Old schools and…read moreold trees The city of Cranston has one main public library and five small branch libraries. This review is for the Oaklawn branch of the Cranston library system. Old schoolhouses tend to make great libraries and in fact a lot of the small, local libraries had their beginnings as tiny schools. This former old schoolhouse is really old and was built back in 1838. It remained a school until 1895 when a new and larger school was built and it was decided to use this as the permanent library. Other libraries were built in Cranston but this one remains as a very cool reminder of the past. The building has had several renovations and additions during the decades but it's schoolhouse roots are still evident. Great vaulted ceilings and rambling areas that are not necessarily logical shows that this not designed from the start as a library. You can still see where the old, original part separates from the newer additions and it's easy to imagine what the original school looks like. A giant, ancient tree guards the front and I suspect the tree was old before this building or perhaps even town was a thought. Yeah, this place has books. magazine, computers, wi-fi and all the other usual library stuff. Useful, convenient and very friendly and knowledgeable librarians make this a place that still has purpose. However it's the history, spooky old tree and cool old building that makes this library special.

Awesome!!!!! We are so fortunate to have a wonderful library system here in Cranston. We have…read morebeautiful libraries and they are so full of not only books but technology and videos and reference materials that are boundless. The people who work in these libraries are amazingly knowledgeable and kind and helpful. I have never gone in to a library and a not come out with what I was looking for in some fashion. They will go above and beyond to serve your needs and to help you either look for the information that you want or to try to find it in a different way or a different place for you. I am very grateful to all of those who work in the library system and to the city of Cranston for funding the libraries. They are such a vital part of our community.

A slice of the…read morepast The small town of Foster actually has two libraries, The Tyler Library on one side of town and the Foster Library on the other. Both are small, former school houses and both are fascinating. The Foster Library certainly looks like a classic, old, school house and it even has the old bell in a small cupola on the roof. Situated on the top of a small hill, the library/old school house looks like something from a Norman Rockwell painting. The inside is a bit cramped but very homey and pleasant and it's school house roots are obvious. As in the case with most small town libraries, the librarian was wonderful and very friendly and welcoming. Soon this cool little library and the other small library on the other side of town will be just memories. The town is building a much larger library that will be in compliance with all the new disability laws. As quaint as the old school house it, it certainly wasn't designed with wheelchairs in mind. Hopefully these two wonderful and historic old school houses will survive in some capacity once the new library is completed. There are more than just buildings, they represent a part of the past. And once gone, the past never returns again.

The Tolland library is part of a larger complex of town offices, located off their green. The…read morelibrary shares a lot with the police department. The library itself has plenty of parking, and is divided in two with the desk in the middle. It's well decorated with art completed by patrons on the desk. It also has later hours which make it easier to visit!

The library staff are all very nice and helpful. Since I have broad literary tastes, they…read morefrequently help me find (and order) less usual books through two inter-library networks they are part of. The library is also an attractive space where there are always people reading and sometimes doing picture puzzles. Oh, and the staff are always ready to help those of us less skilled in using the search system on the computers. All in all, a great place and a great staff.

This is the library that was down the street from my childhood home. I could walk to it. I have…read moreprobably read 2/3 of the books in it. It's a smaller library, much smaller than anything offered at a school, or Los Angeles, or even any other town bigger than Woodstock.

Books graveyards…read more and mysteries The Chaplin Town Library is a small library but that's all right because Chaplin is a small town. Only about 12,000 volumes in the library and only about 2,200 people in the town. So the ratio of books to book lovers is actually very high. The library was built in 1948 and then renovated in the year 2000 so it's actually one of the newer libraries in the state. It still has that cool small town feel with lots of colorful flowers, old benches and an ancient graveyard right next door. Even though it has all the modern amenities of a newer library, it never lets you forget that you are in a small new England town. The people I met there were as friendly and congenial as I would expect in a small town and the librarian went out of her way to make us feel welcome. Told us to sit down and relax and everyone that came in the library seemed to want to talk to us and socialize. These small town libraries are a lot more than just places for books, at one time they were the way people stayed in touch and they still serve that purpose. E-mail is great but there is nothing like talking to a person face to face. The new library is very pleasant and replaced the old William Ross library that was built way back in 1911. The previous library is still standing a ways down the street and nobody would tell me what it was used for now. Just shook their heads or laughed like it was a private joke. Hmmm. Most small New England towns have mysteries. That's one of the things that makes visiting these out of the way places so cool. You never know what you are going to find. The new Chaplin Library is pretty cool but I suspect the much older Chapin Library just might be much, much, cooler still.

It's such a wonderful library. I have little ones that love the company of Ms. Sammy, she works…read morewith the children on the children's side of the library. Her interaction with my children and all the children that go EVERYDAY, is astounding. She does not get enough credit for all of the amazing things she does. Ms. Denise when she's there is on the adults side. She is an absolutely amazing woman. This library is its own family within itself. Sure it's a community library, but when everyone gets together it's basically a family. There's so many awesome events that they hold and they really do care about the health and well being of everyone - child or not - this is by far the best library my family and I have been to and been apart of. If you lack support, come here. I assure you, you will find it. If you just need a friendly familiar face, stop by. It's always the same people in there! Mr. Mark is a volunteer here (forgive me if I'm wrong) and he's a great listener if you just need a safe person to chat with. Sometimes when someone says the word library you think of an old boring building filled with dusty old books... not here. Boring isn't a word that could ever possibly describe this specific library! If you're looking for a clean, fun, and nifty library, search no more, you've found it. My family loves this library and it is just very important to us. It means more to us than we can describe. Pop in, it's worth it

We love the Wanskuck Library so much! It's small and intimate, and the librarians remember your…read morename and ask about your family There are always fun events happening, and it's a great place for little kids to play.

There's a book sale downstairs throughout the month of September. I like this library. It is…read moremodernized and it is very pretty.

Great library! I enjoy visiting a few times a year when going to UCONN. The book sale fundraiser…read moreis always nice. I only wish that during business hours a live person would answer the phone (the few times I've called, I've always had to leave a message in the voice mailbox).

A good book is the…read more best of friends The Brooklyn Town Library is a strange place, but then most of the libraries around here are pretty strange. That's probably because most of the buildings that the libraries now occupy were originally built for something else. The building that the Brooklyn Library is now in was built as a bank way back in 1821 and it still looks kind of banky. Huge walls, small rooms and not really much open space. The building received an addition a few years after it was built but still looks a lot bigger on the outside than it appears once inside. The building was bought and donated to the Library Association in 1913 and has served as the town library ever since. The library does have a unique charm to it due to the banking ancestry but it does make getting around the library difficult. Small hallways, very crowded areas and strangely shaped and very cluttered rooms makes navigating around a bit of a challenge. Of course this is pretty cool if you are just looking around but makes doing any real work a bit of a bother. It seems this library has a lot more stuff than room to put the stuff. Everyone I met here was extremely nice, very friendly, talkative and accommodating in the typical small town way and the library offers some very cool programs and events. The library itself has a decent collection of books, magazines and the usual library items but finding a comfy spot to sit and read might be hard. Definitely not your ordinary type of library, this place has be serving the town for decades and will probably continue to do so for a long time. It still has that massive banky and secure feel to it. It's a cool place to look around, get information, find a book, or do some local research. It's not the place to spread out and occupy space, you might end up in a swarthy corner or tenebrous hallway with a ghost sitting next to you.