The Tuscarawas County Public Library System will culminate its yearlong 125th Anniversary Celebration with a community open house on Saturday, November 14th from 11:00 AM -3:00 PM.
The County Library System has been in existence in one form or another since 1901. When we celebrate in November, we will honor not only the women who originally dreamt of a public library for all, but also the communities who have nurtured and expanded that dream these past 125 years.
Beginnings …
On October 4, 1901, five local women’s clubs met to form the Union Club Library Association (UCLA). Two members from each club met for the purpose of organizing a library board. Each club provided books to be added to the collection. Books were available to any women’s club member who paid one dollar a year. The Board appointed Nellie Stockwell as librarian in April 1902 and the collection was housed in her home located at 147 East High Avenue. While the first collection was private, the women were steadfast in their intention that it should form the nucleus of a public library.
Making a Public Library a Reality …
Housing the collection in Mrs. Stockwell’s home was not a sustainable solution for the growing collection or the long-term goal of a library open to the public. On July 14, 1904, the UCLA Board accepted an offer from Mr. Apollo Opes to use a vacant room over the Opes & Kaderly Marsh drug store as a library. In its first eleven months, it registered 459 borrowers and circulated 9,600 books. The Library continued to outgrow a succession of rented spaces.
With growing interest, the UCLA continued to work to secure funding for the growing library – first turning to the City of New Philadelphia and later the New Philadelphia Board of Education. The Board of Education continued the UCLA dream of providing the community with access to a public library. The location of the library would change, but the Board of Education would eventually purchase land for $7,500 for a proposed building site which would one day become the home of the Tuscarawas County Public Library.
In 1933, state legislature moved to ensure library funding throughout the state by assigning revenues from local intangible taxes to the support of local libraries.
Expansion to Meet Community Needs …
In 1934 the State of Ohio created a Library Extension Service and appointed one Library system in each county to serve the unserved areas in the county. The Extension program provided small towns and rural sections of Tuscarawas county with library books in the form of deposit collections placed in homes, stores, or schools with the homeowner, storekeeper, or teacher supervising their loan to local residents. The branches of what is now the Tuscarawas County Public Library System would eventually develop from the Library Extension Service.
In 1935, the community successfully passed a $12,000 bond issue for the construction of a library building, and the Library was awarded a $25,781 federal government construction grant. A permanent library was built and opened to the public in February 1937. The building, which is now the System’s Main Library located on Fair Ave, was designed by Charles J. Marr who also designed the New Philadelphia Post Office.
While the building was under construction, Extension Services furthered the Library’s reach within the community. The Strasburg Branch was created in 1936, the Tuscarawas Village Branch in 1937, and the Bolivar Branch in 1940. A bookmobile was added in 1949 to take library collections to every school in the County and rural areas where deposit collections could no longer fulfill the public’s demand for books. In 1966, the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Public Library elected to join the County Library system as the Sugarcreek Branch.
Today …
Residents of all ages continue to enjoy the County Library System. Each of the five physical locations serves as community hubs offering access to technology, traditional and non-traditional materials, digital and streaming services, educational classes, and recreational programs. Mobile Services take resources to area schools, senior living facilities, rural areas, and the homes of individuals who may otherwise not be able to access library resources.