About Us

Welcome to Hopkinton Public Library!

Since 1895, the library has been located in the heart of downtown just steps away from the Town Common. The library building, filled with architectural charm and character, is a community gathering place where people and information come together.

The Hopkinton Public Library strives to be a comfortable, welcoming, accessible, and central place for the community. The Library provides a variety of materials, services, and programs to enhance educational, cultural, social, and intellectual endeavors and to extend personal growth and development.

The Library is funded through multiple sources, including the Town Government, the McGovern Trust Fund, Annual State Aid, the Friends of the Library, and the Hopkinton Public Library Foundation.

A Brief History:

The Library was established by the Young Men’s Christian Association in 1867. Seven members served as the Trustees, who incorporated the library and adopted by-laws in 1890. The original building was built in 1895 with contributions from contemporaneous and former residents of Hopkinton. The second floor was used as a lecture hall and was remodeled later as a children’s room.

A gallery was built to connect the library building with the adjacent Episcopal Chruch after extensive renovation in 1967. This new section was named after the head librarian at the time, Mrs. Betty Strong. A special feature of the area, which is now called the Strong Room or the Large Event Room, is a stained glass window with a motif of a water fountain behind an open book, and the inscription “The Fountain of Wisdom Flows Through Books.” The large hall clock in the small meeting room was presented to the library by Mrs. F.V. Thompson and Mr. Abraham Crooks.

The library became a landmark for Hopkinton, located in the heart of downtown, just steps away from the Town Common. Until 1955, bequests were the only source of funding for the library. Since that time the town government has been appropriating public funds for employee salaries, the cost of cleaning the library, utilities, and assistance with the purchase of books.

In 2003 the library joined the C/W MARS library network and moved to an online catalog. This allowed Hopkinton residents access to the collections of over 150 Massachusetts libraries, as well as ebooks, databases, and other shared resources.

In May 2010 governance of the library was transferred to the town government and 5 residents were appointed as Library Trustees. From May 2011, elections have been held for the members of the Library Board of Trustees during the Annual Town Election.

In 2011, the library received a grant from the state to enable a second much-needed expansion and renovation. In January of 2016 the library relocated to a temporary space and operated out of 65 South Street until construction was finished. The library reopened at its permanent location in October 2017. The new expansion added a dedicated library parking lot, more space for collections, a dedicated teen room, a greatly expanded Children’s Room, a local history room, and meeting and study rooms for use by library staff and patrons.

Library Directors:

Sadie B. Stewart, 1896-1905
Effie Woods, 1906-1911
Caroline Wilbur, 1912-1919
Annie Sheridan, 1919-1938
Minnie Marshall, 1942-1955
Elizabeth Strong, 1955-1972
Jeanette Ellsworth, 1972-1991
Rose Leveille, 1991-1994
Carol Walsh, 1994-2005
Rownak Hussain, 2005-2016
Deborah Ervin (interim), 2016-2017
Heather Backman, 2017-2021
Nanci Milone Hill, 2022 –