After struggling due to a lack of materials, funds, and a permanent home, Reverend Briggs acquired the school building on Wilbur Avenue, across the street from his church, and formed the Oak Lawn Free Public Library Association. The building had been built around 1830 and was moved to this site on Wilbur Avenue in 1840. It served as the village school until 1895. The collection, now 850 volumes, began to circulate in May 1896 with the continued support of families in the surrounding community, including many members of the Shaw family who served as librarians at the branch. The library is still at this location and is Cranston's oldest library building.
