Southwest Public Library: Library History


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					1891 The Grove City Library was started as a private club in 1891. Public-spirited citizens pooled their private libraries in Harsh's Drug Store, located on Broadway, just north of Kingston Avenue. Membership was $2.00 a year. May 1917 Women's Civic Club gave $63.00 to establish a public reading room. It was free to the public and staffed by volunteers. The library was located in the Director's Room, First National Bank, at the southeast corner of Broadway and Columbus Streets. The bank donated the space and utilities. January 1923 By this date the library had moved to a small building at the southeast corner of Broadway and Civic Place. The $15-a-month rent included lights, heat, and daily janitor service. November 1923 The library was reorganized as a township school district library eligible for tax revenue. January 1924 Library trustees hired Miss Irene Harper as the first librarian with a $30 monthly salary. The civic club gave the new Jackson Township Library the use of all the former library's books and equipment. 1931 The library began to receive funding through the Ohio Intangibles Tax. January 1935 After Miss Harper's death, H. Kathleen White was named librarian. White was a graduate of the Ohio State University School of Journalism. 1936 The Jackson Township Library was relocated to the second floor of the Rolla White building at 3708 Broadway. 1940 Library trustees set aside $500 as a building fund, the first step toward a board-owned building. 1944 Library trustees change the library name to Grove City Public Library. 1946 The building fund contained over $9,000, so trustees formed a building committee to recommend a location for a new library building. 1947 Library trustees purchase Lot #5, otherwise known as 35 Park Street, as the permanent home of the library system headquarters. The house that stood there was rented, with profits added to the building fund. 1949 Library building bond issue fails. July 1951 The library was deeply saddened by the death of Kathleen White after 16 years of service. September 1951 Audrey C. Earl is hired as the new librarian. A graduate of the Western Reserve School of Library Sciences, she was the first professionally trained librarian at the Grove City Public Library. March 10, 1954 The new library building opened at 35 Park Street a cost of $81,119. The library held 15,000 books with space to add 10,000 more. Audio-visual service was added at this time. 1956 South-Western City Schools is formed as Jackson, Pleasant, Prairie, and Franklin Townships, 129 square miles with a population of approximately 56,000. Grove City Public Library is a school district library, so it expands to the same boundaries. 1961 First formal contract for Grove City Public Library to provide services in South-Western City School buildings. The school district provided space, furnishings, and utilities while the library provided materials and staff. 1962 Grove City building is expanded south to Civic Place. 1965 Kathryn Hannon succeeded Audrey Earl as librarian. April 1, 1968 Donald V. Schuler was hired as the library's first Director. He held a Master's Degree in Library Science from Case Western Reserve University and a law degree from Marshall Law School. 1969 Under Mr. Schuler's direction, the library board filed an appeal before the State Board of Tax Appeals resulting in a dramatic increase in state funding for the Grove City Public Library. 1970 The school libraries are turned back over to the school board. November 8, 1970 The Harrisburg Branch opens at 1036 High St. in the village of Harrisburg. September 10, 1972 The Prairie Branch opens in Lincoln Village Plaza, 4740 W. Broad St., to serve Prairie Township. 1974 The Grove City library building is expanded at a cost of $350,000. January 6, 1974 The Franklin Branch opens at 973 Harrisburg Pike in Franklin Township. 1975 After Mr. Schuler's death, William Cramer was appointed director. 1977 Frederick E. Allison is appointed director. Allison held a Master of Library Science degree from State University College at Geneseo, New York. 1978 Franklin Branch phased out due to lack of use. 1978 Harrisburg and Prairie branches expanded and remodeled. 1984 Library moved to automate many library operations. Within 18 months, card catalogs were replaced with a computerized online catalog and circulation and collections functions were automated. October 1986 Operating funds are inadequate for library expansion, so a 2.2 mill operating levy is placed on the ballot. It failed. 1988 After negotiations between the seven Franklin County Library systems, the Franklin County Budget Commission adopts a new funding formula designed to make funding distribution more equitable. April 1988 Frances Black is appointed library director. Black holds a Masters Degree in Library Science from the University of Alabama. November 1988 Library system renamed Southwest Public Libraries. The change was designed to reflect the library's large service area, approaching 100,000 people over 127 square miles. 1989 2.9 mill tax levies placed on the ballot in May and November fail. 1989 Library trustees decide to concentrate service in the district's two large population centers--Grove City and Prairie Township. December 5, 1989 Bookmobile service is established with a grant from the federal government. 1990 Harrisburg Library is phased out. Community demand leads the library board to allow residents to operate the library with some SPL financial support. October 19, 1991 The expanded and remodeled Prairie Library reopens as the Westland Area Library. The 21,000-square-foot building provides the same services and collections as the Grove City Library. May 1993 SPL enters Discovery Place Libraries consortium with the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Worthington Public Library, and Franklin University Library. By year's end the library's circulation and online catalog functions are fully converted. December 13, 1993 SPL establishes the library's first connection to the Internet via OHIONET. January 1, 1994 Library and Local Government Support Fund, which provides state funding to public libraries, reduced from 6.3% of the state income tax to 5.7%. June 1994 The first summer reading program in cooperation with the Columbus Metropolitan Library and Worthington Public Library is held. November 8, 1994 Seven-tenths mill property tax levy fails at the polls. January 24, 1995 Library trustees vote to donate the Harrisburg Library building to the village of Harrisburg. July 1996 DiscNet, a collection of CD-ROM reference products operated by the Columbus Metropolitan Library, becomes available at SPL locations. July 1996 Bookmobile service was discontinued; the bookmobile was eventually donated to South-Western City Schools. November 7, 1996 A one mill property tax levy fails at the polls. December 1996 One Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) terminal, providing Internet access and commercial databases, is made available at each SPL location. April 1999 Library and South-Western City Schools administrators meet for the first time to discuss a possible joint library venture. December 1999 SPL receives a $22,150 grant from the Ohio Reads program to assist English as a Second Language students. This is the beginning of library programming targeted toward diversity in the district. October 14, 2001 Westland Area Library celebrates the 10th anniversary of its' building. August 26, 2002 SPL begins providing services at the Central Crossing Library. Located in Central Crossing High School on Big Run Rd., this library is a joint venture between SPL and South-Western City Schools. September 29, 2002 Director Frances Black retires. Mark Shaw is named director; Shaw has an MBA from the Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Kent State University. February 2003 Due to continued reductions in state funding, Southwest Public Libraries is forced to eliminate Sunday hours. Some weekend-only staff are laid off for the first time in library history. Salaries, benefits, and public service are also frozen or reduced.