Library celebrates Carnegie centennial
As the state is wrapping up the celebrating of its bicentennial, the Pulaski County Public Library is celebrating the centennial of the Carnegie library.
On Friday, Oct. 28, patrons of the library and the public are invited to take a tour of the library and listen to the history of how the Carnegie library came about to serve Pulaski County.
In 1901, William H, Kelly, superintendent of the Winamac schools, opened the school library for public use. He worked to improve the library collection and created a catalog along with striving for a free public library.
In 1905, the woman’s club raised funds for the $50 subscription fee toward establishing a free public library. The books were then moved to a room in the Yarnell block to create a library and a reading room. It was opened on Sept. 11, 1905, and Joanna O’Connell was the first librarian.
“It’s amazing to think of the investment that the people made in 1905 and then again in 1915-1916 for the community,” said library executive director MacKenzie Ledley. “That payoff has been great.”
The Winamac library first conducted business in the downtown area. It appears that obtaining a Carnegie library in Winamac was a slow process. In 1909, there was a question as to why Winamac had yet to obtain a Carnegie library.
Several years passed before an application was made to the Carnegie Foundation regarding the construction of a new building in 1915. The application was approved in 1915 for a library to be built at the cost of about $10,000. That funding came from the Carnegie Foundation and not the taxpayers.
Part of the holdup of applying for a Carnegie Library may have been that the town or county needed to have funds to maintain and operate it. To raise those funds, the town established a taxing district. That district then expanded to include Monroe Township and the nine townships the library currently serves.
The location where the Carnegie library was built moved north of the Winamac schools on Riverside Drive when a portion of land was purchased from J. R. Starrs for $400. Part of the land belonged to Starrs and part of it belonged to the schools.
The building opened in November of 1916 and the structure stayed the same until the 1980s when the addition occurred. At the time the Carnegie library opened there were 4,288 books on hand.
Ledley said when she was talking with a former librarian she questioned why some area Carnegie libraries have fireplaces and stained glass windows but Winamac is stark.
“Her response to me was because the library board at the time wanted to invest in materials more than they wanted to invest in a luxurious building in the community,” Ledley said.
Today the library has a staff of 14 employees and has expanded to offer services 24/7 for anyone around the world. There are currently 7,166 people who are registered to use the library services and last year, there were 102,232 visits to the library.
As part of the celebration the library staff will be offering tours of the Carnegie portion of the library.
Ledley said there are a number of people who want to visit the building and reminisce.
“There used to be a stage downstairs and several people in the community remember that. They also remember different events being held in the little rooms,” said Ledley, whose office is in one of the Carnegie building rooms. “Some people have not been down there since 1980.”
In the 1980s, when the addition occurred, the library board decided to use the basement as a storage space. It now holds books, decorations and other items.
“Unfortunately, there are not many things left of the original Carnegie,” Ledley said. “There also are not many pictures.”
She said one photo gave evidence to the need for an expansion as there were books stacked on top of the bookcases in the Carnegie structure.
Some items that are left from the Carnegie building include the circulation desk in the current children’s section of the library; Ledley’s desk; a filing cabinet; a set of chairs and a table; and the wood floor in the office she uses. There are also some books.
Ledley said the board wanted to celebrate the Carnegie milestone in a significant way so they decided that a sign would be installed in front of the library. The sign is being paid through a donation to mark the centennial.
“We hope to have that completed by the end of the year and landscaping completed next year,” Ledley said.
The sign will have a time capsule inside of it.
“What we are going to put in the time capsule are things that we catalog here,” Ledley said. She used the example that DVDs would be put in the time capsule.
When asked how she believes the library has continued to sustain itself, Ledley said the library isn’t as quiet as it once was because the services the library provides include programs and other community activities.
“We have found that we have to transform what we are to remain relevant to society so that’s what we are doing with increased spending in electronics and also infrastructure with all of our computers,” Ledley said. “We take advantage of grant dollars where we can to beef up our infrastructure.”
Ledley said the library has also become a depository for information such as newspapers. People also travel to use the library’s genealogy services because it is something the library invests time and money in.
“It has really become a community center where people can do a variety of things at the library other than just read books and perform research,” Ledley said.
Along with tours of the library, some of the original artwork that has been donated to the library will be on display.
There will be light refreshments during the celebration and the library will be closed for general use.
Tours of the library will be from 4-7 p.m.