Our Story

The West Falmouth Library is a place of learning, a place of gathering and sharing ideas, and a place of respite and renewal.

In the quiet farming village of West Falmouth in the 1870s, five young women set about enriching their lives by forming the The Young People’s Union — a club for weekly literary and musical gatherings. Through membership and dues they built a collection of 50 books which were kept in a closet in the Gifford’s home. It was the first library for the village.

Over the years, as the collection grew from 50 to 800 to 1000 books, so did the physical library. It moved many times eventually to its current location on land that was generously gifted by the Swift family. The library, itself, also changed from a membership library to a state chartered library open free to all.

Today’s library embodies the spirit of those five young young women looking to enrich their lives and those of the community. We sit at the vital center of our community as a place of learning—a place to gather and share knowledge and ideas, to find respite and renewal.

For a detailed chronology of the West Falmouth Library’s history, click here.