Crandall Public Library, Folklife Center

The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls is an award-winning, regional program created in 1993, charged with the mission to research and present the cultural traditions of the upper Hudson valley and southern Adirondacks of upstate New York. Its core programs - Cultural Events, Exhibitions, and Special Collections - are largely supported by grants, and have attracted a large, diverse regional audience.

Our special collections reflect over a hundred years as a dependable repository of the community's history. Books, serials, photographs, maps, scrapbooks, family paper, business records, art collections, and many other materials are actively added each year, catalogued and stored in an archival environment, and made available to the public via our staffed Research Center. A small sampling of these materials - J.J. Audubon's elephant folio prints; Congressman Gerald Solomon's Scrapbooks; Look Magazine's Glens Falls Hometown USA Photographs; Dr. A.W. Holden's Civil War Letters; Glens Falls Operetta Club Papers; a Lazio portrait of Charles Evans Hughes (a Glens Falls native) - provide a sense of the tremendous depth and breath of our special collection holdings.

Browse all collections from the Crandall Public Library Folklife Center

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Browse the Collections:

Crandall Library Images: The history of Crandall Public Library dates back to 1892 when Henry Crandall provided funds for books and a place to keep them, and insisted on free books and services for "anybody who has interest enough in reading." The Crandall Trust, established after his death some 20 years later, keeps his vision alive. Today, as central reference library for 4 counties, Crandall Public Library serves over 1500 visitors daily.
Glens Falls Feeder Canal: This collection covers the boats and the boatmen connected to the Feeder Canal, and the importance of the Feeder Canal to the development of industry in Glens Falls-South Glens Falls-Hudson Falls-Fort Edward.
Folk Art and Artist Collection: Folklorist Todd DeGarmo has collected contemporary folk art from upstate New York and other regions to support Folklife programs and exhibitions at Crandall Public Library since 1986. Each item has supporting materials on artist, tradition, etc. in Folklife Collections files.