board of Education offered “the old school grounds” between Monell and Union Avenues as a site for a library facility, and in 1955 voters of the school district approved the construction of a new public library. In 1964, Islip Public Library became the first library in Suffolk County to have a budget vote in a library building, and in 1974, voters approved an expansion, which took the building from 5,801 to 22,000 square feet. In 2001, the Library was again expanded to create a larger children’s department and meeting space. An outdoor terrace was added in 2018. The history of the Islip Public Library is one of continued striving to support the educational, cultural, and leisure activities of Islip School District residents.