page_title: Cranston Public Library
section_title: Oak Lawn Branch
hierarchical_section_title: Cranston Public Library / Locations / Oak Lawn Branch
caption_attribution_description: English: The Oak Lawn branch is located in a historical building with a rich history of having served the community as a school house as well as a library.
context_page_description: The Cranston Public Library is the public library system serving Cranston, the third largest city in Rhode Island. The first library in Cranston was formed in 1797, while the library system was formed in 1966 by the Cranston City Council. The present day library system formed in 1968 when six independent neighborhood libraries came together as one. There are six locations in the system, including a central library and five neighborhood branches. The library system is governed by a board of trustees consisting of seven members appointed by the Cranston City Council. Members serve staggered three-year terms. Meetings are open to the public.
  In addition to traditional library services, the Cranston Public Library provides services such as tax preparation, 3D printing, analog-to-digital audio transferring, and educational programs among others. The system also provides mobile services to homebound residents.
context_section_description: The Oak Lawn Library began as a small collection of books housed in the old Quaker Meeting House, which was the social center of the community. The books were donated by members of the Oak Lawn Village neighborhood of Cranston, most notably Reverend William A. Briggs of the Oak Lawn Baptist Church, and were supplemented by government publications and materials purchased with funds raised by women in the village.
  After struggling due to a lack of materials, funds, and a permanent home, Reverend Briggs acquired the school building on Wilbur Avenue, across the street from his church, and formed the Oak Lawn Free Public Library Association. The building had been built around 1830 and was moved to this site on Wilbur Avenue in 1840. It served as the village school until 1895. The collection, now 850 volumes, began to circulate in May 1896 with the continued support of families in the surrounding community, including many members of the Shaw family who served as librarians at the branch. The library is still at this location and is Cranston’s oldest library building.
  It underwent construction in 1965 to create space for a children’s library, then again in 1990 for the addition of a new entrance and reading room.
caption: Oak Lawn Branch
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