USA > Indiana > Lake County > The Gary Public Library (1907 - 1944) > Part 2
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Bailey Branch. With the opening of Froebel School branch April 3, 1913, service was extended into one of the most important sections of the city, the heart of Gary's "melting pot. ". At first, the branch was used almost ex- clusively by children. The adults could not read English and adult books were circulated chiefly to those needing help in learning the language. Miss Anna Gibson was the first librarian. In the autumn she was succeeded by Miss Aidah Taylor.
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THE BAILEY ADMINISTRATION
More room was required, however, and another ap- peal to Andrew Carnegie resulted in a contribution of $25,000 for a building which was erected at 15th and Madison streets. Library trustees spent an additional $3,000 on the building and bought the site for $5,200. The building was designed by A.F. Wickes and built by Marcello Gerometta. Soon after the new branch was oc- cupied on January 6, 1918, it was named Bailey Branch in honor of the first librarian.
In co-operation with the International Institute, which since 1919 has had quarters in the basement of the building, much effective work has been done among the many nationalities who needed friendly and sympathetic assis- tance in becoming adjusted to new conditions in this country.
Emerson Branch. Emerson Branch opened as a station early in 1913, reaching full status as a branch with the opening of school September 8, 1914. It was quartered in two rooms of Emerson school which were especially designed and equipped for library purposes . Miss Mamie Martin was the librarian, and the branch was intended to serve both the neighborhood and the pupils of the school. The branch was closed in 1919, when all library service had to be curtailed because of World War I.
Miller Branch. Miller branch became the third city branch when the town of Miller became a part of Gary in 1919. However, while Miller was still a part of Hobart township, the Gary Public Library extended library service to that community. A branch was opened November 14, 1914, in a house on the school grounds, which was loaned by the Miller school board. Miss Florence Nelson was librarian and there were 1,130 books.
Glen Park Branch. For several years the fast- growing Glen Park community had been served by a library station in Theodore Nering's store near 39th and Broadway . In 1919 the trustees bought six lots on the east side of Broadway between 39th and 40th Avenues. A portable build- ing, the first in Indiana to be used for library purposes, was bought and a branch was opened near the 39th Avenue intersection, with Miss Doris Hill in charge. Later, in co-operation with the public school, a teacher-librarian was employed, more books were acquired and the branch was moved into a larger portable.
THE BEGINNING OF TOWNSHIP SERVICE
In 1913 the trustees launched into a relatively new field -- offering library service to rural communities in nearby townships, Under this plan the township was to levy a small tax to be paid to the Gary Public Library in return for library service. About ten percent of the total
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HISTORY. OF THE GARY. PUBLIC LIBRARY
revenue thus raised was to be used in administering the plan, while the remainder of the money collected in the township was to be spent in the township. The Gary Public Library was to furnish supervision, handling of funds, and general management, and the residents of the township were to have the privilege of using any book to be found in the system. The process was planned to give the town- ship the advantages of highly trained technical super- vision and access to a large collection of books at a very low cost.
This expansion project was under the supervision of the assistant librarian, and it was her duty to explain the plan to the people of the townships. Obtaining sig- natures of property owners so that a tax might be levied was a necessary first step ..
Hobart Branch. The greatest possibility for serv- ice in Hobart township centered in the town of Hobart, which in 1913 had a population of about 4,000. Miss Peters presented the Gary Library plan to the Woman's Reading Club of Hobart and convinced members that a better quality library service would be available at less cost through co-operation with the Gary library. With the en- thusiastic support of the club it was only a short time before enough signatures were obtained to make the library extension plan a reality in Hobart township ..
With tax support assured, the Woman's Reading' Club took a lively interest in founding a Hobart Branch. They purchased a site directly across the street from the high school, and the first branch was established in a small house on the property on January 5, 1914.
The library board then secured a Carnegie grant of $16,000 and engaged A.F. Wickes of Gary to design the build- ing, with Ingwald Moe of Gary as contractor. The building was opened January 13, 1915, with Mary Eileen Ahern, editor of "Public Libraries," as guest speaker.
