A Brief History of the Seymour Library For the past 60 years, the Seymour Library has been located in the house on State Street that was originally bequeathed by James Seymour in 1936. Over the years, we outgrew this building, and in 1974 the Long Range Plan for Brockport and Sweden identified expansion for the library as a primary need. At that time, however, the library was chartered exclusively as a Village of Brockport Library, and it was unfeasible for the Village, by itself, to undertake a major expansion or renovation. Thus, the first step toward a new library was to include the Towns of Sweden and Clarkson along with the Village of Brockport as full partners in owning and governing the library. An agreement was reached in November of 1990 and in the following summer the State of New York granted a new charter to the Seymour Library. Immediately, the process of planning a new library was started. In 1992 a Community Facilities Committee considered a variety of possibilities for solving the library's space problems. They decided that a new building was the best option. After evaluating 37 potential sites, the Committee recommended the East Avenue location as its first choice. In April of 1993, Mr. and Mrs. Erwin Duryea donated the 3.6 acre site as the new location of the library. Over the next two years plans for the new building were developed and funding was obtained through a combination of community fund raising and municipal bonds. Finally, on August 27, 1995, we broke ground and construction began. Today the Seymour Library continues a long tradition of providing information, entertainment and education to the residents of Brockport, Sweden and Clarkson. The commitment and support of the community have made the new library possible, and the new library is committed to serve the community, enriching the quality of life today and into the foreseeable future. Fred Gravetter
Send comments to
Patricia Trek, Acting Director of the
Brockport-Seymour Library
Brockport-Seymour Library Home Page
Last updated on: June 10, 1997