DIX HILLS BUILDING
55 Vanderbilt Parkway
Dix Hills, N.Y. 11746

(631) 421-4530

HOURS
Monday - Friday:
9:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday:
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sundays (Sept. - June):
noon - 5:00 p.m.

 

MELVILLE BUILDING
510 Sweet Hollow Road
Melville, N.Y. 11747

(631) 421-4535

HOURS
Monday - Thursday:
10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday:
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sundays:
Closed

 

Library History

In 1958, the Sunquam-Melville Parent Teachers Association provided the original spark for a library in the Half Hollow Hills area with a donation of $200 towards a library fund. A library committee was formed and began its work by looking for a location for the library. The Board of Education of the Half Hollow Hills School District granted permission for the use of a large room in the basement of the "old Melville School" on Sweet Hollow Road. The original volunteers recruited 30 local Boys Scouts. Together, the Boy Scouts and twenty-five adult library enthusiasts conducted a house-to-house canvas for books. Members of the community built the book shelves and decorated the new library.

The Half Hollow Hills Community Library was opened in April of 1959 with 5,000 donated books and a $12,000 budget. Tax support for the library was approved in 1960 and a provisional charter was granted later that year. In June, 1964, the New York State Board of Regents granted a permanent charter to the Half Hollow Hills Community Library.

 

Half Hollow Hills Community Library, the first 50 years

Library Timeline

• Spring 1958 - Sunquam-Melville PTA runs a dance to benefit the Library Fund.
• October 17, 1958 - Meeting at the home of Mrs. Ruth Freeze to promote the start of a community library.
  
• 1958-1959 - Boy Scouts and other volunteers conduct a door-to-door appeal for books and library funds.
• April 1959 - Library opens.
• December 1959 - Library membership is 500 and the library is open 14 hours each week.
• June 15, 1960 - Proposition to formally establish a school district public library is approved.
• June 22, 1960 - Referendum on library budget.
• 1961 - First library director - Mrs. Virginia Moran.
• June 26, 1964 - Permanent charter granted.
• December 1, 1965 - Referendum approved to purchase property and construct a library building on Vanderbilt Parkway in Dix Hills.
• July 30, 1967 - Dix Hills Building opens.
• September 16, 1979 - 20th Anniversary Celebration.
• April 1990 - Dedication of expanded library buildings at Dix Hills and Melville.
• Spring 2009 - Melville's renovation is completed.
• April 26, 2009 - 50th Anniversary Celebration.
• Summer 2011 - Grant awarded for the Dix Hills Roof Replacement/Solar Project.
• Today - Library membership is over 34,000 and the library is open 70 hours each week.

 

Mission Statement

The mission of the Half Hollow Hills Community Library is to offer a welcoming space, both digital and physical, with professional staff, services, programs and materials that provides learning, cultural enrichment and entertainment to the community.

Revised by the Board of Trustees, 6/20/2011