LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 120th Anniversary of the River-
head Free Library on April 2, 2016

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize that the
quality and character of life in the communities across the great State
of New York is reflective of certain exemplary institutions whose
purpose is dedicated to serving the community and the needs of its citi-
zenry; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 120th Anniversary of the Riverhead Free Library to be cele-
brated on Saturday, April 2, 2016; and
WHEREAS, For 120 years, the Riverhead Free Library has strived to
inform, enrich and empower every person in its community by promoting
easy access to a vast array of ideas and information and by supporting
an informed citizenry, lifelong learning and a love of reading, to
recognize changes that occur in society and to adapt these changes to
the delivery of people-oriented library services; and
WHEREAS, Begun in the 1870s, as a subscription library, the Riverhead
Free Library was chartered on April 4, 1896, by New York State so commu-
nity residents and property owners of the Riverhead Central School
District in the Towns of Riverhead, Southampton and Brookhaven could
borrow books free of charge; and
WHEREAS, The Riverhead Free Library existed for many years in the
Reading Room of the Riverhead Savings Bank Building, various storefronts
and the Roanoke Avenue School, until the land at 330 Court Street was
donated by Clara and Alice Perkins in 1958; and
WHEREAS, On January 27, 1964, the Riverhead Free Library moved into
its new home on Court Street; in 1981, the original 9,000 square foot
building was expanded to 19,000 square feet, and the most recent addi-
tion, to 30,400 square feet, was completed in July of 2000; and
WHEREAS, Today, only the carriage house, or Yellow Barn, as it has
come to be called, remains lovingly restored as an important part of the
library's history; through the years the Friends of the Library have
used the Yellow Barn for their popular book sales; and
WHEREAS, Under the luminous leadership of President, Kathy Berezny,
the Riverhead Free Library is governed and guided by an elected Board of
Trustees composed of nine community members; the trustees serve as the
liaison between the library and the public, establishing policies which
are responsive to the community's needs; and
WHEREAS, Steeped in a proud and distinguished history, the Riverhead
Free Library may take just pride in its purposeful growth, as it looks
forward to continuing to serve the educational, cultural and intellectu-
al needs of the community; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 120th Anniversary of the Riverhead Free Library on April
2, 2016; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Kathy Berezny, President, Riverhead Free Library.