Library card requirements
A person is eligible for an adult library card if he/she is 17 years old or older and lives or owns property in Cutchogue or New Suffolk. To verify that the person lives in Cutchogue or New Suffolk, one of the following items can be used: a ultility bill (showing the local address), a year-round lease, a property tax bill, or a property deed.
Click here for a printable adult card application form.A person is eligible for a child's library card if he/she is under 17 and lives in Cutchogue or New Suffolk with a parent or guardian. Teens, people between 12 and 17, use the children's application card.
Click here for a printable children's card application form.
A person, adult or child is eligble for a library card without residency verification if he/she lives with a family member who already has a library card in good standing.
A family or individual who is renting a house in Cutchogue or New Suffolk for 6 months or less may purchase a temporary, Local-Use-Only card. Please bring a copy of your lease with you to the library to apply. The cost of the temporary card is $10 for one month or $20 for two or more months. In addition, there is a $10 deposit which will be returned when all items and the card are returned to the library at the end of your time with us.
Loan and Fine Policies
New Items:
2 day circulation - New DVDs
7 day circulation – New Adult Fiction, New multi-disk DVDs
14 day circulation - Everything else in the library
Regular Items:
7 day circulation – DVDs and Videos, Holiday music
14 day circulation – Everything else in the library
Fines:
Adult items - $.10 per day
Children’s items - $.05 per day
All items may be renewed once if no one has placed a hold on the item.
Computer use policies
Computers are available in the library for the use of our patrons. To use the computers in the library a person needs a library card in good standing to login. Out of district patrons may use the computers if not in use by our patrons but must be prepared to give up the computer if needed by our patrons. People with library cards from libraries in Suffolk County may use their own library cards, otherwise please ask at the desk to be logged on with a guest card.
Adults may login to the computers for a one hour session but the time will be extended if at least one computer is free. There is a 10 minute delay between sessions for adults.
Children may login to the computers in the children's room for a one hour session. There is a 30 minute delay between sessions for children.
Printing is available on the library"s computers. Black and white printing is free and color printing is $.25 per page. Staff at the circulation desk will collect any monies owed.
Wireless access to the internet is avaiable for patrons using their own portable computers. Wireless printing is not currently available.
Meeting Room Guidelines and Application
Click here for a printable copy of the application and guidlines.
The meeting room(s) use are limited primarily to those not-for-profit groups and organizations which are based within the Library District, except with the specific prior approval of the Board.
Permission to use the meeting room will only be granted to groups and organizations who agree to limit attendance to the amount for which each meeting room is rated.
The meeting rooms are meant to be used when the Library is open during normal hours.
There will be an hourly fee for activities that continue after normal closing hours.
An Application for Use of Meeting Room Facilities must be submitted to the Director for approval.
The responsible individual must agree to ensure that the room is left in the same condition in which it is found, including the removal of all trash and the rearrangement of the furniture.
The organization should be prepared to provide equipment necessary for the scheduled program. However, at the Director’s discretion, organizations may be permitted to use the Library’s equipment.
No general admission fee may be charged for any meeting or program held in the meeting room.
No buying or selling of products or services is permitted on Library property, except in support of the Library.
Programs involving minors must have an adult sponsor present at all times.
Patrons who bring children to meetings must abide by the Library’s Unattended Child Policy as well as the Library Conduct Policy.
Except as a designation of meeting location, the name and address of the Cutchogue - New Suffolk Free Library may not be used as the address of any organization.
Library personnel must have free access to the meeting room at all times.
The Library retains the right to monitor all meetings conducted on the premises.
Library Services for the Homebound
The Library’s Homebound “Books-By-Mail” Program is a service offered to those who are unable to visit the library due to a temporary or permanent illness or disability, or for individuals who do not have transportation. Library materials will be sent through the mail free of charge to homebound patrons.
For more information please call the library (734-6360) and ask for Darlene Brush.
The Cutchogue - New Suffolk Free Library:
From Church to Library
Driving down the hill just before entering the hamlet of Cutchogue, the first sight many visitors have is of not one, but two churches. Not an uncommon sight for the east end. But what is uncommon, or, as we prefer, unique, is that one of those churches is actually a public library. The Cutchogue - New Suffolk Free Library is located on the corner of Main Rd and Cases Lane in what was originally an Independent Congregational Church. The church was built by the Independent Congregational Church and Society in 1862. The society was formed by a group of people who split off from the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church. They built their church on land donated by one of their members and financed through member contributions such as a wooded lot, 4 shares of stock and one woman’s gold beads.
By 1913 the building was not in use and the members had returned to the Presbyterian Church while still keeping their religious society active. The Trustees voted to refurbish the building and grounds for use as a library. In 1914 the Trustees approved the rental of the building for a dollar a year. The library was opened and staffed by volunteers and then granted a charter in 1917. A furnace and electricity were installed in 1920. In 1927 the Cutchogue Methodist Church burned and the Congregational Society closed the library to allow the Methodists to use the building for worship while they were building their new church. The library was reopened when the new Methodist church was completed. The library continued to operate in the Church building for a nominal rent with free standing shelving and no permanent furnishings so that it could be returned to a place of worship with little problem. Over the years the library continued to grow but with only minor changes added to the building, a bathroom in the minister’s robing room, a door to the rear of the building for fire safety and smoking was banned in the building.
The library was firmly established by the 1980’s with a full time librarian and several part time staffers. Programs such as children’s story times, the summer evening movies on the lawn (with bug spray provided) and art shows hung high above the shelves, were enjoyed by all but the library was seriously outgrowing the available space. Saturday afternoon movies for the children meant adults had to search for their books with flashlights while the young people enjoyed their movies in the darkened building. The library purchased the old telephone building in the village in the hopes of being able to expand the space. When the planned expansion did not take place, the Congregational Society made it possible for the Library to buy the church building and embark on an extensive renovation and expansion project. The library moved into the addition in 1986 and a year later renovated the church into the current children’s room and meeting room. In 1994 the Historical Council joined us in renovating the expanded choir loft into the Local History Room. The west front corner of the ceiling of the Local History Room shows the original curved ceiling where the spiral staircase led to the choir loft.
Today, the Library building is a blend of new and old design as demonstrated in its services as well as it’s structure. From high speed Internet access to jigsaw puzzles and story times, the Cutchogue - New Suffolk Free Library remains an active, important and unique part of the community’s history.
Complied and written by Wendy Reeve, Liz Burns and Lauren Grant
