Library, Pelham, New Hampshire

[LIB10391] - At the annual meeting on March 8, 1892 the citizens of Pelham voted to establish a Free Public Library, and elected a three-member Board of Trustees.  The library officially opened for business about January 17, 1893.  Miss Mary Edna Hobbs was appointed librarian with an annual salary of $20.  By March 1, 1894, at the end of its first full year of service, the library had issued 137 library cards; held a total collection of 629 books; circulated – or “delivered” — 2,420 books; and collected $10.06 in fines.  Appointed when she was eighteen years old, Miss Hobbs, known to many as “Aunt Molly,” served as librarian until July 31, 1958 – over 65 years!  By then the library owned 6,654 books with an annual circulation of 6,004; there were 166 registered borrowers; and the librarian’s salary rose to $400 per year. [Website]

Library, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York

[LIB10390] - The original Carnegie Library was built in a Classical Revival style of brick with limestone trim and a stone balustrade at the roof. The Greenpoint Star praised it on April 14, 1906 for its “tasteful simplicity." As Greenpoint became the center of a Polish community, English classes were offered and a well-stocked Polish book collection was acquired. The building, structurally unsafe was demolished in 1970. In 1973 a new one-story library opened on the same site. Although not as grand as its predecessor, it provides the community with a resource for knowledge and a meeting place for a new generation of library users.

Library, Eugene, Oregon

[LIB10389]

Carnegie Library, Mitchell, South Dakota

[LIB10388] [Website]

Comer Memorial Library, Sylacauga, Alabama

[LIB10387] - In 1938, the Works Progress Administration set up the largest WPA library project in the state in Sylacauga. At that time, library service was extended to rural Talladega County, and the tradition of broad, free municipal library service to citizens outside the city limits was established. By 1939, a $28,000 WPA grant had built a new building to house the library. The Comer family gave $5,000 to furnish the library, and the name was changed from Sylacauga Public Library to B. B. Comer Memorial Library in memory of the late Governor Comer. [Website]

Public Library, Ensley, Alabama

[LIB10386] - Ensley established the first free public library in Jefferson County, Alabama on July 12, 1906 with more than 2,000 people attending the grand opening. In 1911, the Ensley Library became a branch of the Birmingham Public Library.

On June 26, 1955, a new ultra-modern building was opened offering air conditioning, a meeting room and a children's area. The design for this building won first honor of the American Institute of Architects. [Website]