Recently, an unusual list of rules from the Hyde Institute Library; now Barnet & Southgate College in England, from around 1930 has been making its way across the internet via social media[i]. In addition to a universal "Ban on liars and dirty faces", the rules also state that library users "Must not fall asleep on the tables, leave their business cards behind, bring dogs [inside], tell lies to the librarian, or enter when they have small pox". The rules, while humorous and entertaining from a 21st century perspective, could be associated with any library in the world today, including the Wallkill Public Library!

Prior to the construction of the present library building in 1935, the Wallkill Public Library was located in the home of the appointed librarian. Therefore, from 1900 to 1911, the first "Library" in Wallkill, was a small reading room in the home, and millenary shop of Mrs. Dayton Relyea, on 9 Main Street in Wallkill [ii] [iii]. Because of the unusual location of the library, and that the librarian (Mrs. Relyea), and her assistants; Penelope Borden, Ellen L. Borden, and Marion Borden, were volunteers, the library operated on limited hours, and certain rules became necessary in order to maintain the small circulating collection of books, and magazines. For example, the library was only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 3 to 5 pm, and 7 to 9 pm, and closed August and September for "Vacation" [iv]. Today, patrons can access the library Monday through Thursday 10 am to 8 pm, Fridays 10 am to 6 pm, and Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm year-round, not including e-books and online resources which can be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

The early library not only had limited hours, but also a limited selection of books. An October 1900 report shows a total of 106 books; including Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, and The Afro-American Press by Irvine Garland Penn among its collection. Although some books were purchased, a large quantity of books and magazines were donated by the Bordens, and other influential families in the area. By 1906, the number of books and periodicals in the library had grown to 3,010, and the library became a popular spot for avid readers. On May 9th, 1904, it was decided by the Village Improvement, and Library Association that: "One new book be allowed in a family at one time, during three months after the books are put upon the shelves"[v]. Visitors from out of town also had to abide by a special policy: a meeting held on November 11th, 1935 recorded: "A motion was made that upon entrance to New Library, strangers be asked to deposit $1 per book to be refunded upon return of book, motion was carried"; construction of the building we know today as the Wallkill Public Library had begun the previous month[vi]. Today library patrons can take up to 50 items at a time, not including up to eight e-books on their tablets or e-readers, although patrons still have to be weary of lost or late fines!

One of the more interesting early library policies can be seen as an early attempt at disease control. On November 9th, 1914, the Wallkill Public Library and Village Improvement Association made a motion "asking the board of health to write a notice forbidding the loan of books in any family where there is a contagious disease, said notice to be posted in the library, also requesting the Board of Health to give librarian a list of such families each week"[vii]. In the days before the invention of penicillin, and four years before the deadly 1918 flu epidemic, this measure could have helped prevent the spread of possibly life-threatening diseases through the passing of library materials.

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