Saratoga Springs Public Library (SSPL), established in 1950, is a public library located in

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

in the

Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...

area of New York. SSPL serves the Saratoga Springs City School District.

Services and facilities

The three-story building on Henry Street that now houses the library was opened in 1995. SSPL offers a wide variety of services in the building and via the web site. The library offers a collection of current, high demand print and non-print items, including

books on tape A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...

compact discs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in October ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

s, as well as access to online electronic information resources, downloadable audio books, ebooks and videos, and much more. The library provides public computer access and is Wi-Fi accessible. The Library offers free programs and activities for all ages. Librarians are available to respond to the information needs of customers who walk-in or phone-in with questions. SSPL also provides Ask-A-Librarian (https://www.sspl.org/contact/librarian/), an email reference service. The library offers

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

capability, a coffee shop, and ''The Friends Book Shop'' bookstore selling used paperback and hardbound books. The Saratoga Room is a collection of local history resources containing books, pamphlets, audio-visual materials on the Saratoga Springs area. Examples are a history of the effort to preserve the springs, ''The Politics of Hydrotherapy and the Development of a New York State Policy'' written by local resident and former Saratoga Spa State Park employee Ed Murphy, and the "Frank Sullivan Collection" of books written by humorist Frank Sullivan or inscribed to him by his famous friends. This room is open for limited hours. The library is part of the Southern Adirondack Library System, providing an integrated online catalog and

interlibrary loan Interlibrary loan (abbreviated ILL, and sometimes called interloan, interlending, document delivery, document supply, or interlibrary services, abbreviated ILS) is a service where patrons of one library can borrow materials and receive photocopies ...

among thirty-six libraries in Saratoga,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

counties.

History

The first library in Saratoga Springs, the Saratoga Athenaeum, was a private subscription library founded in 1885 by a group that included

Spencer Trask Spencer Trask (September 18, 1844 – December 31, 1909) was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the el ...

and Joseph Drexel among others. This library was first located on the corner of Broadway and Caroline Street, and moved to 344 Broadway in 1906. In 1945 voters approved a proposal to construct a public library, which opened at 320 Broadway at the intersection of, Spring Street in a corner of Congress Park, in 1950. When this library opened students from the Saratoga Springs school district carried the books down Broadway to their new home. The library's current building at 49 Henry Street broke ground in 1993 and opened in 1995. It was designed by Architecture Plus of

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

and The LA Group and Phillips Associates of Saratoga Springs."About"
Saratoga Springs Public Library website

References

External links

*
Saratoga Springs Public Library website
{{authority control Public libraries in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Saratoga Springs, New York Education in Saratoga County, New York Library buildings completed in 1995