By BOB GUSTIN, for The Democrat
The Brown County Public Library is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, and organizers of its birthday party plan something for everybody.
The party will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20 at the library, featuring live music, cake and ice cream for all, free books, arts and crafts demonstrations, a magic show, games, a bouncy house, and giant bubbles.
Several Brown County restaurants have come up with special dishes to mark the occasion, creating special ice cream flavors, sandwiches and more. Among the restaurants creating special treats are the Chocolate Moose, the Bird’s Nest Café, the Hob Nob and Big Woods.
The library also will be forgiving late fees in July.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Librarian Stori Snyder said the birthday celebration will center on a philosophy that libraries have embraced for years, and one that inspired her career: Libraries share what they have and share it with everybody, no exclusions, no exceptions.
Musicians Nathan Dillon and a group called the Goodwill Girls (Angie Aumage and Joyce Cassel) will perform music for both children and adults, and the animals on hand will include alpacas. Rich Hill will present a magic show at 2:45 p.m., and games will take place in the children’s garden. A table has been set up in the library so that children can create cards wishing the library a happy birthday.
The library has come a long way since its formation, which led to the Brown County Democrat’s Page 1 headline on March 18, 1920, proclaiming “Nashville Library Above Average.” At that point, a library building was not yet open, but up to 1,300 books had been procured.
Snyder believes a time traveler from 100 years ago would be pleased with what the library has become, with about 70,000 physical items in its collections, and access to electronic technology which increases that number by the hundreds of thousands.
A 1919 personality would probably be mystified by the technology, she said, but “the idea remains the same:
“A library is all about lending things to people to use and enjoy, then returning it so the next person can do the same.”
A 2001 article in the Brown County Democrat traced the history of the library, including the formation of the first library board in December 1919, which included Ola Genolin, Marie Moser, Ada Walter Schultz, Will Vawter, John Bond, William L. Coffey and John A. Ragle.
The library was housed in various buildings around Nashville before the present structure was built at 205 Locust Lane in Nashville, financed in part by a $2.5 million bond. That 20-year bond was paid off earlier this year.
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What: A celebration of the library’s 100th birthday, complete with free cake and ice cream, live music, games, demonstrations and other activities.
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20
Where: Outside the library at 205 Locust Lane. In case of rain, some of the events will be moved inside the library.
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The Brown County Public Library has been a part of the community for as long as there has been a community. Articles on the history of the library written for the Brown County Democrat say that in 1836, 10 percent of the funds raised from the sale of lots in Jacksonburg (which later became Nashville) was earmarked for the establishment and maintenance of a library.
By 1840, that fund contained $178, a large sum for the time, and in 1846, William Ganla was appointed librarian. Interest in the library waned in the 1870s and 1880, and somewhere between 1884 and 1919, the library appears to have vanished.
The library was recreated in 1919 and celebrates its 100th birthday on July 20. Here are some of the highlights of those 100 years, as reported in The Democrat and through historical records:
1919: In December, a group meets to organize a new library. The circuit court appointed the first library board, consisting of Ola Genolin, Marie Moser, Ada Walter Shulz, Will Vawter, John Bond, William L. Coffey and John A. Ragle.
1920: The library opens in a brick building owned by T.D. Calvin across from the courthouse, rented for 98 cents per month. Three hundred volumes are on hand, and more are 1,000 were expected to be donated. In September, the library becomes a tax-supported county organization. In order to serve residents in outlying areas, books were housed in various locations across the county, sometimes in private homes.
1921: The library moves to the second floor of the Knights of Pythias building (now the Village Green building). Rent was $10 a month, and Helen Allison, a staunch supporter, is named librarian. The library is open 14 hours a week, 224 days a year.
1924: Library books are in 23 elementary schools and two high schools. Books needed in the schools are procured as requested.
1928: Ada Shulz dies. The library is given a large painting she did of a mother and children. It now hangs above the fireplace.
1931: Collections of books reside in 27 schools around the county and five homes.
1934: The federal Civil Works Administration project includes $1,040 to hire workers to make improvements to the library building.
1935: More than 6,800 books are in the collection.
1937: A new telephone is installed in the library.
1939: An art exhibition of 41 pieces, including work by V.J. Cariani, C. Curry Bohm, Carl Graf, L.O. Griffith, Will Vawter and others, is displayed at the library.
1942: The library becomes part of the National Victory Book Campaign, to send donated books to soldiers in training for World War II.
1947: The library changes its identity, becoming a library district.
1949: The library moves to a building across the street from the Methodist church.
1950: A summer reading program for children begins.
1952: Edna Frazier becomes the librarian, replacing Mrs. Allison.
1958: Bonds financing the library are paid off.
1970: Records are added to the library’s collection.
1982: Mrs. Frazier retires as librarian. The Friends of the Brown County Library organization is founded.
1983: The library moves to a Main Street building near the east edge of town. Charr Skirvin becomes librarian. The library has about 20,000 volumes and 5,500 patrons.
1985: The library’s first computers are installed.
1988: Videos are added to the library’s collection.
1989: Ian Engle is named librarian.
1992: Yvonne Oliger is named librarian.
2000: Construction begins on a new library, financed with a $2.5 million bond issue and $900,000 in fundraising.
2001: The library opens on Jan. 3 in its current location, 205 Locust Lane. A branch of the library is opened at Cordry-Sweetwater lakes.
2009: The library joins the OverDrive Digital Download consortium, gaining access to tens of thousands of ebooks and eaudiobooks. (Now, access is up to hundreds of thousands of items including movies, music, magazines and comics.)
2012: Stori Snyder is named librarian.
2017: The library joins the SRCS (Statewide Remote Circulation System) allowing interlibrary loan books from more than 237 libraries (millions of items).
2019: Bonds financing the library are paid off; plans are made for a 100th birthday celebration. The library has a collection of more than 70,000 items, plus digital access to hundreds of thousands more.
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