Driving through the hill towns of Northern Rensselaer County can often lead to discovering newly established community or family run businesses that catch your eye. The Town of Schaghticoke is no exception, and this is where you will find the Diver Library.
Established in 1939, the Diver Library has served the often geographically forgotten Town of Schaghticoke for over 80 years. The library is a fundamental resource to many in the community, providing not only books, but digital resources, internet access, critical adult education services, and enrichment activities for children & teens! The library’s mission is to be a community advocate and haven for lifelong learning.
However, the Diver Library was recently tasked with tackling a major capital project that was simply out of reach for their small organization. The library had significant access issues, due to a lack of off-street parking. The Diver Library also sits on an eroding hillside high above the Hoosic River spillway and because of this, the library’s days were numbered without quick intervention. When a neighboring parcel became available, the Diver Library was quick to reach out to the Community Loan Fund to seek assistance in purchasing the property and by doing so, took the first of many steps to preserve the long-term future of the library. The Community Loan Fund was able to provide a line of credit of $55,000 for the project. The newly purchased lot will resolve the library’s parking crisis and provide an option to safely move the library away from the eroding bank.
“I can’t overstate how indebted we are to the Community Loan Fund. We had begun to lose hope that we’d find the support necessary to take on a project of this magnitude and complexity. However, the Community Loan Fund made it clear from our first interaction that they really wanted to help us and were committed to finding a way to make this work.” said Nicholas Matulis, Director of the Diver Library.
“This loan approval was the first major step necessary to not only improving the library’s critical services, but allowing the community to access these services and ensuring the future of the library for generations to come.”
To learn more about Diver Library, please visit their website HERE
