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Visiting the Ossining Public Library

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John Cheever Reading Room

The main reading room in the library is named in honor of John Cheever, the great American novelist and short story writer who lived in Ossining from 1951 until his death in 1982. The library’s Board of Trustees named the room, which was designed as the library’s “living room”, to honor Cheever’s contributions to literature and his strong connections to his adopted hometown; when Cheever was on the cover of Time in 1964, the headline was “The Ovid of Ossining” and John Leonard, former editor of the New York Times Book Review, praised Cheever as “the Chekhov of the suburbs”, the room was formally dedicated in a ceremony on May 10, 2007, attended by many of the author’s friends and family.

Among Cheever’s literary distinctions are a Pulitzer prize, the National Book Award, and the National Medal for Literature. Our collection features Cheever’s works, including The Wapshot Chronicle, Bullet Park, and Falconer, as well as short story compilations and nonfiction works about the author.

Cheever was a vocal admirer of Ossining and the Ossining Public Library. His biographer noted that “Cheever took pleasure in being a familiar face in his adopted hometown, the virtues of which he extolled with impressive zeal”. In 1982, Cheever wrote to the library director, noting after the widening of Route 9 that “the Public Library, crowned on its hill, will seem to be the brains of the village and I suspect it has been all along”; that letter is now on display in the Reading Room, alongside other Cheever artifacts. Please visit the Reading Room to learn more about this local literary star.

Visiting the Library

The Ossining Public Library is open for its regularly scheduled hours. During its hours of operation, the Library is also offering Curbside Pickup, as a safe, contact-free way to bring home library materials.

Monday, from 9am to 9pm
Tuesday, from 10am to 6pm
Wednesday, from 1pm to 9pm
Thursday, from 9am to 9pm
Friday, from 10am to 6pm
Saturday, from 9am to 5pm
Sunday, from 1pm to 5pm

Holidays 2023

The Ossining Public Library will be closed according to the following schedule:

Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023*
Christmas Day, December 25, 2023**

New Year’s Day, January 1, 2024***
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, January 15, 2024
President’s Day, February 19, 2024
Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024
Memorial Day, May 27, 2024

*Wednesday, November 23, 2023: Library will be open 9am — 1pm
**Sunday, December 24, 2023: Library will be closed
***Sunday, December 31, 2023: Library will be closed