Author J.D. Salinger’s widow offers former general store for new library building

Colleen O’Neill, his widow, bought the Cornish town’s former general store in 2016.

This file photo shows copies of J.D. Salinger's classic novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ as well as his volume of short stories called ‘Nine Stories’ at the Orange Public Library in Orange Village, Ohio.

The widow of author J.D. Salinger wants to donate the former general store she owns in New Hampshire to the town so it can be converted into a library.

Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye , spent the last nearly six decades of his life in Cornish, far removed from the public eye. He died in 2010.

Colleen O’Neill, his widow, bought the town’s former general store in 2016. It reopened, but closed about 18 months later.

“A library can be that vital place that helps our community thrive,” she said in a letter read aloud by a friend at Tuesday’s Town Meeting, the

Valley News reported. “Libraries today are more than just about books. They are about connecting us to the wider world, serving the community and creating a sense of place. What I love about this town, what I love about Cornish, is that when help is needed, this community comes together. It is what makes Cornish so amazing and so special.”

The town's current library was built around 1910 and lacks off-street parking and running water, library trustee Laura Cousineau said. It also isn’t compliant under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We need a new place and this is possibly an answer to our prayers,” Cousineau said.

O’Neill, who wasn’t at the meeting, attended it in 2010 to thank the town for respecting her husband’s privacy.