A great library to stop and get some work done. Plenty of tables spread around the space, both on…read morethe upper and lower floors. There are also more cozy chair options if you are here to read. I love the view over the water. My only complaint is it took me a little while to find a table that had access to a power outlet - go to the lower level, take a left, and go all the way to the end! Also! They have a plant exchange!!!! Such a lovely idea. Bring a plant cutting to leave and take a new friend home :)

I have lived in this town close to 46 years. The library has long been an excellent resource and a…read morepleasant place to go to for programs and reading materials, plus access to computers and print outs before I had my own printer!

Being the nerd that I am, I came here the day after my birthday. Since last year, I've been…read morechallenging myself to visit all public libraries in the state of Rhode Island. This was the 11th one I visited. My friend and I came on a Saturday morning. I don't think they have a parking lot, but we found street parking right by the entrance. It reminded me more of an admin building when I walked in. To the left is a book sale, and to the right are the stairs to the main floor. There were lots of happy kids in the children's section. Down the hall, they have the walls lined with lots of information, including subsidized tickets to different events and places including the bird sanctuary nearby. They also have an extensive and well diversified library of tools and equipment to loan for a week including sporting gear, home repair tools, yard tools, games, and even a telescope. I was impressed. On my way out, I also saw a an ad for a free account to Mango through the library, which is a language learning platform (perfect for my journey to learning French).

Parking is easy behind the building. Staff are always so kind and sweet. The children's area is…read morealways such a treat for my kiddos to go visit and enjoy a little play time with friends.

I can't believe I've been a member here for years & have yet to write a review! Yes, you heard…read moreright.. a member! This is a library that requires an annual membership to take out books from their vast collection, but the building is open to the public for browsing. In addition to many, many works of literature, the Redwood also houses an impressive collection of Newport maps and ephemera that a visiting history buff would love to see. They also offer community programming, such as classical and jazz concerts, a Shakespearean reading group, and even a Trivia Night for adults, complete with pizza and beer as part of a modest admission fee. Don't let the "members only" policy deter you from visiting! Tourists will definitely want to add this to their list, and I've known many a Newport local who's never stepped inside the Redwood, but really should. It's a truly gorgeous spot to have a peaceful respite from the hustle and bustle of the City by the Sea, and a wonderfully historic hidden gem.

This old colonial library is a beautiful piece of history here! There are so many colonial…read morepaintings hanging in the walls there, plus four from Gilbert Stewart who painted George Washington! Very interesting and very peaceful in there. It's a true work of art that goes back to the the 1740's! If you get a chance, VISIT! It is so worth it!

Beautiful interior, very helpful staff, all major library functions working, historicalread more

Such a beautiful building! While the ceilings are incredibly high, making the library feel very…read morespacious, the library itself is quite small. The staff were very friendly and helpful, I saw them help a patron get a replacement library card, give directions to a book section, and help people of all ages. I spent 3 hours working on my laptop in a comfy chair in the corner (free WiFi of course). Lots of convenient outlets near all the work stations. There were a few cobwebs in my corner but otherwise it is a great place to get some work done and check out a good book!

A library where George…read morereally did sleep This building is old, really old, that much is obvious to the most casual observer. So much history is contained within those venerable walls that I wouldn't be surprised if the whole structure simply explored with all the speeches, words and great things that were said and done here. The original building was built back in about 1775, yep that's old. Back then they didn't have planes, trains or even many roads to transport materials so most of the wood and stone for the building's construction came from local sources. That was the only way to do things back then. The building originally served as a country court house and also as one of the first five state houses for the very first general assembly. And yes a guy name George Washington did really sleep here as well as other great Americans like Col John Trumbull, Gen Horatio Gates, Col Tench Tilghman and a whole bunch of continental troops just looking for trouble. In 1876 the town decided to change the entire building to conform with the rather somber Victorian styles that were popular at the time. Lots of alterations were made, including moving the cool old, funky belfry to the very top of the roof and changing the old gable roof with a mansard. Other dramatic changes were made inside so that the old original building was no longer recognizable. In 1895 a new court house was built and the first floor became the new library. More renovations, some pretty involved took place over the years but the building retains it's unique and very cool look. It still serves as a modern and useful library but the whole place is just so cool the fact that the building serves as a functional library is irrelevant. There is history in here, the walls and floors are literally dripping with it. Some of the most important words in American history just might have been spoken here. Listen careful and you just might hear ol' George and his buddies still speaking.

Wow. They erased my review. I guess the reason is that was not a good one.I heard…read morethey can erase any bad reviews as long as they pay some kind of fee to yelp. That makes sense I guess.

My boyfriend and I are on a quest to visit every library in Rhode Island, and even after years and…read moreyears of living in the surrounding area and performing with a theatre company in town, I have actually never been to the Jamestown Philomenian Library up until yesterday! And what a mistake it was to stay away for so long! This library is smaller than some of the other ones we have visited around the state, but does not lack in charm or comfort at all. Step inside, and you'll find an ample selection of literature, lots of DVDs, and tons of community meeting space, from private conference rooms to a larger room that's used for everything from guest speakers to movie screenings (they're free! We'll be back for one soon!) There are also lots of cozy chairs to sit in and read, which is a perfect refuge for a cold island night. I could have stayed here all day! Pro tip! If you have the Ocean State Library Card, you can take out books from any of the libraries in the network, not just the one you got the card from. I learned this way too late after getting mine, and I'm glad the kind librarian here set the record straight! I ended up leaving with a stack of novels, and the greatest foodie movie of all time, Chef, on DVD. Hey, I'm a Yelper at heart, what can I say?

