Elting Memorial Library
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Elting Memorial Library
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The Elting Library seen from across Main Street. The older portion of the library is to the right; the newer wing and main entrance are on the left.
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| Location | New Paltz, NY |
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| Nearest city | Kingston |
| Coordinates | 41°44′54″N 74°05′05″W / 41.74833°N 74.08472°WCoordinates: 41°44′54″N 74°05′05″W / 41.74833°N 74.08472°W |
| Built | circa 1750 through 2006 |
| Architect | Solomon Eltinge |
| Architectural style | Federal Style, Colonial |
| NRHP reference # | 04000432 |
| Added to NRHP | 2004 |
The Elting Memorial Library is the public library that serves the residents of the village and town of New Paltz, New York. It is located at 93 Main Street (also NY 32 and 299) in the village's downtown area. In addition to an impressive collection typical of most college town libraries, Elting's Haviland Heidgerd Historical Collection features "house books" that detail the history of local homes and buildings, including historic structures. Elting gained notoriety in 2007 for a videotaped ghost visit that became the most popular online video about New Paltz.
Originally called the New Paltz Free Library, the library was founded by the New Paltz Study Club in 1909, and outgrew its space on lower Main Street by 1919. Native son and summer resident Philip Lefevre Elting purchased the "Old Elting Homestead" for library use in 1920.
The old stone house was originally called the Solomon Eltinge House after its original owner and builder, and was part of the expansion of New Paltz from its original settlement on Huguenot Street. One of the earliest buildings on Main Street, it was erected around the same time as the Village of New Paltz was incorporated, and its location made it convenient for it to become a library in 1920.
The original building, considered the "final gasp of stone house architecture" in the area, had new wings added on in 1962 and 1978, and was expanded again in 2006 (during which the bulk of the library's collection was relocated to temporary storage facilities). This expansion cost approximately $2.5 million, and much of the library's collection and its main circulation desk are housed in this most recent addition. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004. It is located within the New Paltz Downtown Historic District.
As of 2013, the library serves some 14,000 area residents, circulating approximately 100,000 items a year. A member of the Mid-Hudson Library System, it also offers a range of programming including speakers, story times, reading nights, free movies and area employment and tourism information. The library is also a key member of the One Book, One New Paltz program. Beginning in 2010, the Elting library began receiving the bulk of its funding through a substantial increase from the Town of New Paltz taxes as a result of referendum on the issue.
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