About Us

For more than 185 years, libraries and reading rooms have been a part of our New Paltz community. The library we now know as the Elting Library (formerly New Paltz Free Library) began in 1909, when members of the New Paltz Study Club opened a library in a commercial building on lower Main Street. By 1919, the library had outgrown its space. Philip Lefevre Elting, at the suggestion of his cousin Lanetta Elting Dubois, purchased the old Elting Homestead for the library in 1920.

The Elting Library serves a vital function for our community's information needs. All residents can use the library and borrow from the library’s collection free of charge. People of all ages take advantage of what the library has to offer. Young children get their first library card.

Teens research topics for school projects. College students supplement their studies with information from our library. Seniors peruse our vast collection of fiction and nonfiction, with many titles available in large type. Tutors meet with students of all ages.

Job seekers search classifieds and work on their resumes, making the most of our free internet access. Out-of-towners from around the country travel to our library to research genealogy and local history in our Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection.

In addition to the services libraries traditionally offer, the Elting Library prides itself on providing programs and services that are of interest to our diverse community. Family movie night, story time for children, the summer reading club, and speaker and author appearances are all part of our effort to make the library a friendly and educational gathering place.

The Elting Library is a cornerstone of our community. It is one of the institutions that make our community a rich and interesting place to call home.