FREE LIBRARY OF THE BELMONT LITERARY & HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Organizes hands-on educational events for children, including a "Dig It! Cookie Excavation" activity simulating archaeology by excavating chocolate chips from cookies, and preschool storytime programs featuring themed crafts such as making fossil impressions in salt dough. These programs are part of the library’s summer reading initiatives.

Provides a summer reading program for teens that includes themed activities such as making s'mores dip and other hands-on food preparation events to engage adolescent participants.

Conducts public board meetings open to community observation and makes meeting agendas and approved minutes accessible both online and at the library location.

Keeps a Board of Trustee Policy Manual containing current board-approved policies, including those required by New York State, to guide library operations and governance.

Conducts regular "Stay and Play: Light the Sky" programs for toddlers that combine free play with themed activities, such as lighting-themed exploration, with specific events held at scheduled times.

Runs the Stitch-Burners Club, a monthly gathering for knitting, crocheting, and sewing, held on the first and third Tuesday of each month from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM for community members.

Compensates the library director, assistant, and support staff to ensure ongoing library operations and public access.

Offers a range of community programs and services to the surrounding area to support public engagement and access to library resources.

Offers black and white and color printing and copying services to the public for a fee, along with outgoing fax services.

Gathers letters, drawings, and photographs from community members to create a time capsule that reflects contemporary life in the community.

Added a clock tower to Ward Hall in 1909 as a gift from Judge and Mrs. Ward, enhancing the library’s physical structure through community-supported contributions.

Founded the Belmont Literary and Historical Society through an organizational meeting that established leadership roles, adopted a constitution and by-laws defining the society’s purpose as intellectual improvement and the creation of a Free Public Library, and initiated the library with an initial collection of forty volumes.

Published a public notice in The Belmont Dispatch outlining the society’s mission and plans for a free reading room, which helped generate community support and led to the laying of the cornerstone for the library building.

Acquired $800 in funding and a donated building site to construct a permanent library; completed construction of Ward Hall in 1904 with partial funding from $1,000 in Carnegie Funds secured by Mrs. Hamilton Ward.