The Shokan Branch-in-Progress
Opening in September 2025!
The Library Board, Director and staff are so excited to tell you about the new Shokan Branch opening at the American Legion Hall on Mountain Road this fall…
How did this important community project come to be?
A decade ago, the Library Board and Director conducted a series of surveys that showed the community’s desire for more library services in the Town of Olive’s outlying locations. In 2021, the Library’s Long Range Planning committee conducted surveys and focus groups that reiterated the desires of the initial survey. Nearly 100 people in the Town of Olive responded. In a question about breaking down barriers to accessing the library, 17% of responses indicated a desire for a satellite branch in Shokan, and 25% of responses were about having a book drop in Shokan.
More than 10 years in the making—and lots of planning, collaboration from people in the community, grant-writing and renovation—later, the Shokan Branch is the culmination of this community input and is finally taking shape!
First and foremost, the Library Board and Director wish to thank the American Legion Hall for partnering with us to make this satellite branch a reality. Everyone at the Legion Hall, especially Tom Planz, Commander of the Legion, as well as Gene Sorbellini of the Town of Olive Buildings & Grounds department, has worked tirelessly to help us bring this vision to life. We also wish to thank the OFL Friends group for their steadfast fundraising for this project.
How is the Shokan Branch being funded?
The initial cost of getting the Shokan Branch up and running this year is just over $44,000. Aside from $6,000 from the Library’s savings, the funds we needed to open the Shokan Branch have come from grants, the Friends Group, and generous donations from those of you who gave to the Friends matching funds drive—thank you!
The Friends Group Drive raised funds that are going toward purchasing what the Shokan Branch needs to provide the same level of programs and services you’ve come to expect from the Olive Free Library—from bookshelves and public computers, to program supplies and a photocopier.
We’d especially like to thank:
Joy Levy, who provided $10,000 for the Friends drive
The Severus Foundation, who gave $2,500
Ulster Savings Bank, who gave $2,000
Wal-Mart Sparks Grant, which gave us a $2,000 grant
Thank you!
We’d also like to thank ProLine Contractors, one of our Platinum Business partners, who is renovating the interior of the Shokan Branch—painting, replacing the ceiling tiles, and installing new lighting.
We believe that this investment in the Shokan Branch is a critical part of how the Library can serve all of our community. To keep it alive and humming with dedicated staff, superlative services and regular, relevant programming, the Shokan Branch will need the community’s ongoing investment.
What services will be available at the Shokan Branch?
The Shokan Branch will be open Monday and Friday, 11am-6pm to start, and provide:
Two public computers
A photocopier for printing and copying
Notary service
Programs geared toward those who live in proximity to the branch
Patrons will be also able to pick up and drop off their Mid-Hudson Library System books at the Shokan Branch.
And perhaps most importantly, this location will have its own carefully curated collection of books! At this time, we are accepting monetary donations to help us build the collection to meet the tastes and needs of the people who will most frequently use it. You can make a donation to help us build the collection. Here’s how it works:
For a $25 donation, we can purchase one book for the new location
For a $50 donation, we can purchase two books and include your name on a special nameplate inside each book
For a $100 donation, we can purchase five books and include your name on a special nameplate inside each book.
Before & during the renovation…