What exactly is a…read more Philomenian? The library on the island of Jamestown is officially called the Jamestown Philomenian Library. Everyone knows what a library is but what the hell is a Philomenian? Don't bother looking it up in a dictionary because you won't find it. That's because the word doesn't mean anything. Philomenian is a word that doesn't really exist. It seems in times past people in eccentric places like islands use to enjoy making up words to describe their organizations to distinguish themselves from other equally bizarre organizations. They wanted to sound unique and you can't get any more unique than making up your own words. In the early 1800's a group of fellows on Jamestown wanted to start a debating club. So I suppose they had a debate and decided to called themselves the Jamestown Philomenian Debating Society. A few decades later they decided the island needed a library so they each donated one dollar and started what was called the Jamestown Philomenian Library. The fact that philomenian wasn't a word didn't seem to bother anyone. At first the library was just some books kept in people's houses. Very casual and unorganized. Finally in 1971 a building was built to house the books and in 1993 it was enlarged and modernized but still kept the name Jamestown Philomenian Library. Once again no one seem to mind the library has a word in it's name that doesn't really exist. The library today is actually quite large and modern considering the small amount of people it serves. However it never lost it's friendly, idiosyncratic and eccentric island charm. It not only serves as storage for tomes but also contains the Sydney Wright Museum with some cool artifacts and several meeting rooms that have various art exhibitions, story times for kids and some very cool concerts with local talent. A friendly place not just for books, but it also serves the purpose for interacting and socializing with neighbors. Certainly not the largest or technologically advance library in the state but then that's part of the charm. The fact that the library has a word in it's name that doesn't really exist suits it quite well.

A very strange…read morelibrary The Robert Hall library was built back in 1896 and has seen several additions and renovations that no doubt contribute to it's odd configuration. It received a new wing in 1930 that now serves as a children's room and another wing was added in 1952 on the east side. In 1991 more renovations were completed that added a small two story addition at the back of the building. Lots of changes over the years. So the library seems very convoluted but in an interesting and bizarrely aesthetic way. The building is different from most libraries and has some cool and steep steps you must get up in the front although a handicap access is in the back. Take a good look and you will see the massive granite foundation, the cool stone chimney and the clapboard shingles. Once inside the main room has a fireplace and an impressive bay window that gives some nice views of the surrounding woods. Lots of cool pictures and art are scattered about the library and you must walk careful to squeeze through some tight spots and get around the usual small library stuff. The parking situation isn't very pleasant because you basically park on the street and if you are coming from the west you have to get across four quickly moving lanes of Rt 1 to get over to the library but with a bit of care it can be done. It's worth the trouble because this is one of those cool, little libraries that doesn't really look or feel like a library. It has the ambiance of a private home that some nice person invited you in to share some time with. A private home that just happens to have an awful lot of books.

Nice new building lots of books…read more comfy chairs and a big lizard Exeter Public Library was opened in 2004, which makes it the youngest library in the state. Everything is still very clean and smells really nice. No disgusting stains on the carpet and no wads of gum under the tables. The kids haven't had time to mess it up yet. Hopefully the floods of the last few days haven't washed it away. The library isn't particularly large but does have a decent selection of new books, periodicals and reference sources. Not a lot of cool ancient books or historical material but considering the age of the library that isn't surprising. The library is spacious and well lit. Not a bad seat in the house and lots of comfy chairs and places to spead out. The people working here were very gracious and helpful in answering my stupid questions and seem pleasant and amiable. Outside is a nice size parking lot and even a playground for kids that need to burn off some energy before going into a quiet and confined space. The library has the usually bake sales, used book sales, plant sales and you can even get a tote bag and a crummy t-shirt with the libraries name on it. Various lectures and some cool music performances are held. The library is a nice place to stop when going thorough the small town if you need directions, some reference materials or to use a nice clean bathroom. They even have a cool lizard and some nice plants. It might be the newest library in the state but it is also one of the friendliest and most pleasant.

Being the nerd that I am, I came here on my birthday. Since last year, I've been challenging myself…read moreto visit all public libraries in the state of Rhode Island. This was the 10th one I visited. Since it was a Friday morning, there weren't many people there. However, when we first walked in, we overheard someone teaching little kids Spanish in a very animated way; it was very cool to see important programs like this in action. We were planning on spending some time here reading, so had my book with me. A friendly librarian stopped me to tell me how good the book I had was which reassured my decision to pick it up. We went down an aisle that led to the children's library. They had fun little puzzles and announcements on the wall. I noticed that in one section, the books had stickers on the spines to categorize by genre which was really cool. I also saw they had Viola Davis' memoir, so I snatched that quickly. In the distance, we saw a table covered with a huge coloring page and color pencils. We spent about 20 minutes coloring, which was very therapeutic and fun. When we got up, we noticed a shelf with a bunch of items to loan for a week including tools and equipment, health and fitness stuff, fun and games, and electronic and technology. To give an idea, some stuff I saw included: hopscotch set, leaf blower, therapy lamp, and power drill. They were organized by category which was very helpful. The staff here were very friendly and we were very impressed with this library. They also do have EV parking/ charging stations which is cool - it might be the first library I see with that feature.

It's weird to review a library right? I'm going to blame it on COVID, like I do everything…read morenowadays. Just kidding. BUT this library really has been a lifesaver during "these trying times". They have great COVID procedures if you must enter, but they also offer curbside services - and best of all, they make these amazing craft/learning kits for preschoolers all the way up to teens. Entertaining kids this past year has been such a challenge and the letter packets this library makes for preschoolers are so fun and creative. My kid loves them. And every single librarian we've met outside the library has been friendly - even the poor gentleman who came outside in snowy, 21 degree weather to bring me a letter packet. Thank you Middletown Library! Saving parents sanity, one craft kit at a time.