The Skaneateles Library Association's origins date back to the early 1800s not long after the Village of Skaneateles became settled. The early librarians were the owners or proprietors as they were known and membership was in the form of a subscription. The earliest patrons had to pay a yearly fee of $3.00 to borrow books. The library itself was usually in an office occupied by a proprietor who was serving his term as Librarian. The Library operated in this manner until 1841 whereupon it was dissolved.

For the next 36 years the Village of Skaneateles did not have one library but rather an assortment of libraries that were housed in various offices and stores and were run by different people. Finally, in the late 1870s the village leaders decided that this arrangement was no longer satisfactory and on October 20, 1877 the Skaneateles Library Association was incorporated. It was set up as a subscription library; at an annual cost of $2.00. The rationale for this lower price was to make it easy for anyone to join.

The Library was set up in an office in the Legg Block. The reading room was open days and evenings to both men and women. The Library was non-denominational, open to all classes, sexes and to workers in all industries. The first trustees truly wanted everyone to join.

The Library's first book order was an offer of $155 for the contents of another library (the Petheram). Within a year the reading room boasted a collection of 2,162 books with 800 on loan, 11 daily newspapers, 22 weekly papers, and 11 monthly magazines.

In 1885 a parcel of land across Genesee St. from Legg Hall became available for $2,000. The directors raised the money quickly (within 24 hours). The following year a local attorney Benoni Lee died and willed the Association his tiny lot and brick office building known as the "Sphinx" which bordered on the newly purchased land.

The highly reputable firm of Green & Wicks of Buffalo, NY was hired to design the new building. On April 12, 1888 the work began and once again money was needed to pay for the construction. Again the residents of Skaneateles rallied round their library and raised the $18,000 needed for construction.

However, the project was not without controversy, seeing as the Library was being built on the land next to the Sphinx. The Board of Directors were divided as to what to do with the building. Some felt that it should remain intact while others thought it was a blot on the horizon and should be torn down. The pro-Sphinx camp prevailed and Green & Wicks came up with a design to incorporate the Sphinx with the design of the new library. However, the Sphinx was to remain a law office and the tenant who was using it did not want a library entrance through his office and it remained thus for over 90 years. It was not until 1987 that a doorway was created linking the two buildings, making the Sphinx a part of the Library and thereby giving a home for the children's collection.

The new building was completed and was dedicated on February 17, 1890. The occasion was presided over by William Marvin, the Association President who spoke and then introduced a very special guest speaker, the Director of the New York State Library, none other than Melvil Dewey (the creator of the Dewey Decimal System). Dewey spoke at length - one and a half hours to a rapt audience.

Ten years later, in 1900 the John D. Barrow Art Gallery was opened and another chapter in the Library’s history began. John D. Barrow (1824 – 1906) was a second generation Hudson River School style painter. After John Barrow died, the gallery became a part of his bequest to the Library and is mandated to house only his paintings. While the Gallery remains a part of the Library to this day, it has in recent years become more self-sustaining and autonomous.

For the next one hundred and ten years the Skaneateles Library has remained very much the same, remaining in its location on Genesee Street as an independent Library with no affiliation to any library system. However, over the years it became apparent that remaining outside a library system was becoming less desirable since the Skaneateles Library users had access only to items in the Skaneateles Library. Many residents were joining and using libraries in the Onondaga County Library System (OCPL) because the system gives users access to over 3 million items county-wide. Clearly there was a need that the Library was not meeting by remaining outside the county system.

To become a part of the system, The Skaneateles Library Association had to obtain a charter from New York State’s Departments of Education and Library Development. In early 2009, the Library applied for and obtained its absolute charter from New York State. Under the terms of its charter as a free association library, the Skaneateles Library remains private and still relies principally on its endowment and donations from the community and local foundations for its funding.

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