At the Amelia Givin Library, you'll find modern technology at home next to antique woodwork. The library has Wi-Fi throughout, and offers the free use of computers with high-speed internet access.
135 Years and Counting!
The elaborate 1889 library is home to adult, teen and children's reading collections, DVDs, audiobook collections for all ages, video games, periodicals and more.
"We are a small town library, with small town service" Cynthia Thompson, Library Director
Each week, the Amelia Givin Library hosts special activities for children, teens and adults. The Friends of the Library sponsor special events for adults and families throughout the year. We invite you to come and see us at the Amelia Givin Library.
History of the Amelia S. Givin Free Library
In early July of 1889, workers hauled and hoisted large brownstone blocks from the Hummelstown Brownstone Company to form the walls of the first free public library in Cumberland County, The Amelia S. Givin Library.
Heir to the Givin fortune, Amelia Steele Givin asked Pittsburgh's James T. Steen, a prominent H.H. Richardsonian school architect, to design her memorial library using classic Richardsonian elements. The interior owes its woodwork to Moses Ransom, an Ohio artisan who reinterpreted Victorian ornamentation to create "Moorish fretwork"; a machine-made Open Barley Twist molding woven together to form a myriad of lattice-like screen designs.
In 1890, the citizens of Mt. Holly Springs were presented with their library: a massive 60 x 30 foot stone structure, fully furnished and stocked with books and periodicals
For the dedication ceremony, a special train from Carlisle carried dignitaries to Mt. Holly; then-Governor James A. Beaver; Secretary of the Commonwealth Charles W. Stone; the president of Dickinson College, and members of the Harrisburg press. In 2004, the library received another distinction when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, preserving forever its unique contribution to history.
More than a century after it was first built, the library continues to serve Mt. Holly Springs and the surrounding area.
