Bartholomew County Public Library

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Bartholomew County Public Library is a very historic library that is over 100 years old. The town came together back in the day and through public donations the property was chosen and the construction began. This is a historic part of the county because it was the first library that was public for all inside of the county. It was built by J.W. Gaddis and has seen many renovations throughout its history.

Images

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

"August 1894 The Columbus School Board allowed a tax to fund the public library.

February 1899 Columbus City Council originally only had two rooms available in the City Building for library purposes.

August 1899 The Library was opened to the public with help from a couple of local librarians.

December 1901 The small two-room library was serving 9,000 residents of Columbus, and they included 4,500 volumes. The budget was $1,500 per year.

January 1902 A local club appointed a committee to help the School Board in finding a library site. . J.W. Gaddis of Vincennes (IN) was chosen as the architect for the Carnegie building.

June 1, 1903 Dedication of the Carnegie Library was held because of his donation to the library.

1922 Library service was extended to all Bartholomew County residents."

This timeline is from the Bartholomew County Public Library website. http://mybcpl.libnet.info/library-history-4392

Sources

http://mybcpl.libnet.info/library-history-4392