Lockport Public Library

East Avenue entrance

Chestnut Street entrance

Lockport Public Library
23 East Avenue
P.O. Box 475
Lockport, NY 14095-0475
Voice: (716) 433-5935
FAX: (716) 439-0198
www.lockportlibrary.org

Lockport had the forerunner of a public library prior to 1847 when a legislative act established the Union School and provided for the consolidation of the seven school district libraries. The collection was housed in the office of the Superintendent of Schools, who doubled as a librarian. In 1891 the library was given first floor space in the new Union School on East Avenue. In 1892 the Board of Education adopted a resolution that the Lockport Public Library should continue as a free circulating library.

Starting with a collection of about 4,300 books and an income of a few hundred dollars a year, the library was circulating 20,000 books a year by 1900 and 36,000 by 1910. In 1919 a full-time librarian was appointed. The inadequate quarters of the library were strained during the depression years, and the circulation reached 163,000 in 1934. There was a definite need for a separate building for the Library. Two bequests helped fund construction and furnishings and provided the library's present site on East Avenue; dedication services were held in June of 1936.

In 1959 the Library became a member of the Nioga Library System, which provides central ordering and processing services to libraries in Niagara, Orleans, and Genesee Counties and enables members of any of these libraries to utilize collections of all other member libraries and other libraries in New York State through interlibrary loans. The Library became part of a six-member library association through the the Nioga Library System which became computerized in 1986, making the collections of the member libraries immediately known to patrons throughout the system and greatly facilitating the sharing of resources.

In 1993, a Lockport City School District bond issue along with private donations enabled the Library to be renovated and expanded, increasing the usable space from 15,400 square feet to 36,200 square feet. A new north entrance was added to provide ground-level accessibility. The entire building was rewired to permit use of computers and other electronic devices. The additional space allowed for a public meeting room, a greatly expanded Youth Department, more seating space, an office for literacy programs, an entire floor for non-fiction/reference, a quiet study room, and a local history room. A dedication was held on February 13, 1994.

• Online public catalog, a computerized listing of the Library and the NIOGA Library System holdings
• Reference service in person, by phone, and by email
• Computer terminals with free access to the Internet for children and adults
• "Beginning Internet" workshops for adults
• Activities, talks, and programs for children and adults, including reading clubs, book discussion groups, story hours, crafts
• Interlibrary loans from the collections of other libraries within and beyond the NIOGA Library System
• Free use of computer terminals for word processing and other projects for children and adults
• Equipment for in-house use and/or to be borrowed (slide projectors, audio cassette players)
• Free access to research databases, some also accessible from home via the Library's web site (www.lockportlibrary.org)

The library is located at 23 East Avenue, across the street from the Palace Theatre.

From Buffalo: I-90 East to I-290 West to I-990 North. I-990 North ends at Millersport Hwy. (Hwy. 263). Turn left on Millersport Hwy. Millersport Hwy. ends at Transit Rd. (Route 78). At Transit Road, turn left. Continue on Transit Road approximately 8 miles to Main Street. Turn right on Main Street. Continue on Main Street approximately one-half mile. Turn left onto Market Street. Make the first right into a large parking lot. From here you can enter the library through the Chestnut Street entrance.

(Show Map)
 

Director: Marie Bindeman

A Member of the NIOGA Library System