In the booklet â2011 A Year to Celebrateâ written by Kathy Bond, she describes the beginning of the Ulysses Philomathic Library (UPL) from its shaky start in 1811. Abner Treman decided to start a lending library and the first organizational meeting was held in Snellâs Tavern. A Board of Trustees was established and Herman Camp became the first librarian. His store on the corner of Union and Main housed the library which contained 232 books, a large quantity for that time. However, the library closed in 1839 and all of the books were sold. In the early 1900s, two attempts were made to resurrect the library. First, the school library was opened to the public, but the building burned down and with it all of the books. Next, The Home Bureau decided to maintain a small library, but it too burned to the ground. In 1934, community members donated $1 each and formed the Library Association. The Masonic Building leased space for the new library and residents and Cornell University donated over 3,000 books. Jennie Updike became the UPL librarian and, by 1960, the library could boast over 10,000 volumes. It soon became evident that a larger space was needed.