The William Jeanes Memorial Library is dedicated to serving the community's educational and recreational needs through its collection of more than 50,000 books, periodicals, videos, CDs, DVDs, and other resources. More than 120,000 visitors are welcome to the library each year to select materials, attend programs, and use its Internet-accessible computers.
The library is incorporated under Pennsylvania law and is a full member of the Montgomery County Library and Information Network Consortium (MCLINC) and ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA Databases. The building and grounds provide a beautiful and welcoming centerpiece for Whitemarsh Township.
In 1926, Mary Jeanes Miller donated $75,000 in memory of her first husband, William Jeanes, to the Religious Society of Friends and the William Jeanes Library was born. From one room of the William Ambler home in Plymouth Meeting, the library expanded in 1935 to a new building on the grounds of the Friends Meeting House in Plymouth Meeting. In 1950, a Friends of the Library group was formed to help fund library needs. In order to accommodate the need for additional space, a building-fund drive augmented by state funding allowed the Library to move to its new home on Joshua Road in 1971. Since that time the Library has served the citizens of Whitemarsh Township as their community library.