Miss Dorothy Thomas was the first librarian. Others who served as librarians were Harriet Morris, 1916- 20, Dorothy Wood, 1920-27; and Mrs. Bess MacGillivray, 1927 -.
East Gary Branch. As a part of extension service in Hobart township, a station was founded in East Gary in 1914. Books for children were placed in the school, and a small collection for adults was placed in the post- office. Later the post office became quarters for a regu- lar branch, with the postmistress, Mrs. Jay Lewis, in charge. In 1918 Miss Helen Patterson became librarian, retaining the post for twenty-four years, retiring Decem- ber 1, 1942. The present librarian is Mrs. Bessie Marks.
Calumet township served. In May 1914 the assistant librarian spent several days in Griffith, and in Ross,
THE BAILEY. ADMINISTRATION
1.5
BAILEY BRANCH
HOBART PUBLIC LIBRARY
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HISTORY OF THE GARY PUBLIC LIBRARY
explaining the library plan of extension to people of the villages, and many other days tramping from farm to farm, telling the farmers wherever she found them -- in field or barn -- the advantages of library service in return for a small increase in their taxes. While a number of farmers failed to see the advantages of library service, many others became enthusiastic and more than the required sig- natures assured the establishment of branches in Griffith and Ross.
In 1914 Griffith was served by a deposit station in the school for the pupils and another in the postoffice for adults. In 1915 the stations were combined at the postoffice with Mrs. Clara Beesin as attendant. Two years later the station had developed into a branch with quarters established in a store. Mrs. Mary Blodgett, a teacher, was appointed librarian, and she has continued to serve through 1944.
A branch was also set up in Ross in 1914. It was centrally located, at first, in the A. A. Bothwell store room, with a collection of 300 books and 28 magazines on the subscription list. Gasoline lamps provided the il- lumination in the early years of the branch. For a num- ber of years Mrs. Tillie Eichstadt served as librarian.
As a result of the library extension into Calumet township all public and parochial schools in the township were receiving service from the Gary Public Library by 1915.
Ross township. In July 1915 library service was extended to Ross township on the usual condition that it make necessary provision for maintenance. An attractive, well located branch established in the village of Mer- rillville in 1915 failed to survive. The extension re- port for 1916 related : "It is unfortunate that a petition against the library was circulated and signed by a number of people who had been misinformed and the township ad- visory board refused to levy a tax for the support of the library during the coming year." Soon after this occurred the people of the community held a mass meeting and a com- mittee was appointed to investigate as to ways and means to maintain the library until a tax could again be levied for its support. However, it was not until 1939 that it was possible for the Gary Public Library to again serve Ross township.
St. John township. In the war year 1918, exten- sion service was provided for all parochial and public schools in St. John township. Stations were installed in the villages of St. John and Schererville. A branch was opened in a store room in Dyer in April 1919. Miss Julia Hoffman was librarian when it was opened with a collection of 1,000 books and a subscription list of 30 magazines.
Porter County asks for library co-operation. In July 1919 the trustees were pleased to receive a request
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THE BAILEY. ADMINISTRATION
for library co-operation from Chesterton in adjoining Porter county. However, the trustees found that there was no law which authorized them to give service in another county. A request to the legislature resulted in an am- endment to the law permitting the crossing of county lines and the Gary library extended its service to Chesterton and all of Westchester township, excepting the town of Porter which already had a library.
When funds became available, in 1920, a branch was founded in the Harwell store, Chesterton, and at the same time service was given to the schools of the township. Miss Bertha Graubman became the first Chesterton librarian, having charge of a 1,000 book collection. In the first three months 526 patrons were registered and 6,009 books circulated. The branch has been moved several times but its size and usefulness continue to increase.
SERVICE TO SCHOOLS
In the first year of the library's existence sets of books supplementing work in the grades were chosen by the teachers and ordered by the library in quantities of twenty to thirty volumes. In the second year, the library started furnishing carefully selected and graded school- room libraries of 15 to 30 books. In the first five years, this collection grew to 49,696 volumes.
Starting in the second year, the assistant librarian visited teachers in their classrooms to find out their needs and to make the teachers better acquainted with library re- sources .
