Sense of community guides city’s independent Pontiac Free Library

Martha Smith
Posted 1/22/15

There’s a lot to be said for neighborhood institutions like the Pontiac Free Library.

Remarkably, it’s the only Warwick library that remains independent, having decided to return to its …

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Sense of community guides city’s independent Pontiac Free Library

Posted

There’s a lot to be said for neighborhood institutions like the Pontiac Free Library.

Remarkably, it’s the only Warwick library that remains independent, having decided to return to its freestanding status and leaving Norwood, Apponaug and Conimicut as the only branches of the city’s main library on Sandy Lane.

Because it’s small, Pontiac’s entire collection can be seen in a single room. From children’s books to periodicals, DVDs to nonfiction, it’s all within sight of the circulation desk.

The library staff knows everyone by name and what they like to read. They know exactly which movie a family will love.

In winter, a few ladies sit by the fireplace knitting, and about 10 women known as the Pontiac Free Library Book Club meet from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month.

On Fridays for eight weeks in winter, the library hosts gatherings around the fireplace with board members serving tea and cookies, says Carolyn Romelczyk, library director.

“One of our board members had read about another program that was similar, and she suggested that we light the fireplace and do something called Fireplace Fridays,” she said. “It’s open to all, but after a while it boiled down to a little group. It’s not exclusive, but there are regulars and they talk about all kinds of topics. ‘Downton Abbey’ has been a big one.”

In past years, a more modest heat source was employed. Photographs show a cast-iron potbellied stove sitting in the center of the room.

The library’s roots can be traced to 1884, when it was established by Benjamin Brayton Knight and his brother, Robert, owners of BB&R Knight for the mill workers. The Pontiac Mills later became famous for the Fruit of the Loom brand. They saw Pontiac Village grow around the mill, becoming the center of life for thousands of immigrant families who worked and lived there.

They lived in company housing, shopped at the company store, attended All Saints’ Episcopal Church – many giving up Catholicism because the Knights built All Saints’ – and borrowed books from the library, which opened initially in the company store and later moved to Greenwich Avenue.

It was housed in a wooden structure near the church in 1933, and in 1957 the brick library was built slightly to the north, allowing for a large parking lot. The cost of construction was $135,000.

The library has always hosted summer series, including puppet shows, movies and the appearance of a surprisingly popular UFO expert. Children had crafts classes and reading programs that continue today under statewide direction.

“I used the library as a child,” Romelczyk says, “and I brought my children here”

In 1984 Pontiac celebrated its 100th anniversary with a gala event, but there have been other celebrations. When Jane Johnson was honored for 46 years of service as librarian in 1967, there were still family members on the board. Present to honor her was Clinton Prescott Knight. Other Knights who took turns fulfilling their library duty were Robert L. Jr., Webster Knight, Edith Knight and Mrs. Sophie Knight Rousmaniere.

The library’s main source of income remains the Knight family endowment known as the Pontiac Library Trust, which covers operating expenses, with the rest of the $87,000 annual budget coming from a state grant in aid and homey fundraisers such as the spring plant sale.

It boasts 6,300-plus volumes, more than 1,000 DVDs, 189 books on tape, 26 periodical and newspapers and a handful of cassettes and videotapes. There are countless pamphlets promoting everything from blood donation to neuter-spay programs.

“Groups drop them off and we put them out,” says Romelczyk. “It’s information, and that’s one of the things we’re here for.”

Besides the director, Pontiac is staffed by Jean Cole, the assistant librarian who has been there 30 years, and three assistants who fill in. When they’re not checking out books for the patrons, they’re checking them out for themselves.

“We’re our best customers,” says Cole.

The Pontiac Free Library is located at 101 Greenwich Ave. in Warwick. For more information, visit www.pontiacfreelibrary.org.

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