An old schoolbook on display in the ‘Then and Now: Lending Libraries of Lyme’ exhibit at Lyme Public Hall.

Then and Now: Lending Libraries of Lyme will be on view at the Lyme Public Hall on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, July 3, 4, and 5.  This exhibit celebrates Lyme’s centuries-long love of books and learning in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Lyme Public Library.

The displays highlight the ingenious subscription libraries started in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Lyme residents, the public library movement in the United States and the early history of the Lyme Public Library.

A special focus is on the importance of books to a local one-room school in the Joshuatown area of Lyme where a branch of the public library was established in the early twentieth century.  The school bell, a child’s desk, children’s books and pupils’ written work will be on view along with other original documents from the Lyme Local History Archives.

Exhibit hours are Wednesday, July 3, from 1 to 4 p.m., Thursday, July 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Friday, July 5, from 1 to 4 p.m.  Admission is free.

The Lyme Public Hall is located at 249 Hamburg Road (Rte. 156) in Lyme, Conn.

For more information, visit www.lymepublichall.org

The Lyme Public Hall Association is dedicated to the appreciation of Lyme’s history, culture, and community through the preservation and use of the historic hall, its archives and historical programs.