The Farmingdale Public Library celebrated a milestone recently as it has been 25 years since they moved into their current building, which is located at 116 Merritts Rd. The Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon cutting in honor of the occasion on the front steps of the modern building.
“We have a wonderful history of being in different places,” said director Debbie Podolski, who has been with the library since 2002. “The reason for the move each time was because of expansion. The community was growing. People were moving to the suburbs. So the library expanded its services to meet the needs of the community.”
The history dates back to 1923 when the Women’s Club of Farmingdale created the first Farmingdale library in a room in the Kolkebeck House. Six years later, the home was demolished and the library began sharing space with the Main Street School library. In 1952, local residents approved the establishment of a public library, when they officially moved into a new building on 195 Main St. They later moved into 274 Main St., now known as The Library Café, in 1959 and also created a southern branch, located at 503 Northwest Drive, in 1961.
The initial planning for the new building started in the early 1990s when the library board talked about consolidating the two libraries into one all-purpose building. They purchased land from a local flower shop and nursery in order to make their vision come true.
“We wanted to expand our collection,” said Podolski. “We also wanted to have meeting rooms. One of the goals was to allow the public and the organizations within the community to have meeting space, which is what we do now all the time. And really, it was to meet the needs of the community that was still growing.”
The architecture of the library, which was built by Beatty Harvey Coco, stands out as a diamond shaped glass ceiling pokes out the top of the front lobby. That, combined with the circular stone foundation, has given the hub a unique modern look that it hasn’t quite had before.
“I was in another library at the time it was being worked on [in 1992],” said Podolski. “We heard that Farmingdale was building this beautiful library. We were all jealous. It was the envy of Nassau County.”
Since moving into the 60,000 square-foot building in 1994, the library has had the opportunity to grow with the surrounding population. In its current state, the library circulates more than 280,000 items every year to those who visit or use the library’s resources.
“We have everything,” said Podolski. “It’s not your grandmother’s library anymore. We have digital books that people can download at no cost instead of buying them on Amazon. They can download them for free with our subscription service called Overdrive. We even have digital magazines.”
But as much as the library’s been a center for materials, its extra space has helped the library become a hub for events and important local club gatherings. Podolski credits the Friends of the Library group for getting residents more involved in the building.
“It’s a testament to the community that they believe in the future of Farmingdale and that they wanted to see a library that can meet the needs of the town,” said Podolski. “[The Friends of the Library] went out and really sold the building to various community groups, such as the Boy Scouts and the Women’s Club of Farmingdale.”
As for the future of the library, Podolski said the introduction of the internet has allowed libraries to adapt and become even busier than ever. The Farmingdale Public Library is no exception.
“People come here because they want a place to relax and do their work in quiet, or they may not have the second computer at home that the kids might be using,” said Podolski. “We’re a dynamic place and everything we do here is based off of feedback from the community.”
For more information on the library, visit www.farmingdalelibrary.org.
