The Friends of the Library hosted an adult Spelling Bee on April 13 and raised close to $3,000 for the Hamilton Library.  About 95 people were in attendance, and twelve brave souls entered the spelling competition.  The winning word, spelled by Gwynne Lim, was CHIAROSCURO, a technique employed in the visual arts to represent light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects.  

Special thanks go out to the Hamilton Inn for providing appetizers and drinks, and to Flour & Salt for sponsoring a round of baking and food related words.  Also thanks to the Hamilton Theater for hosting the event, Brooks Cato for serving as emcee, and to Village Clay for making the gorgeous trophies.  Raffle prizes were generously donated by Village Wine & Spirits, Den Kelly Chevrolet, and Price Chopper.

We hope to host another Bee in the future!

• Hekate by Nikita Cill

• The Perfect Nine by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

• Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan

• Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

• We are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride

• The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling

• Odder by Katherine Applegate

Read a really good book recently that you think other people should read as well? Let us know and we’ll share it in a future newsletter!

Want a personalized recommendation? Fill out the form to let us know what kind of book you’re looking for!

Want to read, watch, or listen to something the library doesn’t own? Let us know and we will consider purchasing it for our collection.

To all registered voters of the Hamilton Central School District: this is your reminder to vote on the Library’s annual tax levy increase at the School on May 19. This levy funds more than half of our annual budget. We use this to keep our lights on, fill our shelves with a high-quality collection of materials, and ensure that we have a full roster of wonderful staff members to help you with all your library needs. Maintaining that budget and its annual increase is paramount to our success as an institution.

We are asking for an increase of about $20,000, or 10% from the previous year. In 2025, voters approved a 20% increase, which went towards adding a full time staff member. While we aren’t adding a staff member this year, this increase ensures we don’t have to make cuts when combating rising costs of materials, supplies, and labor.

Utilizing collective funding for the betterment of the community is an honor and a privilege. You trust us by allowing us to purchase a collection on your behalf, which we do not take lightly. Every title, whether a book, DVD, or newspaper subscription, is researched to ensure it fits on our shelves and is right for our Village. We set a budget and stick to it, and all you have to do is come and visit! 

Speaking of visiting, if you’re a taxpayer and visit our library even once throughout the year, you are potentially saving money simply by walking through our doors. To prove this point, let’s take a look at a property valued at $300K. The tax levy for our library for that home is less than $100/year. If that homeowner visits the library and checks out five books (valued at about $20/each), their return on investment is already above 100%!

Using the same ‘checkouts as cost savings’ model as above, book checkouts alone last year saved the community more than twice our annual tax levy. To be specific, even undervaluing the average book at $15/each, we checked out 36,706 books last year for a total cost savings of $550,590. That number is already higher than our total annual budget by more than $100K. Adding in the savings from eBooks & eAudiobooks, video games, ice skates, programs, computer usage, and so much more, we’re looking at one of the best investments you can make in your community.

So when you step into the voting booth on May 19, remember that a vote for the library is a vote for your community, your future, and quite frankly, a great way to save some money.

Thank you for reading and supporting the library.

Hours

Monday - Thursday 10 A.M. - 7 P.M.
Friday 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.
Saturday 10 A.M. - 2 P.M.