https://barrycountyhistoryportal.org/files/original/4/9/HPL_125th_Text0056.pdf b485f039f9c78e1ccfdc6ca19bcdfa24 PDF Text Text Library History Timeline 1893 1898 1893: The Women’s Club gathered to discuss the possibility of a public library for their 22-year-old city of Hastings. By 1895, $75.00 was set aside for books and supplies. 1896: Annie Powers was delegated to begin setting up a library. Her first purchases included a bookcase and a shipment of books from the State Librarian, Mary Spenser. 1896: Ms. Rosella Goodyear became the first librarian of the reading room above the Hastings Banner building. This was the start of what would become the Hastings Public Library. 1903 1906: The Women's Club had to move their collection into a room in the southwest corner of City Hall due to growth. 1908 1913 1915: The collection had grown to 500 volumes and the Women's Club voted to donate their collection to a new city library. 1918 1918: A live line of residents passed books from City Hall, up Broadway, to their new location in the high school. Helene Fairchild is the first head librarian. 1923 1922: $79.50 donated to the Library Extension Fund from a benefit Play. 1921: New Director Jean Barnes began her 31 year career overseeing a collection that numbered well over 6,000 titles with a monthly circulation of 1,700. 1928 1933 1938 1943 1948 1953 1958 1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1949: The library is rated among the top school/public libraries in the state for cities with populations of 5,000-10,000. 1954: Arloa Lathrop willed the city $15,000 that could only be used “for a separate building and are to be held until other funds make a separate building available.” 1955: The library moves to the new wing of the high school and is named the William T. Wallace library in memory of a former high school principal. 1963: Ethel Groos headed a committee studying the feasibility of converting the building into a Public Library. 1963: The Upjohn Family gave a $5000 grant to renovate and equip the building. The Thornapple Foundation donated $10,000 and the Tyden & Viking Companies invested $1,500 in the project. 1963: The city purchased the former US Post Office for $1. Built in 1924, the building had cost $77,000 and stood on land valued at $6.000. 1964: Plans for renovating the Post Office into a public library were put in motion. Ethel Groos, Rev. Don Gury, Kate McIntyre, Rose Cook, and Clifford Dolan were appointed to the first library board. Florence Wilson was hired as head librarian. 1964: Throughout the summer of 1964 one book drive after another added 2,500 books to the collection. The gargantuan task of processing all these books kept Mary Panfil and Sadie Brower busy into late fall. January 16, 1965, the new Hastings Public Library opened for 40.5 hours a week. Any property owner in the City of Hastings could use its at no cost. Residents outside the city limits could purchase a non-resident card for their family for $2.50 a year. In 1974 Hastings became a charter member of the Lakeland Library Federation, which later became the Lakeland Library Cooperative, a group of 42 public libraries in 82 in different locations. 1974: Florence Wilson retired and Eileen Oehler was hired as Director. 1977: The library's collection has grown to 30,000 books and 100 periodicals with an annual circulation of 39,000. 1978: After receiving a $5,000 donation, the Board considered building an addition. This plan was tabled, but the lack of space and rising cost of materials, services and overhead was becoming a huge problem. 1984: Eileen Oehler retired and Barbara Schondelmayer was hired as Library Director. 1987: Some much-needed renovations were made, including a new roof and heating plant, plus new curtains, and paint. 1995: Susan Smith was hired as Assistant Director in charge of marketing. 1993 1998 1997: The library installed a new circulation desk and an online card catalog was introduced. 1998: A $50,000 donation allowed the Board to begin discussing becoming a District library. However, Hastings Township and Rutland Townships backed away from the District Library idea and plans to build a new library serving the city and both Townships beg 1999: The capital campaign, “Our Library – Our Community Legacy” began with a $3.5 million goal. �In August, 2000, both Hastings Township and Rutland Township voted to pay dedicated millages for library services. 2003 2008 2013 2003: The DDA helps the Library Board negotiate the purchase of a plot of land at the corner of State and Boltwood. In July 2004, the "Last Chapter Building Campaign" kicked off to add $1.7 million to the previously raised building funds. In May 2005, a generous donor promised to match every dollar donated between May 12th and August 31st at a rate of 4:1. On August 31, 2005, the goal was met. Weekly meetings were held throughout the fall and winter until building plans were set to paper and contracts signed. On May 19, 2006, ground was broken for the new library. On June 7, 2007, the people of Hastings once again lined the streets of Hastings, from the old library on Church Street across from the Court House, to the new Library, standing proudly beside City Hall. 2018 2023 2021: The Library's 125th Anniversary was celebrated with fun and games, ice cream and a foam party at Thornapple Plaza, across from the Library. Timeline assembled in 2021 by Diane Hawkins, the then HPL Assistant Director, and edited by David Edelman for publication. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Hastings Public Library's 125th Anniversary Subject The topic of the resource Public History--Michigan--Barry County Description An account of the resource Did you know the Hastings Public Library has been around in one form or another since 1896? It started out as the Women's Club Reading Room and over time, grew into the vital and vibrant public institution we all know and love. Look through this collection to learn about where it all started, see the how the efforts of so many helped the library grow, and have some fun seeing photos of the past. Type The nature or genre of the resource Image and text Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1896 - 2021 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Microsoft Excel chart Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Library History Timeline Subject The topic of the resource Timelines Description An account of the resource A chronological list of key dates in the history of the Hastings Public Library from 1893 through 2021. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Timelines (chronologies) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource David Edelman Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022-03-10 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ Rights Holder A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource. Hastings Public Library