Library History, Pt. 2 - Bev Russell, Library Director

(This column appeared in the September 23, 2007, Star-Herald)

When last we left the exhilarating history of the Scottsbluff Public Library, the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 forced the closure of the library for approximately two months, and a Carnegie Corporation grant of $12,500 was awarded to Scottsbluff for a new library building. Several situations delayed construction, however. (Believe me, I know all about delays in starting a library building project.) First, the Library Board requested an extension because they could not find a site. Then a small problem—World War I— further delayed the project. Finally, the Board asked for another extension to take advantage of the 1920 census. The population of Scottsbluff grew from 1,746 to 6,912, and the Carnegie Corporation increased the grant to $15,000. (Sometimes waiting is a good thing.)

While the city was awaiting their new library building, the library was housed in the Casselman building in the rear of Irrigators Bank. The Library Board directed the "lady Board members to see about decorating and furnishing" the library. State law reduced the Library Board to five members. They were Mrs. J. M. Carr (Carr Trumbull’s grandmother), Mrs. Harry P. Johnson, President H. L. Sam (Connie Kramer’s grandfather), B. J. Seger, and Mrs. Edmund Simmons.

A referendum vote in July 1921 determined the new site for the library. The community voted overwhelmingly to select the Episcopal Church lot at the southeast corner of First Avenue and 18^th Street for a cost of $3,000. In August 1921 Library Board members busied themselves raising funds for the purchase of the lot. (This is beginning to sound eerily familiar.) The campaign raised $2,869.20 and was hailed as a "splendid success".

The Star-Herald praised Scottsbluff as a "reading city" and further praised every donor to the drive, "for the spirit and generosity shown, especially in these ‘close’ times". The 1920s were not a period of economic prosperity on the Great Plains. Following World War I, farmers encountered plummeting crop prices, drought conditions, and the beginnings of the Great Depression. It speaks volumes of the citizen’s of Scottsbluff that they considered a public library important enough to build and support during rough economic times.

The new Carnegie library opened for business on April 21, 1922; however, by September 1925 the library was already squeezed for space so the children’s library was moved to the basement. When the job of assisting the librarian got to big for the high school girls who volunteered, an assistant librarian was hired.

By 1935 the Library Board began "earnest negotiations" for an addition to the Carnegie building. Later that year, Works Progress Administration funds of $5,649 and a bond election for an another $10,000 provided the money for an addition. As the addition was nearing completion, a technicality deemed the bond election invalid. (Talk about a nightmare.) A new bond election passed 457 to 82 on May 12, 1936. (Folks—this is the middle of the Great Depression—hard times, and the citizens of Scottsbluff built an addition to their public library. This amazes me!)

Once again, thank you to former Library Director Shirley Flack for her history of the Scottsbluff Public Library from which I borrowed liberally for this article. (Shirley—plagiarize and localize.) Also, thank you to Connie Kramer for the documents she shared on the early history of the library. Some readers responded to my request about their memories of the library. I will include those special memories in a later article. To be continued…

By the way, the first fundraiser of the public campaign is today in Centennial Park from 12:30-2:30. Meet Me In Centennial Park for cheesecake, fun and to support your public library.

In this column over the next several months, I plan to periodically retrace the progress of the Scottsbluff Public Library. If readers have memories of the library or information about the library to share, please contact me at 630-6251 or at brussell@scottsbluff.org. Simply put "Library History" in the subject line. I would like to share your antidotes as well.

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