A few years later, stations were established in Emerson, Froebel and Horace Mann schools for school and neighborhood circulation. As branch libraries were opened, they were placed near school. buildings. Classes from the schools visited the libraries with their teachers. At first these visits were irregular and were intended to acquaint the students with the librarian and with the library and its resources. Later, classes made regular visits and were given school credit for work done in the library. The li- brarian assembled materials in advance and helped select
the books to be used, but work was done under the super- vision of the teacher. A graded course of study was worked out- for grades one to eight. A short credit course on classification of books, the use of the catalog and of ref- erence books was given in Grade 9. The credit thus earned was counted on the English grade.
The Gary Public Library did not confine itself to service in the city schools, but, as library service was extended to the townships collections of supplementary books were made available to all public and parochial schools in the townships.
1.
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HISTORY OF THE GARY PUBLIC LIBRARY
War years. World War I caused inroads in the li- brary routines, services and staff in Gary, as in American libraries all over the country. Mr. Bailey was away from his post for two years and three months in the service of the nation. While the library staff carried on, Mr. Bailey spent three months in camp library work in the South, as organizer of Camp Sheridan library and supervisor of all comp libraries in Alabama and Mississippi. He was then assigned to New York City and given charge of the Book Dispatch Office of the American Library Association. Miss Genevieve Michaely and Miss Caroline Robinson of the Gary Library staff were summoned to New York to assist him. In Mr. Bailey's absence Miss Peters was acting librarian from January 1918 to March 1920.
Placed immediately on a "win the war" basis, the library was a war center in a true sense of the word. An article written by Laura Lultrell; then order librarian, tells at length some of the services given for the war effort in those stringent years. This article is on file in the Local History room .: The annual library report for 1918 presents some of the highlights of the year:
"During almost the entire year the east
clubroom was in constant use by the surgical dress - ings department of the Red Cross. This room, to- gether with two store rooms, especially fitted up for the department, proved to be very acceptable quarters. Hobart, Griffith and Ross libraries served also as Red Cross headquarters.
"The library was headquarters for the reg- istration of women, the Soldier's Comfort League, and it was one of the "Over the Top" stations in the Fourth Liberty Loan drive. Members of the staff participated in war activities as much as possible. "The acting librarian was enrolling officer for the student nurse reserve and president of the United States Food Clubs of Calumet township. She and several other members of the staff served as lieutenants and captains in the various drives. The staff assumed responsibility of the book drive for soldiers.
"When a survey of the city was made previous to the Fourth Liberty Loan, the library took charge of the arrangements, filing and checking all survey and subscription cards. "
Three major events in 1919 made that year one of the most difficult in the library's history. The influenza epidemic was at its height and library service was cur- tailed in keeping with safety requirements. The reading room was closed, library hours were cut and the library kept open only for the circulation of books.
It was also in 1919 that the State Board of Tax Commissioners reduced the library tax levy by 50% and left
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THE BAILEY ADMINISTRATION
the library with insufficient funds to carry on its order- ly processes. As the library board had always maintained a balanced budget members thought it unwise to borrow money to tide the library over until the next year. In order to operate within the drastically reduced income the entire library program had to be revised. This resulted in a shortening of the hours during which the Central Library was kept open and service was cut in all the branches. Emerson Branch was closed. The book budget was cut and many other devices were used to meet the situation. The library stayed within its budget but there was a tremendous protest from the public over the curtailment of services. + These protests finally reached the chairman of the State. Board of Tax Commissioners in such volume that he called the president of the library board and asked him if he could not do something about the "terrible situation." The next year the library tax levy was restored to its normal rate.
In the fall of 1919 the city of Gary was under martial law because of a strike in the steel mills, and United States troops, under Major General Leonard Wood, were brought in to keep the peace. As housing facilities were scarce several public buildings were commandeered as quarters for the troops. The entire second floor of the library was turned over to them and cots were placed in both club rooms and in the hall. The troops were stationed in the library for three months beginning October 10, 1919.
Mr. Bailey returned to Gary in the spring of 1920, and the library with the rest of the nation sought a re- turn to normal, peacetime existence.
