About

The mission of the Thompson Free Library is to strengthen and serve our community. inspire learning, advance and create knowledge, and to promote the spirit of human experiences and personal relationships

We believe that a free public library is essential to the public good We believe that a free public library is essential to our system of self-government which assumes the existence of an informed citizenry. We believe that all library users are entitled to the highest level of service. We believe that all library users have the right to privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual freedom.

The Thompson Free Library contributes to the prosperity and growth of the town by fostering the spirit of exploration, the joy of reading, the pursuit of knowledge, and the preservation of the community’s history.

At the Dover town meeting on March 5, 1897, Dr. Thompson proposed to build a town library if the town would agree to keep the building in good repair and pay all necessary running expenses. In 1897 Dr. Elbridge A. Thompson purchased the land and started construction of the Thompson Free Library in memory of his wife Lucia Eddy Thompson. Dr. Thompson was a surgeon for the Union Army for over three years during the Civil War. He came to Dover in 1866 and practiced medicine and surgery here for the next 37 years, until he retired in 1903. On September 9, 1898 he presented the town of Dover with the key and the deed to the library. Dr. Thompson also established a trust fund for the purchase of books and reading materials. The library has continued to grow over the past 100 plus years with major additions opening in 1972 and 2007.