Geneseo, New York Libraries
- Wadsworth
Library. "Once there were no public libraries in
America. Until the mid-nineteenth century, subscription
libraries, financially supported by members, provided library
services. One of the first free public libraries in the country
was the Geneseo Athenaeum in Geneseo, NY.
In 1842 local landholder James Wadsworth (1768-1844) established
the Athenaeum collection for students at the Livingston County
High School (later Temple Hill Academy). Wadsworth, who had been
advocating for state legislation to establish tax supported
public libraries, opened the Athenaeum collection free of charge
to the residents of Livingston County.
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By Civil War times, the collection had outgrown its space and a
new library was constructed at the present location in 1867. In
1869 the New York State legislature established the Wadsworth
Library as a public library in the Village of Geneseo to serve
the residents and schools of Livingston County. Originally
endowed by the Wadsworth family, the Library is also funded by
the Village and Town of Geneseo and the Geneseo Central School
District.
During the early decades of the twentieth century several
attempts were made to expand the library but all were abandoned.
In the 1980s another expansion program was undertaken and
completed. A new addition to the Wadsworth Library was dedicated
March 17, 1996. The Library is included in the Geneseo Historic
District, a National Landmark Village listed by the National
Register of Historic Places in 1991. "
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