Warsaw Library Celebrates 100 Years
April 5, 2017 at 5:03 p.m.
By David [email protected]
In April 1917, the collection was in the main part of the library upstairs and opened to the public.
Tuesday, during National Library Week, the WCPL will celebrate its 100th anniversary at its location at 310 E. Main St.
“So that’s why we picked the middle of April for our celebration,” Director Ann Zydek said.
It wasn’t the first library in the city, however, as Zydek has a record of the first county library operating in 1839. There’s names and dates written in ink in the ledger, presumably of people who checked out books, with the first entry in 1839.
“So they made some subscription payments or something like that and that was good for one year. And then they only returned them,” Zydek said. Then in 1849, the books were sold privately, Zydek guessed. “So that was the end of the effort.”
There are other old records like the one from 1839 regarding circulation, but Zydek said they’re hard for her to read.
But the celebration Tuesday is all about the current library’s 100-year existence.
Tuesday’s celebration will begin at 3 p.m.
“We’ll have it go until 7. We’ll have a cake, some kind of punch or something beside it. As people come into the room, we hope they’ll share some of their memories of the library, their first time coming. We’re trying to get a sense of some of the stories involved,” Zydek said.
The library has already been celebrating its first century with throwback photos one day a week in which people are asked to help identify the people in old pictures.
“We’re going to have some of those images visible there and some things to look around at,” she said.
Throughout the year, the library has had displays upstairs next to the Indiana Room, showcasing the various equipment the library used to check books in and out and helping people find the resources.
“We’re going to make all of National Library Week ... a special week here at the library. The Friends of the Library, the Friday and Saturday before, are planning to have a book sale. They’ve been busy working on that. During the week, there will be stations throughout the library for maker activities,” Zydek continued.
At the end of the summer reading program, Zydek said there will be a grand finale. “Because of all of the programs the library has offered throughout its 100 years, it seems like the reading programs have been pretty consistent, so we’re exploring a carnival kind of a concept. That’s still in planning,” she said.
To get the library to its current location it took some planning.
“Once we were able to get the inclusion of Wayne Township into the (library) district, we were able to get a grant of $15,000 from the Carnegie Corporation,” Zydek explained. “So there were these two lots on the corner of Center and Detroit streets, owned by the Wallace estate, and the board purchased one of the two lots as the site of the new building. But funds for the second lot were not available, so the city mayor, B.F. Richardson, helped purchase the lot with the understanding that the library board would purchase it when fiscally able to do so.”
After that was accomplished, construction of the library began in July 1916. Cost came to about $17,000 after everything was done, with some local support of whatever Carnegie didn’t cover. Zydek found the City Federation of Clubs helped with the basement auditorium furnishings, while the County Medical Association furnished the board room.
By the 1960s, the size of the library was close to 14,000 square feet, Zydek said. The renovation and addition opened in 1966.
Zydek has been at the library for over 30 years. In the time that she’s been around, she said there’s been two major projects – automation of everything, causing circulation to jump because people could find things easier, and the expansion of the library building in the mid-1990s to about 42,000 square feet.
In 1916, the last year of service in the basement of the old school at the corner of Detroit and Market streets, circulation was 7,825 with less than 5,000 volumes. In 1917, the first year of service in the new Carnegie building, circulation increased to 13,570.
It continued to grow – circulation of 81,624 in 1930 with a collection of 20,165 volumes; 51,060 volumes at the end of March 1966 with a circulation of 226,859 in 1964, and residents with cards totaled 5,215.
In 2016, the library had 18,066 total resident registered users, circulation of physical items was 437,262 with use of electronic materials at 61,465; print books number 168,791.
Circulation means how many times an item left the library.
The first library had one librarian, eventually adding a children’s librarian, Leah Power, in October 1927. At its peak, it had around 50 staff members, but at the end of 2016 the facility had 38 total paid staff, including part-time workers.
The public library opened stations at East Wayne and West Wayne school buildings in 1918, one day a week, with a librarian in charge. It also had a station at the Boys Club.
Libraries today offer a lot more programming. “We’ve always offered programs that have a hands-on feature, like arts and crafts for all ages. Now there’s even, ‘What else should we be doing?’ This whole makers space concept. So we’re going to have a club that meets on a monthly basis for fourth- through ninth-graders. And there’s a Drop-In Zone for teens, and they’re big into the games,” Zydek said.
Librarians are putting on their technology hat and learning about the various devices and technology out there. At the end of 2016, the library purchased a 3D printer. It has poster equipment, as well as trying to understand what’s happening with virtual reality. It’s looking at Minecraft, coding and writing, with its only limitations being its resources and budget.
It put together its five-year strategic plan in 2015, so the WCPL has a guide to follow. It’s looking at special equipment, access hours and exploring resources and library space.
“I know one of the things that’s new that wasn’t before was the whole fiber optics. If we’re dealing with a download speed of 35.63 mbps, that was something they had no idea was going on back then,” Zydek said. “So that to me, for us, we’ve been trying to keep ahead, but there are still times now when it’s getting slow in the afternoon. There is a lot of activity going on here on their devices, so that’s newer. We’re always exploring what’s a new way of communicating, a new way of learning. For us, we feel very strongly, our mission has not changed, as we’re exploring this. We serve the informational, recreational, educational needs, wants and interests of residents.”
Zydek said the library is very appreciative of all the help it’s seen over the years.
