Late afternoon. The snow hisses against the high skylight and two readers are buried deep in their easy chairs, piles of books on the small tables next to them. In the middle of the room, “The Dying Gaul” stretches in eternal agony.

It’s the Redwood Athenaeum in winter. The state’s (and the nation’s) oldest library, this comfortable collection is housed in a Palladian style building near the Viking Hotel where it’s been for the last 250 years. Originally, founded as a literary and philosophical society, the Redwood received a gift of a gift of £500 for “purchasing a library whereunto the curious and impatient Enquirer… and the bewildered Ignorant, might freely repair”. And that was the beginning of the library’s permanent collection.

Today, the Athenaeum (temporarily housed in a home across Redwood St. from the original building) continues to be a subscription library, though the public is welcome to tour the building and read books in house. It is an excellent place to begin a tour of some of the unique libraries of the state.

Across Narragansett Bay in Saunderstown, quite a different library is hidden down a small road off of busy Rt. 1A. It’s the Willett Free Library, founded as a “Circle for Mutual Improvement” in 1885 by Ferry Master Stillman Saunders. A flag which features an image of one of his sailing ferries flies in front of the tiny white building when it is open.

The Willet proudly proclaims that “it is important not to throw out the old while keeping up with the new and our main goal is to keep abreast of modern trends while preserving… old fashioned aura and individual service…” And they do this with fine style. One of their unique old-fashioned traditions is to light a wood fire on Thursdays nights in the winter for everyone’s enjoyment. They even provide the marshmallows!

It’s a short hop from Saunderstown to Peacedale, the home of the Hazard Memorial Building/ South Kingstown Public Library. This elaborate Romanesque stone building was given to Peacedale in 1891 by the Hazards as a living memorial to their father. Originally it was a center for village life and even had an auditorium with a stage. Today the auditorium is a huge airy room with stacks and a computer area that invites readers to stay and read. But there’s a remnant of the theatrical past in the plaster frieze with its joyful musicians above the stacks. It’s a reproduction of Renaissance sculptor della Robbia’s “Cantoria”.

But the real treasure of the library is outside on the lawn. It’s a magnificent bronze relief of “The Weaver” created by one of America’s finest sculptors, Daniel Chester French. It features a classical figure weaving the tapestry of life and was given to the town by Caroline Hazard in 1920 to honor her father’s memory.

Over in Westerly, a massive red Westerly granite building holds pride of place in the town, surrounded by Wilcox Park. It was built in 1894 as a living Civil War Veteran’s Memorial and originally housed not only a library, but an art gallery, gymnasium and bowling alley as well!

Today it’s one of the state’s largest libraries with over 160,000 books, and offers an eclectic calendar of events with lectures, children’s programs, book discussion groups and even game nights.

Walk into East Greenwich Library Coventry granite building on Peirce St., and you instantly feel history around you. It was built by a library trustee, Daniel Peirce on the site of his childhood home.

The children’s room (now a Young Adult area) was dedicated to the memory of his daughter Adeline Vaughn and there’s a portrait of her above the mantelpiece in the room to the right of the entrance. And there’s an added treasure in this room. The stained glass windows bear representations of printer’s marks, though they may appear to be religious symbols to the casual observer.

Cumberland’s library was built on the grounds of a former Trappist Monastery. Though much of the monastery was destroyed by fire in 1950, some of it survived and the cloister where the silent monks lived is today the second floor of the library itself. Its grounds are fascinating as well. Nine Men’s Misery, reputedly the oldest war memorial in the U.S. is on a wooded trail there, and around the building itself is the Sri Chinmoy Peace Trail.

These are just a few of the scores of small and unique libraries throughout the state, and finding them all can provide many hours of enjoyment and great summer rides. A list of them and their websites can be found at http://www.lori.ri.gov/lori/libraries/libwebs.php.

About the author, Patti Cassidy: Patti Cassidy is a writer/photographer/videomaker who lives on an island in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. She moved there after spending half of her life in the desert of Arizona. She revels in contrast.

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