In addition to books and print materials, the library offers patrons access to eBooks and databases through the OCLN, as well as lending museum passes to area museums and zoos, coordinating free tutoring for adults in Basic Literacy and English to Speakers of Other Languages, and housing local historical and genealogical materials in the Stoughton Collection.
[3] In 1881 the Board applied to businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for funding for a dedicated library building and was denied.
Lucius B. Clapp, a local farmer, selectman, and library trustee, anonymously donated $25,000 to cover the cost of the building.
The architect, Walter Atherton, was trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and had been raised on the lot adjacent to the land purchased from his family to be used for the library.
The renovated space will increase the size of the library to 31,058 square feet and will include improvements to make it accessible to patrons with disabilities as well as adding a cafe on the second floor.