The Sloatsburg Public Library dates back to 1959 when a committee of six, appointed by the then mayor, John McAlevey, accumulated 6,000 used books and shelved them in the meeting room of the Village Office. When the project began to flounder from lack of financial backing in 1962, a public meeting was held to determine the fate of the library. A committee of twelve volunteered to finance the project personally for three months and to formulate plans for continued financial support and to explore becoming a branch of the Suffern Free Library. In 1964, a contract was approved by the Village Trustees, whereby library funds for Sloatsburg would be administered through the Suffern Free Library, enabling the Sloatsburg Library to operate within the framework of the Suffern charter.

After being housed in serveral locations in the village, 1974 saw the purchase of the St. Francis Episcopal Church property and plans were made to renovate the church and parish house to provide adequate space for a permanant location. June 1977 groundbreaking for a new addition and renovations was held and later that year the present library opened its door to the public.

In 1985 an additional 900 sq. ft. was added, a new public access computer room established, and central air-conditioning installed. Our permanent charter was issued in 1986 which made us independent of Suffern Free Library. A new Children's Room was added in 1997 bringing the total floor space to over 5,500 sq. ft. The Sloatsburg Public Library is now open 62 hours a week, including Sundays, and the original 6,000 volumes has expanded to over 28,000 plus 3,000 non-book items such as videos, periodicals, CDs and books-on-tape.