Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, Hamilton

This is easily the finest library we’ve seen so far. It’s a lovely interpretation of the Mission/Frank Lloyd Wright style. It’s a great place and we’ve happily used it for client meetings. Other libraries will be hard pressed to beat this beauty.

It’s a great example of a town library. As we’ve visited so many we’ve come to recognize that there are different sorts of libraries out there. There are full-service city libraries like the Boston Public or Cambridge, there are urban branch libraries like the branch in Jamaica Plain (and there are even branches of branches, like the Connolly library, also in JP), there are suburban libraries, town libraries and rural libraries.

 In each case, there are some real stand out examples and Hamilton-Wenham is really outstanding among the town libraries we’ve visited.

If you want to learn more, or support the Hamilton-Wenham library, why not take some time to visit them online?

Update, July 3rd 2019 - While we still love this library, there have obviously been a few that we’ve since seen that have impressed us even more - Woburn, for example, and Webster, come to mind. As we’ve visited more libraries and spoken to more people in the library world, there are other reasons to be impressed by Hamilton-Wenham. Perhaps the most interesting is the fact that the library serves two towns: Hamilton and Wenham (but you probably guessed that already . . .). It’s one of only a small handful of libraries in the state for which this is the case. It’s an interesting model and one that could be used elsewhere - especially in the western part of the state where libraries in some smaller communities have limited hours and resources.

Score:

Parking - 5, WiFi - 5, Meeting Rooms - 4, Cleanliness - 5, Completeness - 5, Community - 5, Friendliness - 4, Restrooms - 5, Noise - 5, Comfort Level - 5, Working Environment - 5

Overall Score - 4.82