Mr. Bailey resigned September 16, 1922, to become librarian of the Flint, Michigan, Public Library. During the fourteen years that he had presided over the library's destiny, Gary had grown from a small town to a city of about 60, 000. To keep pace with this rapid development, the library book stock had reached 79,183 volumes. More personnel was added to administer to the increasing de- mands for service and the staff now boasted 18 full time members. In the scope and quality of work it was doing, the Gary Public Library had taken its place as an important American Public Library.
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HISTORY OF THE GARY PUBLIC LIBRARY
ROOSEVELT BRANCH
LE
TOLLESTON BRANCH
Chapter III THE HAMILTON REGIME 1922-1935
A new library regime began in 1922 with the selec- tion of William J. Hamilton to succeed Mr. Bailey .. Miss Peters was acting librarian from August 16 until the arrival of Mr. Hamilton on October 16.
Mr. Hamilton, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, attended the New York State Library School for two years, receiving his degree in 1916. His professional work included assistantships in the Minneapolis and New York public libraries and the public library of Washington, D.C. Prior to coming to Gary, Mr. Hamilton was secretary of the Indiana Public Library Commission.
Continued expansion. The city of Gary continued its rapid growth in the years between 1920-30, with the population reaching 100,486 in 1930. Again the library was forced to expand if it hoped to keep up with community needs. The book stock grew from 79,183 in 1920 to 146,717 in 1930. The staff increased from 18 to 33 full time members, and the income increased from $38,000 in 1920 to an estimated $164,000 in 1930 -- an all time high in the library's history.
In this period three new branch buildings were constructed to meet the demands of the stations that had already been established. These were Roosevelt in 1923, Tolleston, 1926, and East Side, 1930.
Roosevelt Branch. A long step forward in provid- ing book service to Gary's large Negro population was - taken in 1922 when five lots near the north west corner of 25th and Jackson streets were purchased and a building, planned by Joe Wildermuth, architect, was constructed by John Largura, contractor. Prior to this time, Negroes in the central district had received library service at various stations and branches.
The branch was opened for service on January 2.5, 1923, with Margaret Schrock in charge. In November Helen Kinkhart was appointed, working with the teacher-librarian, Mrs. Ruth Hughes Scott. In 1929 Pearl Papka was named branch librarian and in 1931 Mrs. Etka Gaskin became teach- er-librarian. She had the distinction of being the first Negro teacher-librarian in Gary.
Tolleston Branch. Although Tolleston was the first city branch established in Gary, it did not have a home of its own until 1926. The necessary rapid changing of location and librarians had been a great handicap to
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HISTORY OF THE GARY PUBLIC LIBRARY
0
EAST SIDE BRANCH
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THE HAMILTON REGIME
constructive work by the branch. However, in 1924 Miss Lyndell Martling was appointed librarian and remained with the branch for fifteen years. The new building was constructed at 12th and Taft streets, with Joe Wildermuth as architect and H.B. Olney of East Chicago, contractor.
East Side Branch. Since the Emerson school branch had been closed in 1919, Gary residents of the "East Side" had not had adequate library facilities. To improve. this situation, the trustees bought three lots at 5th Avenue and Georgia Street. Plans were drawn by Joe Wildermuth and the $50,000 East Side Branch was constructed by H. B. Olney, East Chicago, contractor. The building was opened in May 1930, with Miss Mildred Becker as first librarian.
Alcott Branch. To meet the need for better service in the eastern section of the central district, the Alcott branch was established in a rented store room at 1914 Connecticut, August 1924, with Mrs. Etka Gaskin as li- brarian. In 1928 the branch was moved to 1800 Connecticut.
With the opening of the Edison school, the New Brunswick district was in need of service. The library bought three lots on the corner of 7th Avenue and Burr Street in 1929, but funds have not yet been available for building a branch ..
In 1922 the Miller branch was moved from its loca- tion on the school grounds to a store building at 546 South Lake Street. In 1944 it was moved to its present location, 566 South Lake Street.
