Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Taylor Memorial Library, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

[LIB2447] - In 1907 Margaretta Taylor bequeathed the funds necessary for the creation of a library, which was officially incorporated in 1911 as the William A. and Margaretta Taylor Memorial Association. In 1912 the library moved into the red brick building on Second Street. This building served the community until 1970 when the library moved into its current location on the corner of Third Street and Broad Boulevard. [Website]


1946 Public Library, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

[LIB2446]


In 1911, the library qualified for a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie corporation and in May of 1913, the cornerstone of the new library was laid. In November of that same year, the new Detroit Lakes Library opened.

In 1974, Detroit Lakes Library entered Lake Agassiz Regional Library. In 1979, planning began to restore the Andrew Carnegie portion of the library and add-on to the library with an addition.

The library with new addition has been in operation since 1989. [From the website]


1912 Public Library, Clinton, Massachusetts

[LIB2445]


The Bigelow Free Public Library is named in honor of Erastus Brigham Bigelow, its greatest benefactor. Originally known as the Bigelow Mechanics Institute, it was founded in 1846, as a subscription library. The name evolved to the Bigelow Public Library, with its collection housed, at various times, in several municipal buildings.

The present site, at the corner or Walnut and Church Street, became available when the land was donated to the town. The home of Dr. Samuel Morse, the town's first physician, was auctioned off, piece by piece, including the fence boards. Once the land was vacant, the site was ready for construction of the Bigelow Free Public Library, through a grant from the Carnegie Foundation.

The library building has remained basically unchanged since its dedication in 1903. It is located across the street from the town hall and Central Park, in the geographic center of the town. [From the website]


1908 Carnegie Library, Washington, D.C.

[LIB2444] - The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. is located in the former Carnegie library and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.




Thursday, August 25, 2011

Public Library, Rushville, Indiana


[LIB2437] - Library services in Rush County began with the private collection of Dr. William B. Laughlin in 1822. He loaned his books to city and county residents at a small fee per book. In 1910, a library was created thanks to the Rush County chapter of the D.A.R. The library was located in the County Courthouse.

Then, in the late 1920's, a combination of public and private monies funded the building of the present Rushville Public Library. The firm of McGuire and Shook designed our Gothic-style library (no, this building has never been a church) on the site where the depot of the I & C Traction Line stood. In August of 1930, builders laid the cornerstone and on January 16, 1931, the beautiful Bedford limestone library opened! [Website]


Public Library, St. Louis, Missouri


[LIB2436] - The downtown Central Library was built with a substantial gift made in 1901 by Andrew Carnegie, along with six neighborhood branches, four of which (Barr, Cabanne, Carpenter, and Carondelet) are still in use. The original 1865 collection included 1500 books and by 1893 that number had grown to 90,000. Between 1894 and 1917 book deliveries, children’s programs, and a librarian training school all began. By 1938 the collection grew to 900,000 books and other items. Today the system consists of 15 branches and Central Library with 4.6 million items in its collection, 85,000 cardholders, over 300 full time staff, and 2 million visitors annually. [Website]



Wednesday, August 24, 2011

1910 Brooks Library, Brattleboro, Vermont


[LIB2434] At its opening in 1887, the collection numbered 5,000 volumes. Early in the 1960's the federal government, needing more space for postal operations on Main Street, negotiated with the library for the purchase of the property at the very time the library's building had become overcrowded and relocation was necessary. The George J. Brooks Library building was torn down, and a new, larger building constructed farther north on Main Street. [Website]

As the library looks today:




Public Library, Connersville, Indiana

[LIB2433]

The articles incorporating the Connersville Public Library were filed with the county recorder November 18, 1893. Previous to that date it had existed, through the aid of private contributions, for three years. By far the larger portion of these contributions was given by the factories as individual institutions. As many as eight of them subscribed $50 each, annually, for the three years. Public-spirited citizens also aided in the furnishing of means. Hon. F. T. Roots was quite influential in getting the library and reading-room into good running condition.

At the beginning of its life as an incorporated library, three directors, R. C. Wright, L. L. Broaddus, and W. F. L. Sanders were chosen, the latter being appointed secretary and treasurer.

Some time after the death of Mr. Wright, Mrs. C. D. Beck was chosen to fill the vacancy. This lady and the other two of the original directors, constitute the present board.

The number of volumes is 1,954; the number added yearly being at present about one hundred. The council supports the library by a tax levy of three cents on the $100. The average circulation per day is fifteen. The number of borrowers is approximately 500. The population of the city is 7,000. The use of the library is limited to the city.

The library is kept in a rented room, on a second floor; open six days per week from 2:00 P. M. to 5:00 P. M., and from 7:00 P. M. to 10:00 P. M., except on legal holidays. The books are partially classified according to subjects. The young people have access to the shelves containing the books suitable for them. The high school pupils are becoming much interested in making the library serve them in their study.

The present librarian is Miss Belle Ball, who is well qualified for the duties, having taken special pains to prepare herself for the work.
The total annual expenditure for all library purposes is $900. The annual expenditure for periodicals is about $100; the most important of these are bound and placed upon the shelves as reference books.

We are well aware that our library is, as yet, very small and our means very limited; but we believe that it will never be smaller, and that it will, in a few years, be reckoned among the best in the state.

