The North Salem Free Library, now called Ruth Keeler Memorial Library, was started in 1932 in two rooms on the main floor of the Town House, with 1600 books contributed by the Universalist Church. In 1939, it moved to the North Salem Grade School (since burned down and replaced by the firehouse). In 1952, the library was granted an absolute charter by the State of New York. In 1957 the library was moved back to the Town House where it remained until the current library building was constructed in 1980. A major expansion and renovation that just about doubled the library’s size was completed in 2003. The project was funded with private donations, both by larger gifts and selling a “square foot” to people in the community. At the direction of the executors of the estate of Ruth Keeler, a North Salem resident and benefactor, the remaining debt was paid off. In tribute to her generosity the library was renamed the Ruth Keeler Memorial Library.
