Lincoln Public Library is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

at 3 Bedford Road in

Lincoln, Massachusetts Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 7,014 according to the 2020 United States Census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits. The town, located in the MetroWest region o ...

. The library collection began in the late 1700s with a private subscription library started by Reverend Charles Stearns, and later a donation by Eliza Farrar of her husband, Professor

John Farrar John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Stra ...

's library collection. In 1884 George Grosvenor Tarbell, a Boston businessman donated funds to construct the current

Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

building of reddish

Longmeadow Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census. History Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farm ...

freestone, which was designed by the architect,

William G. Preston William Gibbons Preston (September 29, 1842 – March 26, 1910) was an American architect who practiced during the last third of the nineteenth century and in the first decade of the twentieth. Educated at Harvard University and the École des ...

. Large additions to the library were constructed in the 1950s and 1980s. The library is part of the

Minuteman Library Network The Minuteman Library Network (MLN), founded in 1984, is a consortium of 41 public and academic libraries in the MetroWest and southern Middlesex County areas of eastern Massachusetts, US that share resources, patrons and services. The Network ha ...

. It is a contributing property in the

Lincoln Center Historic District The Lincoln Center Historic District is a historic district on Bedford, Lincoln, Old Lexington, Sandy Pond, Trapelo & Weston Roads in Lincoln, Massachusetts. The district encompasses Lincoln's civic heart, consisting of a traditional New Englan ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Public libraries in Massachusetts Libraries in Middlesex County, Massachusetts