Canton Free Library (CFL) offers six days per week of open hours when patrons can visit the library, borrow materials, discover new books and authors, and socialize. However, the library also understands that sometimes patrons aren’t able to visit the library in the way that they’d like, and some can’t travel to the library at all. To assist with this, CFL staff and volunteers make visits to several housing centers so that homebound library users can still enjoy some library services. This service is known as the Outreach Program (or just “outreach”)– because we “reach out” to users who aren’t able to come to us.

In all our outreach locations, the social part of the visit is as important as the books- it’s definitely a library program that’s about “more than just books.”

Where We Visit

Canton Free Library Outreach makes visits to three locations. These locations were chosen as sites because they are concentrated locations where residents may have transportation or mobility challenges that sometimes prevent them from visiting the library.

The Diane P. Burns Building and the Wilfred J. Lytle Building (The Towers) 

United Helpers Independent Living – Partridge Knoll 

United Helpers Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing – Maplewood 


Other Outreach Services:

The New York State Talking Book and Braille Library is a free library service for eligible residents of upstate New York who are unable to use standard print materials due to visual, physical, or reading disability. For more information visit: https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/tbbl/.

North Country Library System Books by Mail service provides books by mail, at no cost, to eligible patrons residing in Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, and St. Lawrence counties. For more information visit: https://web.ncls.org/.


For more information about our Outreach Services, including how to become a ‘Books on Wheels’ volunteer, please contact Jennifer at jhenry@ncls.org.