Remodeling at Central Library. With the tremendous increase in book stock, the need for additional stack space was becoming more and more acute at Central Library. Because of the lack of money in the depression years, it was impossible in 1931 to enlarge the building as original- ly planned by adding a wing to each end and extending the stacks to the north wall. Additional stack space was pro- vided, instead, by eliminating one-third of the north end of the auditorium. Installation of an elevator gave ac- cess to the top floor and made it possible to shelve back numbers of magazines in the clubrooms and the attic. The remodeling was completed at a cost of approximately $6,000.
Service to schools. In 1923 a proposition for closer co-operation between the library and the schools was presented by William A. Wirt, Superintendent of the Gary Schools. At his suggestion and with his co-operation, trained children's librarians were employed to handle the regularly scheduled classes from schools near libraries. A dollar per child for each child enrolled in the library classes was allowed by the school for the purchase of books. The teacher-librarians were paid by the school . board but were chosen and supervised by the library. The work started at Central Library and in four of the
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HISTORY OF THE GARY PUBLIC LIBRARY
branches. Schools at a distance from a branch received service as before.
There were advantages and disadvantages to this arrangement. Under changing methods of instruction the library at a distance from the class rooms worked a hard- ship, especially on the smaller children. After 1927 the schools began to establish their elementary libraries in school buildings. The librarians in these school libraries at first were selected and supervised by the public library, but gradually they were placed in charge of teacher- librarians. Thus it was that in the period between 1927- 30 three types of library service existed side by side ; branch libraries serving school classes, school libraries under the supervision of the public library, and school libraries under the supervision of teacher-librarians.
Finally the school took over the supervision of all the libraries in school buildings. Special classroom service is still maintained in one branch library located adjacent to the very overcrowded Roosevelt school.
In spite of the change of supervision, close co- operation with the schools continued to exist, and sup- plementary service was given to all the school by the public library. Classroom collections were loaned to those schools without adequate library facilities and collections of books were loaned for special projects.
Hospital service. In 1925 the Gary library es- tablished one of the most important and effective phases of library work in Gary -- the service to hospitals. Under the direction of Miss Mildred Gottlieb, extension director, and Miss Margaret Wallace, loan librarian, the work was organized and put into service in the three city hospitals -- Methodist, Mercy, and the Steel Company Hospital. Miss Wallace was made hospital librarian, and under her direc- tion the hospital service has become recognized not only in Gary but in neighboring cities and states as well.
Detroit charging system at Bailey Branch. Frequent change of librarians at the Bailey Branch had been a severe handicap to continuous service until Miss Ethel Else was appointed in August 1926. Miss Else remained as branch librarian for nearly ten years. During this time one of a long series of innovations leading toward simplification of library routines was installed experimentally at Bailey Branch. The Detroit charging system in which the patron does a portion of the work was tried under Miss Else's supervision and later adopted throughout the system.
Depression years. The economic depression affected the Gary Public Library in much the same way it did other libraries throughout the country. Banks failed, staff salaries were cut, vacations were taken without pay, li- brary hours were cut, book budgets, binding, everything had to be cut .. Strict economy in every department and
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THE HAMILTON REGIME
along every line had to be enforced. Staff members re- signed and their places were not filled.
At the same time the Gary library felt the in- creased demand for library services which was evident in other libraries all over the country. People without money turned to the library for recreational reading. Others came for information and study until the library was used more than ever before. Circulation increased in 1930 and 1931, but as the effect of lack of funds be- gan to be felt service was hampered and circulation de- creased until more funds were available. However, many of these gains were permanent and library service in Gary has never settled back to pre-depression levels.
Beginning in Mr. Hamilton's regime, the library for a number of years -- until 1942 when the Works Project Administration came to an end -- had continual help from various federal agencies. The National Youth Administra- tion (NYA), the Public Works Administration (PWA), along with the predecessors of the latter -- CWA and ERA -- while presenting some problems, also made possible many pro- jects which could not otherwise have been accomplished. One of the major projects was the indexing of Gary and Lake County newspapers from their founding up to 1942. This project of the WPA was nearing completion when the agency disbanded. The greatest value to the library from these federal agencies resulted from assistance in build- ing maintenance and from clerical work which relieved the regular staff of a great many duties which had formerly taken time away from their professional work.
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