The West Islip Public Library

West Islip residents first discussed the idea for their own library at a PTA meeting at the end of 1954. However, there were still some members of the community who weren't convinced the town needed a library and they voted against using tax money to build one. So in 1956 a group of residents formed the first West Islip Association (WIA) and they began to work on building West Islip its very own library.

The members of the WIA began to raise money, supplies and equipment for the library. When William Dzus, the president of the Dzus Fastener Company, heard that members of the West Islip community were trying to open a library, Dzus renovated his original work shop on Hawley Avenue and donated it to the WIA. On May 18, 1957, the West Islip Public Library opened at 43 Hawley Ave.

At first, the library had 272 registered borrowers so it was only open for 12 hours a week.  A year later, it had 3,352 borrowers so the library opened 36 hours per week. By 1960, close to 7,000 borrowers were registered and pamphlets, records and films were added to the library's catalog.  But the library was growing faster than the building could accommodate, so plans to move to a larger building were put into action in 1961.  This time the town approved a tax supported library.

The library moved to a temporary location at 545 Union Blvd. in 1961 and the search to find a new, bigger permanent home for the library began.  By the beginning of 1966, a plan to construct a new 20,000 square foot building was approved which would allow for triple the space of the library to hold 105,000 books, 250 people and 75 cars in the parking lot. The site chosen was the current location of 3 Higbie Ln., on property owned by the West Islip School District. The library opened in May 1968.

Throughout the past 42 years, the library has undergone additional expansion and modernization. In 1977, the mezzanine was constructed. By the 1980's, computers were standard for the library staff. In 1995, another internal expansion project was completed. In 2000, the library underwent a massive renovation including an 11,000 square foot addition.

Over the years the library has had many volunteers and benefactors, especially the Friends of the Library, which was established in 1961. The group sponsors various programs like bus trips, museum exhibits, book groups and other events. They also make equipment purchases for the library and established a scholarship fund.

Below is commentary Patch compiled regarding the West Islip Pubic Library from former and current employees.  Here's what they had to say...

Carolyn Agenjo, various positions including computer maintenance, 1983-present (1972-1983 volunteer):

"There has always been a family atmosphere here, and many of us formed close relationships as time passed. I guess the worst (part) has been losing so many fellow staff members over the years."

 Joan Laverty, current secretary to the director, 1980-present:

"A job at the library was perfect for me. I was a single mom so the hours were good, it was close to home and the library is very family oriented."

 Grace O'Connor, Reference Librarian, 1990-present.

"There have been many changes at the West Islip Library in just 20 years but the way we access the library's materials is one of the biggest and most important. Some people still pine for the good old days (of the card catalog) but the use of computers in libraries has made the biggest impact."

 Andrew Hamm, Director, 2000-present

"The biggest change I've experienced over the past decade was the building renovation and expansion which occupied much of my first five years on the job. While the planning, bond approval and construction was challenging, the resulting modern library building was definitely worth it."

The answer to last week's trivia question is: The restaurant that was located in front of Pine Lake was the Pine Lake Tavern, owned by Herman and Hilda Bohlsens. Today, their children and grandchildren own five restaurants on Long Island: Beachtree Cafe (in East Islip), Tellers Chophouse and Verace (in Islip), H2O Seafood Grill (in Smithtown) and Prime (in Huntington Harbor).

This week's trivia question: Back in the 1980's, a few board games about West Islip were made. One was based on a game that has sold more than 275 million editions worldwide, is available in 111 countries and in 43 languages. What is the name of that game? The answer in next week's column.