Croton Free Library

Mission Statement

The mission of the Croton Free Library is to encourage the joy of reading, the exploration of ideas and the pursuit of lifelong learning for the children and adults of our community.

Books, media, and state-of-the-art technology help us provide free and equal access to knowledge, information, and a wide range of artistic expression.

The Library serves as a gathering place and learning center for Croton residents, with dynamic cultural and educational programs, and space for community organizations to meet.

How We Are Funded

The Croton Free Library is chartered as an “association library,” one of four different types of public libraries allowed under New York State law. The key feature of this type of library is independence. An association library is owned and managed by a non-profit organization, chartered by the New York State Board of Education, not by a municipal government or school district.

Many people erroneously think the library is part of the school district. After all, residents vote on both budgets at the same time and library taxes are collected by the school district. But this is done primarily so association libraries—which have much smaller budgets than school districts—won’t have to pay the costs of holding a separate budget vote and collecting taxes.

The reason the library budget vote isn’t paired with the one held for the village budget is that our service area is the school district, the boundaries of which are different from (and larger than) the village.

The bottom line is that because we are an association library, taxpayers can vote specifically to support the library and the library can operate independently to best serve the community.

The major source of funds to do this is the local taxes collected for the library by the school district. The remaining sources of income are contributions, other income and investments, and fines and rentals. We receive a small amount from the Town of Cortlandt because we also serve some Cortlandt residents who live outside the school district. Surprisingly, state aid is the smallest source of income.

This covers the annual operating budget, but what about capital expenditures, like the new roof and the Teen Room? These costs are paid almost exclusively by generous donations from the local community and money raised by the Croton Free Library Association through membership donations and the Book & Bake sale.

Examples of community support include:

• The Ottinger Room, the construction of which was made possible by a substantial bequest from Egon and Lilyan Ottinger
• The renovation of the children’s room, as well as the wonderful children’s programming offered on a weekly basis, both made possible by a generous bequest from the Meissner family
• The Teen Room, constructed with funds from an anonymous donor who wanted to encourage teens to use the library

Want to learn more about supporting the library? Click the links below:

• Become a member of the Croton Free Library Association, which raises funds to support the library’s ongoing operations, programs and services, as well as significant special purchases, like the piano in the Ottinger Room.
• Read the history of the Croton Free Library, which recounts the book drive that started the library in 1937, and the strong community support that followed.

With your help, we can keep the library a vibrant community resource for generations to come.

“The Friends of the Library”

Although the bulk of the library’s funding comes from taxes, the library building, collection and programs have also been funded in part by the Croton Free Library Association and by generous contributions from people like you. Thank you for your support.

The mission of the Croton Free Library Association is to promote and encourage the development and maintenance of library service for free public use to the inhabitants of the village of Croton-on-Hudson and vicinity.

The all-volunteer Association raises funds to support ongoing operations, programs and services of the library as well as significant purchases such as the piano in the Ottinger Room. Events sponsored by the Association include the Book & Bake Sale, held each spring and autumn, as well as an annual membership drive and ongoing merchandise sales.

The officers of the Association are elected for two-year terms by the membership each spring at the Association’s annual meeting. The current officers are:

• Marianne Merola, President
• Elizabeth Hiller and Lori Zablow-Salles, co-Vice-Presidents
• Karen Zevin, Treasurer
• Meredith Hertlein, Secretary

Voting membership in the Association is open to any person over the age of 18 or family who submits an annual Association membership donation. Businesses are welcome to make non-voting membership donations.

Support our library by becoming a “Friend of the Library”