“It’s the community’s library,” she said.
In April 1917, the collection was in the main part of the library upstairs and opened to the public.
Tuesday, during National Library Week, the WCPL will celebrate its 100th anniversary at its location at 310 E. Main St.
“So that’s why we picked the middle of April for our celebration,” Director Ann Zydek said.
It wasn’t the first library in the city, however, as Zydek has a record of the first county library operating in 1839. There’s names and dates written in ink in the ledger, presumably of people who checked out books, with the first entry in 1839.
“So they made some subscription payments or something like that and that was good for one year. And then they only returned them,” Zydek said. Then in 1849, the books were sold privately, Zydek guessed. “So that was the end of the effort.”
There are other old records like the one from 1839 regarding circulation, but Zydek said they’re hard for her to read.
But the celebration Tuesday is all about the current library’s 100-year existence.
Tuesday’s celebration will begin at 3 p.m.
“We’ll have it go until 7. We’ll have a cake, some kind of punch or something beside it. As people come into the room, we hope they’ll share some of their memories of the library, their first time coming. We’re trying to get a sense of some of the stories involved,” Zydek said.
The library has already been celebrating its first century with throwback photos one day a week in which people are asked to help identify the people in old pictures.
“We’re going to have some of those images visible there and some things to look around at,” she said.
Throughout the year, the library has had displays upstairs next to the Indiana Room, showcasing the various equipment the library used to check books in and out and helping people find the resources.
“We’re going to make all of National Library Week ... a special week here at the library. The Friends of the Library, the Friday and Saturday before, are planning to have a book sale. They’ve been busy working on that. During the week, there will be stations throughout the library for maker activities,” Zydek continued.
At the end of the summer reading program, Zydek said there will be a grand finale. “Because of all of the programs the library has offered throughout its 100 years, it seems like the reading programs have been pretty consistent, so we’re exploring a carnival kind of a concept. That’s still in planning,” she said.
To get the library to its current location it took some planning.
“Once we were able to get the inclusion of Wayne Township into the (library) district, we were able to get a grant of $15,000 from the Carnegie Corporation,” Zydek explained. “So there were these two lots on the corner of Center and Detroit streets, owned by the Wallace estate, and the board purchased one of the two lots as the site of the new building. But funds for the second lot were not available, so the city mayor, B.F. Richardson, helped purchase the lot with the understanding that the library board would purchase it when fiscally able to do so.”
After that was accomplished, construction of the library began in July 1916. Cost came to about $17,000 after everything was done, with some local support of whatever Carnegie didn’t cover. Zydek found the City Federation of Clubs helped with the basement auditorium furnishings, while the County Medical Association furnished the board room.
By the 1960s, the size of the library was close to 14,000 square feet, Zydek said. The renovation and addition opened in 1966.
Zydek has been at the library for over 30 years. In the time that she’s been around, she said there’s been two major projects – automation of everything, causing circulation to jump because people could find things easier, and the expansion of the library building in the mid-1990s to about 42,000 square feet.
In 1916, the last year of service in the basement of the old school at the corner of Detroit and Market streets, circulation was 7,825 with less than 5,000 volumes. In 1917, the first year of service in the new Carnegie building, circulation increased to 13,570.
It continued to grow – circulation of 81,624 in 1930 with a collection of 20,165 volumes; 51,060 volumes at the end of March 1966 with a circulation of 226,859 in 1964, and residents with cards totaled 5,215.
In 2016, the library had 18,066 total resident registered users, circulation of physical items was 437,262 with use of electronic materials at 61,465; print books number 168,791.
Circulation means how many times an item left the library.
The first library had one librarian, eventually adding a children’s librarian, Leah Power, in October 1927. At its peak, it had around 50 staff members, but at the end of 2016 the facility had 38 total paid staff, including part-time workers.
The public library opened stations at East Wayne and West Wayne school buildings in 1918, one day a week, with a librarian in charge. It also had a station at the Boys Club.
Libraries today offer a lot more programming. “We’ve always offered programs that have a hands-on feature, like arts and crafts for all ages. Now there’s even, ‘What else should we be doing?’ This whole makers space concept. So we’re going to have a club that meets on a monthly basis for fourth- through ninth-graders. And there’s a Drop-In Zone for teens, and they’re big into the games,” Zydek said.
Librarians are putting on their technology hat and learning about the various devices and technology out there. At the end of 2016, the library purchased a 3D printer. It has poster equipment, as well as trying to understand what’s happening with virtual reality. It’s looking at Minecraft, coding and writing, with its only limitations being its resources and budget.
It put together its five-year strategic plan in 2015, so the WCPL has a guide to follow. It’s looking at special equipment, access hours and exploring resources and library space.
“I know one of the things that’s new that wasn’t before was the whole fiber optics. If we’re dealing with a download speed of 35.63 mbps, that was something they had no idea was going on back then,” Zydek said. “So that to me, for us, we’ve been trying to keep ahead, but there are still times now when it’s getting slow in the afternoon. There is a lot of activity going on here on their devices, so that’s newer. We’re always exploring what’s a new way of communicating, a new way of learning. For us, we feel very strongly, our mission has not changed, as we’re exploring this. We serve the informational, recreational, educational needs, wants and interests of residents.”
Zydek said the library is very appreciative of all the help it’s seen over the years.
“It’s the community’s library,” she said.
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