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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Liberty Public Library

Liberty, New York

Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Liberty.

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1Title

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1878 to 1971Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

63,648Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Liberty, New York.

Get to know Liberty, New York in earlier years through the newspapers shared in the Liberty Public Library's digital archive. The archive includes The Liberty Register, with material from 1878 to 1971.

You can open the archive using the link below.
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  • Selected title

    Take a closer look at “The Liberty Register”, shared by Liberty Public Library.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • Ways to explore

    A familiar name or place can be a starting point. Check the context before connecting a detail to your own story.

Historical newspapers can connect a family name with the events and everyday concerns of an earlier time, offering more than a date or a name on its own. Bring a family connection, a question about a familiar place or an interest in local history, and see where the sources lead. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Explore The Liberty Register through 63,648 digitized pages, with material from 1878 to 1971. A partnership between Liberty Public Library and Advantage Archives makes this collection available. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

A detail you recognize can be a useful first clue. See what the title records and what it leaves open.

The Liberty Register

63,648 pages from 1878 to 1971

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About the Library

About The Katonah Village Library

The Katonah Village Library is dedicated to serving the educational, cultural, and recreational needs of the Katonah community. Located in the Town of Bedford in northern Westchester County, New York, the library offers a welcoming environment with a rich collection of materials and resources. The library features a wheelchair accessible entrance and parking lot, ensuring that all community members can easily access its services.

Library History

The History Of The Katonah Village Library

Katonah, one of the three hamlets in the Town of Bedford, has a unique history. The Katonah Village Library has moved and evolved along with the community. "Old Katonah" was the third settlement in this part of Westchester County in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Katonah Village Improvement Society (KVIS), initially known as the Katonah Village Improvement Association, was organized on October 21, 1878, with the aim of involving citizens in projects to enhance the beauty and safety of the village.

The first Library and Reading Room opened on December 10, 1880, on Railroad Ave, with 400 books donated by Association members. In the 1890s, the City of New York Water Supply condemned and purchased parcels of land where Old Katonah stood, necessitating the relocation of the village. The community formed a syndicate, planned a new village on higher ground, and physically moved more than 50 buildings from Old Katonah to New Katonah using horse-drawn soaped timber tracks.

In 1898, the library was temporarily relocated until enough funds were raised to construct a new building. Designed by architect Kerr Rainsford, the current library building was dedicated on December 5, 1930. In 1951, the Katonah Village Library was granted an Absolute Charter by the Education Department of NY. The library legally separated from the Katonah Village Improvement Society in 1952 to allow staff to enroll in the State Pension Plan. The library has undergone several renovations, including the addition of the Children’s Room in 1958, an expansion in 1968, and a lower-level remodel in 1992.

About the Community

About Katonah, New York

Katonah is a charming hamlet located in the Town of Bedford in northern Westchester County, New York. Known for its unique history and strong sense of community, Katonah has evolved significantly over the years. The Katonah Village Library plays a key role in the community, offering access to a wealth of historical documents and supporting the educational and recreational needs of its residents.

Local History

Did You Know?

Did you know that the Katonah Village Library's digital archive includes the Citizen Herald, which has been in publication from 1926 to 1972? This extensive collection provides a valuable window into the past of Katonah and its surrounding areas, offering invaluable resources for historians and genealogists.

Liberty Public Library photo 1

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Follow a report into its setting

Start with something you would like to understand about the past of Liberty. It might be a person, a neighborhood or an event remembered in your family. Use the digital archive shared by the Liberty Public Library to follow that question into the historical record. When using historical newspapers, try alternate spellings and nearby dates, then read the surrounding page to place a local story in its time. Compare later reporting or another available title to explore different perspectives rather than treating one account as the whole story. Read the headline and neighboring articles as well as the matching lines. The surrounding page can show whether a report is local news, an editorial, or another kind of account; compare its details with later coverage where available.

Take a place or institution mentioned in a report as a new search lead. Check the issue date and read nearby articles to see how the setting is described. Preserve historical names and boundaries as written, and compare another dated reference before connecting the place to a present-day location.

Record which title, date, page, or item supports a useful lead. Mark unanswered questions before connecting it to a family or community story. A similar name can point you toward another source, but it is not proof of identity.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Liberty Public Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.

Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.

Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.

Learn about partnerships
Read All About It

Stories, research tips, and archive news

Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.

Newest published articles

March 18, 2025

It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?

We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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