W. F. L. Sanders, Sec. and Treas.

[Municipal and institutional libraries of Indiana: History, condition and management (Google eBook). Indiana. Louisiana purchase exposition commission]


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Public Library, Alamogordo, New Mexico


[LIB2429] - First built in 1989 - incorporated by Civic League in 1910 - Became Alamogordo Public Library in 1958 - the library has over 19,000 volumes. The Eugene Manlove Rhodes Collection consisting of documents [from the back of the card]



Friday, August 19, 2011

Library, Ansonia, Connecticut

[LIB4041] A direct descendent of the man who founded Ansonia wished to make a benefaction to the town. Caroline Phelps Stokes, granddaughter of Anson Greene Phelps, purchased a triangular site at the corner of South Cliff Street and Cottage Avenue. In 1891, she traveled from New York to supervise the construction of a building designed for her by architect George Keller.

The Ansonia Library was an L-shaped structure of 70 by 82 feet, built with walls of Longmeadow freestone and a roof of unglazed red Spanish tiles. The foundation walls were constructed using wall stone from the Ansonia granite quarries. A square tower with a pyramidal roof was located at one corner of the building next to a large rounded, arched entrance. There is also a long row of high windows, grouped in threes. Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, rests in the gable end of the roof above the entrance, ensconced in the usual foil with two lions at her feet.

Heavy oak doors lead to the interior entrance hall with a stone mosaic floor with the representations of Pegasus and Bellerophon. Inside, the Reference Room boasts natural quartered oak, a large fireplace with a chimney piece of rubbed red Lake Superior freestone, ribbed barrel vault ceilings and two tiers of leaded glass windows using some colored glass.

The structure - a library - was dedicated on June 9, 1892. But it sat vacant for four years because the town fathers refused to provide the $1,500 per year toward the library's operating expenses. Finally, on August 13, 1896, the town administrators relented and voted the annual $1,500 appropriation. The library opened its doors under the charge of Annie Hadley. The Ansonia Library began with a collection of 1515 books. An addition was added to the Ansonia Library in 1960. [From the website]

Thursday, August 18, 2011

1908 Public Library, Ogdensburg, New York

[LIB4031] The Library Park Historic District is a national historic district located at Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County, New York. The district includes seven contributing buildings, one contributing site, and one contributing object. They include the Remington Art Museum (1809–10), Ogdensburg Public Library (1810), Library Park, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. [Wikipedia]



Wednesday, August 17, 2011

1929 Public Library, Bellevue, Ohio

[LIB4030] - The Bellevue Library Association, formed in 1891, did not have a permanent home for their books until the Carnegie Library was built in 1904. Bellevue, a railroad town, also found support from the New Yor, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway Co., and from a local citizen who contributed $5000 for books. Robert E. Schmidt of Chicago designed the gray pressed brick and limestone building, which was considered modern for its time. The building received a 9000 square foot addition in 1987, and is still in use as a library today. [Waymarking]






Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Public Library, Kansas City, Missouri

[LIB4023] Located at 8th and Oak Streets and built at a cost of $10,000, the building was a simple store front that the Library quickly outgrew. In less than 10 years, the Library acknowledged the need for a larger facility and began a new building at 9th and Locust Streets. At a cost of $200,000, the new location opened its doors in 1897. The building was both an economic and architectural achievement for the Library. Complete with a grand rotunda and reference rooms donning murals and framed paintings, the location was an artistic inspiration, providing the Library with badly needed room for its ever-expanding collections and pubic services. [From the Website]



Friday, August 12, 2011

1916 Clapp Memorial Library, Belchertown, Massachusetts


[LIB2428] - The Clapp Memorial Library of Belchertown was founded by a bequest of $40000 from John Francis Clapp, for the purpose of establishing a public library in his native town.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

1942 Way Library, Perrysburg, Ohio

[LIB2427] In 1875 prominent citizen Willard V. Way passed away leaving his sizeable estate to the Perrysburg community. Mr. Way designated a sum of money for the establishment of a library. The living room of the first librarian, Miss Harriet Hulburd, served as the original library, opening in 1881, and was the first library in Wood County. The library was enlarged in 1959 and again in 1983. The present 45,855-square-foot facility was renovated and enlarged in 2001, for which the 2001 AIA Toledo Architectural Award was presented to Munger Munger + Associates Architects, Inc. Way Library has stood at its present site since 1892. Its collection presently holds 113,511 items. [From the Website]

Carnegie Library, Peru, Indiana

[LIB2425] The Peru City Council has accepted the plans for the new Carnegie Library building prepared by E. N. Lamme of Peru, but the contract has not been let. Carnegie offered to give $50,000; $25,000 will be expended for the building and fixtures. The building will be of stone, with a basement and two floors. [Public library bulletin, Volumes 1-2, page 45, 1901]

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The Mason Library, Great Barrington, Massachusetts

[LIB2418] Mason Library, called “the most beautiful library in America” was designed by Blanchard & Barnes of New York. Mary A. Mason, widow of Captain Henry Hobart Mason, left $50,000 to build and furnish a new library, to replace one in a clapboard house previously on the site. Mrs. Mason summered in Great Barrington and is buried there.

Dedicated July 24, 1913, the library was rededicated April 2007 after extensive renovations that doubled its size and made it handicapped accessible. [From the Website]

Monday, August 8, 2011

1965 Public Library, Greensboro, North Carolina

[LIB2404] - The Greensboro Public Library occupied its fourth building, 201 North Greene St., in July 1964. Chartered in 1902, the library serves Greensboro and Guilford County through branch libraries and bookmobiles. [From the back of the card]