Staff

Mission

Milton Public Library is a community center for learning and leisure. We work to fulfill patron needs for information and entertainment materials; endeavor to meet the learning needs of patrons on topics related to work, school, and personal life; encourage learning and intellectual growth from the earliest ages; and foster an atmosphere of intellectual freedom in the American tradition of liberty.

History

Milton Public Library was established on March 1, 1898. It opened to the public on August 13, 1898, with a town appropriation of $40 and some state aid.

Since a vote of the town created the library, it is a municipal public library, according to “The Law of Public Libraries,” a joint publication of the Vermont Office of the Secretary of State and the Vermont Department of Libraries.

The original library of 105 books was housed in the Main Street home the towns’ first librarian, Mrs. C. L. Wolcott. This house, last owned by Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Elwood, was acquired by St. Anne’s Catholic Church, and the land is currently used for parking.

The mentions In the book “Look Around Colchester and Milton, Vermont,” the Chittenden County Historical Society reports that between 1909 and 1924 Milton Public Library moved into an office building built by Joseph Clark, where Librarian F. S. Morgan had his Arrowhead Press office at Bridge Square.

In 1925, the library was relocated to a small room in the Clark Memorial Building, a gift to Milton from the Clark estate.

In 1941, Milton Public Library moved into larger quarters, the former G.A.R. room in the same building on Main Street. An extra room was added in 1967, to meet growing demands placed on the library by Milton’s rapid population growth.

In July 1995, the library and other town departments moved into the new municipal complex on Bombardier Road.

In June 2011, the library floor space was doubled to include a community meeting room, a children’s area, two bathrooms, and additional shelving for adult, young adult, and juvenile books.

In October 2011, the library joined the Vermont Organization of Koha Automated Libraries (VOKAL), a project of the Green Mountain Library Consortium.