The Bigelow Free Public Library is named in honor of Erastus Brigham Bigelow, its greatest benefactor. Originally known as the Bigelow Mechanics Institute, it was founded in 1846, as a subscription library. The name evolved to the Bigelow Public Library, with its collection housed, at various times, in several municipal buildings.

The present site, at the corner or Walnut and Church Street, became available when the land was donated to the town. The home of Dr. Samuel Morse, the town's first physician, was auctioned off, piece by piece, including the fence boards. Once the land was vacant, the site was ready for construction of the Bigelow Free Public Library, through a grant from the Carnegie Foundation.

The library building has remained basically unchanged since its dedication in 1903. It is located across the street from the town hall and Central Park, in the geographic center of the town.

In 1991, the library became handicapped accessible, thanks to a combination of UDAG monies from HUD, Revenue Sharing funds set aside for the town, and several years worth of LIG/MEG from the MBLC. An elevator addition, renovated restrooms, and a driveway into a small parking area with handicapped-designated parking spaces were all constructed. Ironically, the driveway matches the intent of the library's original construction plans.

In recent years, the library has struggled, in the face of serious budget cuts, to continue the level of service expected by the community. With help from businesses, an active Friends group, and a dedicated staff, we continue to provide craft programs, story hours, informative discussions, passes to nearby museums, as well as a comprehensive family-oriented videocassette and DVD collection. The library is a step behind in an era of computers, but we are making efforts in that direction.

The Bigelow Free Public Library has three floors:

The basement houses the boiler room, handicapped-accessible restrooms, and the computer lab/reading room.

The main floor of the library consists of two rooms and houses the adult collection, the videocassette/DVD collection, audio books, microfilm reader, photo copier, Dewey catalog and collection. The beauty of the vaulted ceilings, the classical frieze, and the original built-in shelving, almost makes up for the inability to expand the visible collection. The wide-open floor space allows room for two twelve-foot reading tables and several small display areas.

The children's department on the third floor of the building is spacious and brightly decorated. There are two rooms; one for toddlers, preschoolers, and grades K-3, the other for middle school and Young Adult materials. The hallway of the children's department holds four computers for children to type research papers/homework, play computer games, etc. The computers in the children's department are not internet accessible.

The stack area extends from between the basement to the second floor, comprising three levels, with glass floors. These are not accessible to the general public for safety reasons.

The library is highly visible to anyone in the main part of town, being across the street from Central Park and the Town Hall. It is easily recognizable by the large sign at the corner of the property. It is readily pointed out as the "red brick building surrounded by the wrought-iron fence."